by
HARRY THE MOLE
I have just recently started collecting combat helmets due to my wife's nagging about the guns I currently have stored in a cupboard. For some reason (only known to females) she finds helmets more acceptable than weapons. I'm not one given to violence, but I pointed out to her that a swift blow to the head with either deactivated gun or helmet would result in the same injury.
But back to the matters in hand. I purchased this fixed bail helmet at the Liverpool arms fair last Sunday. I am told that they are the more desirable type to own. I have seen the various makes of liner, but mine appears to be different... The steel shell has a stamp near the front rim bearing the number 175C. The liner has a logo that is like three links from a chain forming a triangle. Below the triangle are the letters COGEB (I think) but it is hard to make out. Below that are the letters ABL, and then underneath is a series of letters and numbers. All these markings are stamped in ink and are fairly faint, and the only mark actually stamped into the shell is the number 6. Can anyone advise me of the maker?
When I purchased the helmet there were the letters 'MP' painted rather crudely on the front in modern olive drab. Underneath this paint were still the letters 'MP' crudely painted in silver, a bit of silver had also been applied to the rim in places. It was only after cleaning off and taking the pictures that I noticed the ghostly outline of the letter 'A' - which is only visible in the picture and not when you look at the actual helmet. The seller did his usual sales pitch of how it came from 'Normandy' recently. But I take such comments with a pinch of salt.
Harry.
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