HSRAC without LTD, nut&bolt liner fitted

[Greg Pickersgill]

I recently bought a HSRAC with a Mkll liner, nut&bolt fitting. It is peculiar - to me - in as much as it has the dimple in the top that I would normally associate with a Lift the Dot Liner system. There is no sign that the LTD post was ever fitted - so far as I can see anyway, as it has a thick coat of overpaint inside and out, not original finish.

I know that there are examples of the MkIV shell that did not have, or lost, the LTD fitting and were given the Mkll liner, but I haven't seen it with the HSRAC shell before now. Is this common, well-known, or what?

I did for a moment think it might be a Belgian copy but comparison with an actual Belgian shell proves that is not the case - the Belgian HSRAC copy helmets do not have the dimple found on the M49 (Mkll copy), as well as other detail differences.

[tinlid]

As I only collect ww2 helmets, I always look to see if the Mk1 HSRAC that I see for sale has the Mk2 HSRAC dimple.
I know the Mk2 HSRAC was made during the latter days of the war, but I think not issued.
When I do see this dimple, but with the nut & bolt, my first untrusting thought is they are trying to make it look like a ww2 issued Mk1HSRAC.
I probably see around 3-4 a year like this for sale, there could be a reasonable reason for this like a broken rivet, but my untrusting brain says not. Why not use the late war/post war Mk3 liner with the improvised nut & bolt. They always seem to have ww2 dated Mk2 liners.
Thank you regarding the Belgium HSRAC dimple, or lack of.

[Greg Pickersgill]

Thanks for your comments, Tinlid. It seems entirely plausible that LTD shells will be altered to resemble earlier versions with an eye to commercial gain - if fact I have found at least one on a trader's webshop just this morning. But the thing I want to be clear about is, are there LTD shells that *never* had the liner pylon fitted, as in the case of a small number of MkIV shells in the late40s-early50s. This may be unknowable of course unless there are known quantities that haven't been deliberately altered. And then of course there will be shells where the LTD pylon simple broke out...seems like no certainty in this whole problem.

Does anyone know whether it is easy to punch out an LTD pylon leaving no trace? I've examined the HSRAC in question and a MkIV and in neither instance is there any sign anything was ever fitted.

[JWills]

I had a HSRAC with a dimple and 1953 CCL liner bolted in. And have seen another like that for sale, which I think it had a 52 dated liner bolted in. Can't see any benefit to altering those in anyway, so presume they were produced like that or were genuine repairs.