Happy to finally be able to add to this thread, have been wanting to get an Israeli M1 or British airborne helmet for a while. The M1 I believe is a post WW2 American manufactured helmet with heat stamp 1 8492 (not sure where that dates the shell) and was converted to have the 3-point chinstrap. The soldier added electrical tape to the chinstrap, and I think there is a name on the chin cup, but I can't really make it out. It also has an Israeli made sweatband.
Nice welcome to the club! Is there as series of numbers ink stamped on the inside of the liner crown.
Steve.
Just took a look and there is an ink stamp on the inner crown of the liner. The stamp is a bit faded but I was able to make out that it is marked 1981 which I'm assuming is the year of manufacture. There is also a bunch of Hebrew characters, I tried to take a picture though it isn't great and hard to make out anything.by Tinhat
Time to add another one to this thread, getting harder to find helmets not shown here.
I bought this back end of last year, it’s unusual in the fact that its unit marked, but talking to the seller and the dirt and dust it was covered in I’m happy its original.
Helmet is a US M1, original factory paint and strap but with an Israeli made liner.
The unit identifier I’m pretty sure is the 6th Heavy Mortar Battalion, active in the 1950s through to the 60s which fits with the helmet timeline. The black and red in this form are the flag of the IDF Artillery Corps.
Even more unusual is the Lieutenant bar painted on the front, this I’ve never seen before, I thought it might have been a reused helmet but more likely an individual or unit thing.
Photo of the 6th battalion and service pin.
Pleased with this addition to my collection.
Steve
Last edited by Tinhat; 06-16-2023 at 06:20 PM.
My modified Israeli M1 helmet.
Hi everyone, to make sure I wasn't repeating someone's else post I checked the entire thread, what a marvel! Enjoy
As we know, Israel before manufacturing their M1-style helmet used & modified former US M1 helmets. The principal modification was to replace the original chinstrap with a three-point one.
Note the spot welding that went trough, oup's!..
The helmet shell was modified by fitting a chinstrap loop at the back and replacing & moving forward the original bales.
I've included a former US M1 (Spanish usage) so you can see the different location of bales from both helmets.
This liner is the Israeli version
A lot of writing on the liner, translation would be great.
Jack,
The writing is name or nickname, in the bottom photo they are all the same 'Guli' or 'Goli', the top of the helmet has the full name but I can't make it out form the photos. Second photo up, the one in the middle is 'Avi'. The other two look like they are written in Roman letters, bottom one is possible Guli or Goli its not clear.
Quick question, is there a series of numbers stamped in black in on the inside of the liner, I'm trying to corelate these with a manufacture date, if I'm right it will start with a 6 or a 7.
Steve
Steve/
Thanks for the quick answer, seems like a gang of buddies having signed the liner. I'll examine the liner once back home. Jack
Hi Steve, number is 11754.Quick question, is there a series of numbers stamped in black in on the inside of the liner, I'm trying to corelate these with a manufacture date, if I'm right it will start with a 6 or a 7.
Jack
Thanks Jack, it's the middle two numbers, not the start that I think are the year of manufacture, the earliest I've seen is 68 and the latest 77 which aligns with the period of use. There is a clear correlation but in the absence of any reference its only when one comes up that doesn't align that blows the theory. It could be DDYYM, I have seen a 6 number series that aligned with a double digit month at the end.
As the saying goes, little things...
More IDF M1s here:
Israeli M1 helmets, variants and clones
Steve
201, it’s missing the front and rear rubber bumpers and had a rough life, nothing special except that it is dated Nov 12 1978, I believe making it one of the earliest Orlite helmets. Tama in 1976 made the first models but Orlite got the contract for volume.
I been looking for a clearly dated one for some time.
Steve
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