Article about: Well, back in the day, I must admit that we didn't care too much about the details and characteristics of british helmets around here. I know, I will be blamed for this ; but they were to be
Well, back in the day, I must admit that we didn't care too much about the details and characteristics of british helmets around here. I know, I may be blamed for this ; but those were to be found by the number, looked all the very same, and well, you know...
But things changed : amazingly, we really don't see many of these helmets around any more. And as far as I'm concerned, I decided to pay more attention to this very old pal.
I always was intrigued by the difference of the inside paint (very smooth and bright) with the outside one, very matte and textured. I would be interested in some precisions about that, as I thought that the early MKIIs had a smooth paint inside and out.
Else, thanks to the very informative thread pinned here, I'm now aware that the shell is from John Sankey and Sons Ltd (JSS) ; it's dated 1938 (not obvious to see), just like both strap retaining lugs.
Note : I swear I won't use this background again, ever.
Last edited by Das Edelweiss; 12-17-2022 at 11:18 PM.
The liner was made by Vero (E. W. Vero & Co) in 1938 too, and is in size 7. It appears to be a transitional one, with the former oval top pad. I always wondered about the "arrow C" stamp ; I learned from the pinned thread that it was a quality control mark, that became rarer with time.
Well, in order to be forgiven for this long undeserved lack of attention, I think I will offer my old MKII a nice little net one of these days.
Last edited by Das Edelweiss; 12-17-2022 at 11:24 PM.
Congratulations, you have one of the first MKII Army helmets in near perfect condition. The matt paint on the outside was only added to military MKIIs, all the rest ( civil) were smooth inside and out. These very early army MKIIs are hard to find.
Lovely early Mk2.
Just on the off chance, is there a white SS painted on the inside of the helmet?
Early ones have this SS to show that the rim is stainless steel.
No "SS" painted inside the shell of this one ; another detail I wasn't aware of.
I just took another photo of the outside, as the shadow on the above one could make people think that the helmet's paint is bicolor (a new pic that also provides a great relief from the former background).
Last edited by Das Edelweiss; 12-17-2022 at 11:25 PM.
My old british MKII helmet
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by tinlid
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