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US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please

Article about: Hey guys I just picked this one up today. I think its a McCord, front seam swivel bail and heat stamp is 834K and it has a funky Blue Westinghouse 106 marked Liner. It has 2 old bullet dings

  1. #1
    CGR
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    Default US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please

    Hey guys I just picked this one up today. I think its a McCord, front seam swivel bail and heat stamp is 834K and it has a funky Blue Westinghouse 106 marked Liner. It has 2 old bullet dings in the shell and what looks like a shrapnel ding on top side.
    Captain Bars on front of Shell appear old but maybe added post war? Looks like the liner insides were taken out and someone put the current one in? Didn't pay a whole lot and thought it was cool for the money.
    Just not sure what I am looking at.
    Any help greatly appreciated.
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please
    US M1 Helmet and Liner opinions please

  2. #2

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    I am not sure what the liner is wants to be. It is not a US liner now. The captains bar marking is post war war applied and the shrapnel damage appears to be made up. This is only my opinion so wait for others.
    John

  3. #3

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    It’s a honest lid with good chinstraps. I would lean as stated by John as post war Captain Bars and target practice with a large caliber round. As for the liner.....well... it’s not Ww2 LOL

    Marty
    Fortune favors the brave 644th td

  4. #4
    CGR
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    Thanks guys! Is it WW2 paint on it or refurbed for Korea or Nam? Also I don't doubt the dings are target practice but they have been there a long time so was hoping it could have been combat damage but oh well.
    Yeah the liner had it not been with it and no extra charge for it I would have left it there for sure!
    Last edited by CGR; 10-29-2020 at 04:12 AM. Reason: Typo

  5. #5

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    Some times faulty liners had basic straps and were used as kid’s toys. I know it’s not a WWII liner but are there any markings in it?

  6. #6
    CGR
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    Yes its a Westinghouse liner with the number 106 under the W maker mark in dome of liner.

  7. #7

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    Well, I think it's pretty clear from the replies so far that the consensus is that this is a (very) messed with item.

    As Marty says, it looks to have been quite a good WWII shell until someone tried to "sex it up". Those "captains bars" are just two hand painted white strokes of a brush and could have been done at any time. It's true that originals might not always have been factory done but even under field conditions if it was important enough to do in the first place it would surely have involved a little more effort?

    The "bullet dings" in the shell are dubious to say the least. Look at the lower of the two in particular. The impression is almost perfectly circular and has undamaged (by impact) paint within the ring where the paint has separated due to the metal stretching. I'm going to suggest this was done with a punch or drift rather than the impact of a large lead alloy bullet similar to a .45" which would deform under impact creating a much different and irregular profile in the shell.

    The suggested shrapnel ding is also in my opinion not caused by a random flying piece of jagged metal but by something like a cold chisel. On the other hand it could just be a simple dent. Actual shrapnel damagedwill usually display some indication of direction of imapct and random deformation of the suface around the impact due to shockwave effect.

    I have seen reject liners set up as childrens toys but this modification is I think far too robust for that. This seems to be a commericial adaptation for use as a civilian safety helmet before the days of Health & Safety regulations forbiding such things. 1960s maybe?

    I am glad you didn't pay much for it and I think the best you can do with it is add a suitable liner and net then perhaps use it as a display background to support associated items.

    It is good that you posted this here as it is useful to discuss such things for the benefit of us all.

    Regards

    Mark
    Last edited by Watchdog; 10-29-2020 at 04:42 PM. Reason: Typo
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  8. #8
    CGR
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    Thanks for the replies. I don't know about the Captains Bars being done with a lack of effort. I am watching an old documentary with actual footage of how the US Marines took Tarawa and it showed a General with 2 Stars on his helmet that were hand done and as large as or larger than silver dollars and not very well done either I might add. I was actually shocked when I saw it. Just an observation that I guess even a 2 Star General had some crappy large stars on his helmet, would make sense a Captain would not be immune to it either.

  9. #9
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    Quote by Watchdog View Post
    Well, I think it's pretty clear from the replies so far that the consensus is that this is a (very) messed with item.

    As Marty says, it looks to have been quite a good WWII shell until someone tried to "sex it up". Those "captains bars" are just two hand painted white strokes of a brush and could have been done at any time. It's true that originals might not always have been factory done but even under field conditions if it was important enough to do in the first place it would surely have involved a little more effort?

    The "bullet dings" in the shell are dubious to say the least. Look at the lower of the two in particular. The impression is almost perfectly circular and has undamaged (by impact) paint within the ring where the paint has separated due to the metal stretching. I'm going to suggest this was done with a punch or drift rather than the impact of a large lead alloy bullet similar to a .45" which would deform under impact creating a much different and irregular profile in the shell.

    The suggested shrapnel ding is also in my opinion not caused by a random flying piece of jagged metal but by something like a cold chisel. On the other hand it could just be a simple dent. Actual shrapnel damagedwill usually display some indication of direction of imapct and random deformation of the suface around the impact due to shockwave effect.

    I have seen reject liners set up as childrens toys but this modification is I think far too robust for that. This seems to be a commericial adaptation for use as a civilian safety helmet before the days of Health & Safety regulations forbiding such things. 1960s maybe?

    I am glad you didn't pay much for it and I think the best you can do with it is add a suitable liner and net then perhaps use it as a display background to support associated items.

    It is good that you posted this here as it is useful to discuss such things for the benefit of us all.

    Regards

    Mark
    I agree with Mark,
    All too nice , neat " battle damage " and no stress fractures on helmet either .
    As one who had a misspent youth , shooting holes through old WW2 helmets for fun target practice there should be a couple of jagged holes instead of perfectly rounded dimples for that size bullet .
    Unless at very long extreme "movie" range , in which case what's the chances of landing one right next to either other ?
    Very unlikely Id reckon.
    Cheers Rick

  10. #10
    CGR
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    It does have stress fractures, at least one I saw on back.

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