Stuck inside this weekend due to temp of over 100°F, off the scale poor air quality because of the forest fires and a new mask mandate, so threw this thread together for the forum basement dwellers, I thought about including it here IDF ISRAELI helmets arab israeli wars, 1967 - 1982 but the M1 has a wider audience so may get some converts.
The M1 has a long history with the IDF which culminated in a clone design in 1968 but there were a number of refurbishments on the way.
I’ve made a vague attempt to put some sort of chronology but most of it is a bit of guess work, however the multiple conflicts do give a lot of photographic evidence.
The M1 did make an appearance in the 1948 war but is rarely seen compared to the British models. By 1949 it was more visible, and these would likely been surplus from Europe. I’ve looked extensively for a wartime complete WWII produced M1 with proven IDF lineage but came empty handed so far.
1948 photo, looks to be just the liner.
1949 end of war parade, only the NCOs are wearing them
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