Grandfather's WWI items

[vibmon]

Thought I'd post a few things, hopefully of some interest to the group, and of course please chime in with any tidbits to further educate. He was a mechanic (Evans, Lyal G) in the 342nd field artillery and after the war owned his own machine shop until his death in 1963. The two picture frames are original but unfortunately have some water damage from a basement flood at my parents house. His helmet's in pretty good shape though it hung in his garage until we acquired it in the early 70s. Felt pad looks almost new but the strap looks like mice had some bites. Dual logos look crudely hand painted and I see "ZE 33" stamped under the brim. I also remember a helmet painted white, so maybe for parades? Don't know what happened to it.

[vibmon]

Here's a dummy shell he gave me as a little kid--looks like the primer is still live. I know it was made in Paris Jan 1917, 37mm 1885 model weapon. Is 214 a lot number? And a few pics I found of the gun. Here's a short history of the gun: The M1916 37mm gun was developed by the French and used primarily by French and American forces in WWI for destroying machine gun emplacements. It was fairly good at this under fluid, mobile conditions, but inferior to mortars for static trench warfare. It was still in limited service by World War II, but generally relegated to training and use as a sub-caliber addition for larger guns.
Ammunition was of two types initially, a 1-pound solid steel shell and a high explosive round. The solid round was found to be largely ineffective, and replaced with a bursting shell of cast iron and filled with black powder. Mounting for the gun was either a fixed tripod or wheeled carriage.

[vibmon]

Gas mask bag is in excellent condition--I guess it didn't hang in the garage. My wife carried it as a purse one summer and some guy told her it's fake, lol. I recall the gas mask in the 60s but it was in bad shape even then so they pitched it. The leather leggings are in good condition except for the straps. What would these have been used for?

[AZPhil]

That is awesome!!
I know the pride of having a relatives items from their service and you got some nice item's.
Great Pic's and a excellent dougboy helmet.
Thank you for sharing!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[BrodieBartfast]

The leather leggings are known as gaiters. They closed the legs of a soldier's trousers, to keep out mud and other debris. They might be of British origin. Can you see a Broad Arrow marking on them anywhere?

B.B.

[Tank Destroyer]

What a wonderful grouping from your grandfathers service during WW1. The helmet is very nice.

Marty

[vibmon]

B.B. there's no type of arrow anywhere, only the number "14" stamped in each gaiter.

[BrodieBartfast]

I'm not much of a collector of WWI gear, so can't help with the numbers, unfortunately. But this really is a fantastic grouping of items. How many of us collectors wish we had the helmet our grandfathers or great-grandfathers wore in combat?

Are the chinstrap bales secured with rivets or split pins?

Regards, B.B.

[vibmon]

Finally he had a collection of these stereographic photos--some are very graphic and brutal when seen through the viewer which I still have. The reverse descriptions are very eloquent so I'll post a few along with the photos.

[vibmon]

Couple more--->