US M-1 HELMET COLLECTORS: Better understanding M-1 lot numbers - an article

[Glittering_Ship4193]

Someone shared this on a large helmet collecting group on Facebook and it was a really interesting read. Sheds more light on identifying pressing dates (this is the correct term for when the helmet was formed to a helmet from the steel disc) and how lot numbers were established - and that those helmet charts in certain books many have accepted as law may not be that truthful.

"It is important to understand that lot and lift numbers were assigned to crates of helmet discs upon receipt at the fabricator and not in reference to the day that sheets were pressed into helmets. Multiple “lifts” were received at McCord on a daily basis for conversion into helmets and although great care was taken to keep all the lifts of a given heat together during the manufacturing process, apparently little thought was given to the order in which any given lift was staged for production. Arsenal documentation indicates that the sheets of each individual lift were not loaded, shipped, received, or pressed into helmets based on the sequential order of their mill-assigned lift number or by the order that the fabricator received the lifts."

"Helmet discs arrive at McCord bundled 400 per unit labeled with both the Carnegie heat of steel No. 255799 and a corresponding Carnegie lift number. Each lift comprises about five units totaling approximately 2,000 helmet discs. McCord receives Carnegie’s heat of steel No. 255799 under the next available McCord lot number (596). As receiving progresses, units of discs of each Carnegie lift for heat 255799 are unloaded, in no particular order, and received under a letter of the alphabet. As it turns out, Carnegie lift 50697 was the third lift unloaded and was therefore assigned the letter “C” (596C) whereas Carnegie lift 50695 was unloaded fifth and was assigned the letter “E” (596E)."

"Arsenal records provide little insight to specific pressing dates. They relate that all McCord lots of 55A or below were manufactured prior to January 24, 1942. McCord lot 88 was pressed on April 8, 1942; lot 148 on July 24, 1942; and lots 863 and 865 were pressed on August 19, 1944. (When the dates of known examples, like those above, are compared to the date they should plot on the aforementioned chart combined with the fact that lot and lift numbers were assigned to helmet discs upon receipt at a pressing concern -- not when they were fabricated). And with the knowledge that lot and lift numbers were quality control tools used to connect helmets to the records of the steel manufacturing process (which would have been considered irrelevant in a production environment unless the steel presented with a defect), the deficiencies of this or any chart attempting to divine the date of a specific helmet’s production becomes evident."

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/10...Cb1kDaH2NNKEQ0

[huntssurplus]

Interesting. Can't reall if the 863/865 heat stamp number coincide with swivel chin strap loops, but if they are fixed loop helmets, it would put to rest any argument for the possibility of swivel loop M1 helmets being used on DDay, or in any significant capacity.

Hunt

[Twthmoses]

Thought the switch from fixed loops to hinged loops occurred already in 1943? I have a 398A mccord helmet with hinged loops. It it not the rim joint placement, from front to back, that occurred in around october/november 1944.

[Twthmoses]

I am not in disagreement with the author’s conclusion that the Lot number chart (published in “Helmets of the ETO”) should not be taken as absolute fact. However, I assume that the authors of that work and chart have extrapolate out of a few known exact production dates as well as known “before” dates.
Reading Watertown arsenal laboratory many reports on various aspects of M1 helmets or M1 helmets related reports; you will find many manufacture lots numbers, which must have been produced prior to the report. Example just reading two Watertown arsenal reports I have right here on my computer, I can read that McCord #1379 was produced prior to 30 January 1944, McCord #619B prior to 23 December 1943 and Schlueter #63A also prior to 23 December 1943. Of course that does not exclude them being produced way before that.

[aef1917]

I am not in disagreement with the author’s conclusion that the Lot number chart (published in “Helmets of the ETO”) should not be taken as absolute fact. However, I assume that the authors of that work and chart have extrapolate out of a few known exact production dates as well as known “before” dates.

In the absence of bibliographic information or insights into their methodology, I'm wary of the chart.

The author of the article provides known dates and even suggests comparing with the Helmets of the ETO chart, so let's do it. We have
55A 1/42 ETO Chart ~2/42
88 4/8/42 ETO Chart ~3/42
148 7/24/42 ETO Chart ~5/42
863 and 865 8/19/44 ETO Chart ~3/44

It's a tiny sample weighted heavily towards early production so it's difficult to draw firm conclusions other than it's probably not wise to say "I have a November 1943 McCord M1".

[Twthmoses]

I think you are absolute right. One should not proclaim I have helmet such and such from such and such date, based on that chart. The chart should be taken for what it is, an approximate timeline for the production of M1 helmets. Maybe that is not even correct. Maybe it is more an approximate timeline for the reception of discs for the manufacture of M1 helmets – not knowing when those discs was actually made into helmets. On that note, was various McCord (or other) lot numbers even pressed in sequence? I doubt it.

Doing a little math (rough math). Mccord made some 20 million helmets. They had roughly 4 years to do so = 1460 days. Therefore, they produced roughly 14000 helmets each day, 365 days a year, for 4 years none-stop. Since each lift number can only hold approx. 2000 helmets, they must have gone through at least A-B-C-D-E-F-G each day of a given Lot number. E.g. 244 A, 244 B, 244 C, 244 D, 244 E, 244 F and 244 G. Plenty of opportunity for sequence mismatch, especially that little “rest” at the bottom before a stack at the production line got replenished.

[Glittering_Ship4193]

I think you are absolute right. One should not proclaim I have helmet such and such from such and such date, based on that chart. The chart should be taken for what it is, an approximate timeline for the production of M1 helmets. Maybe that is not even correct. Maybe it is more an approximate timeline for the reception of discs for the manufacture of M1 helmets – not knowing when those discs was actually made into helmets. On that note, was various McCord (or other) lot numbers even pressed in sequence? I doubt it.

Doing a little math (rough math). Mccord made some 20 million helmets. They had roughly 4 years to do so = 1460 days. Therefore, they produced roughly 14000 helmets each day, 365 days a year, for 4 years none-stop. Since each lift number can only hold approx. 2000 helmets, they must have gone through at least A-B-C-D-E-F-G each day of a given Lot number. E.g. 244 A, 244 B, 244 C, 244 D, 244 E, 244 F and 244 G. Plenty of opportunity for sequence mismatch, especially that little “rest” at the bottom before a stack at the production line got replenished.

That is right! It actually gives an example in the article on page 6. "It is important to understand that lot and lift numbers were assigned to crates of helmet discs upon receipt at the fabricator and not in reference to the day that sheets were pressed into helmets. Multiple “lifts” were received
at McCord on a daily basis for conversion into helmetsand although great care was taken to keep all the lifts of a given heat together during the manufacturing process, apparently little thought was given to the order in which any given lift was staged for production. Arsenal documentation indicates that the sheets of each individual lift were not loaded, shipped, received, or pressed into helmets based on the sequential order of their mill-assigned lift number or by the order that the fabricator received the lifts."

[Glittering_Ship4193]

In the absence of bibliographic information or insights into their methodology, I'm wary of the chart.

The author of the article provides known dates and even suggests comparing with the Helmets of the ETO chart, so let's do it. We have
55A 1/42 ETO Chart ~2/42
88 4/8/42 ETO Chart ~3/42
148 7/24/42 ETO Chart ~5/42
863 and 865 8/19/44 ETO Chart ~3/44

It's a tiny sample weighted heavily towards early production so it's difficult to draw firm conclusions other than it's probably not wise to say "I have a November 1943 McCord M1".

The nice thing about those confirmed numbers is you can reasonably date some of your own helmets. I have three M-1's, two with complete heat stamps and one where it's scratched too much to read. Mine are 556A and 96C.

"Arsenal records provide little insight to specific
pressing dates. They relate that all McCord lots of 55A or below were manufactured prior to January 24, 1942. McCord lot 88 was pressed on April 8, 1942; lot 148 on July 24, 1942; and lots 863 and 865 were pressed on August 19, 1944. (When the dates of known examples, like those above, are compared to the date they should plot on the aforementioned chart combined with the fact that lot and lift numbers were assigned to helmet discs upon receipt at a pressing concern -- not when they were fabricated). And with the knowledge that lot and lift numbers were quality control tools used to connect helmets to the records of the steel manufacturing process (which would have been considered irrelevant in a production environment unless the steel presented with a defect), the deficiencies of this or any chart attempting to divine the date of a specific helmet’s production becomes evident."

We can then reasonably assume that 556A was in the first lift because of the A and pressed sometime between July 24, 1942 and prior to August 19, 1944 based on the known examples above.

96C was in the third lift of materials and pressed between April 8, 1942 and prior to July 24, 1942.

[Jerlag]

Hey, sorry its a reply on a years old post, but I can confirm that McCord 863 is a front seam swivel bale, I actually have an 863 lot! 863C to be precise.