WWI M1917 Camouflage Painted Helmet ("192 ZD") & Liner, Chinstrap EXC! ORIGINAL!

Description: WWI M1917 Camouflage Painted Helmet ("192 ZD"). Complete Liner & Chinstrap (separated). UNMOLESTED, UNTOUCHED 107-year-old ORIGINAL Exquisitely Hand-painted example. WWI USMC Army M1917 Helmet (‘192 ZD’), complete with a 100% intact black Rubberized/Oilcloth Liner, String Net, Wool Waste Dome Pad, Leather Chinstrap (complete, i.e. no missing leather, but separated), and thread remnants of the paper Adjustment Tag!!+ ZERO dents to the crown, brim, and edge trim.+ This is a visually stunning example of an expertly executed, WWI-period, 4-color, "museum-grade" example of a U.S. M1917Camouflaged Helmet with sharp swirling patterns of (1) Dark Lichen Green, (2) Lighter Grass Green, (3) Rich earthen Ocher, (4) Dark Iron-oxide Red with clean separating borders of Black paint of uniform width throughout. The pattern was obviously an imitation of one of the camouflage paint schemes observed on a German M1916 Stahlhelm Smooth brush strokes throughout! The photos of camouflaged German helmets are from Oliver Locks exceptional reference work, STAHLSHUTZHELME: The German Steel Combat Helmet, 1915-1918 (Military Mode Publishing, 2020). This Camouflaged M1917 is a 'Doughboy' work of art! + The Camouflage paint scheme was applied atop an undisturbed original textured finish. Unlike current reproductions there are "authenticating" spots where mild rust has over the century bled its way up THROUGH the paint, evidencing TRUE AGE!+ The camouflage retains its original dry, flat "patina" -- no linseed oil or varnish was ever applied during the Great War or following the Armistice. + This was made in 1917 or 1918 by one of fourteen known manufacturers of the AMERICAN version of the M1917 Helmet. The actual manufacturer of the Helmet is signified by the second letter, 'D,' This Helmet was stamped, painted, fitted with its liner and entered the Army and/or the Marine Corps Quartermaster supply pipeline no later than August of 1918, the start of the Battle of Amiens (the Third Battle of Picardy) and the Allied Offensive, later known as the "Hundred Days Offensive," which led to ultimate defeat of the Central Powers: + WWI shell is crisply, legibly stamped with the heat/ batch/ lot alpha numeric data:192 ZD+ ZERO tears or cracks, to the RUBBERIZED/OILCLOTH LINER. It is most likely stamped on the underside with the sub-contractor's data, but I did not wish to bend the century old material for fear of possibly damaging it. The LEATHER BACKING of the Liner shows SIGNIFICANT AGE DETERIORATION but is all there. + These M1917 Helmets were supplied to both the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, and the Navy. (Aboard ships of war, helmets were part of "ship's stores" for use by landing parties.) This M1917 Helmet remained in the USMC's and the Army's stateside supply system until the right before WWII (during the years 1932-1936) , at which time the Rubberized/Oilcloth Liner and Leather C/S were replace with a newly designed steel-spring-frame-and-leather LINER and a mustard-khaki Web C/S with a cast brass Buckle Assembly. + NOTE: This steel shell is not one of British "Brodie" MKI manganese shells that we acquired from Britain in 1917.+ As mentioned above, this is NOT the "Brodie" MKI shell which was made of the lighter British 21 Gauge Steel, but the heavier American M1917 model made of heavier 19 GAUGE non-magnetic Manganese Steel). + The Chinstrap Bails (or Loops) are NOT the lighter wire British "Brodie" bails, but the heavier 12 Gauge Iron Wire used by American contractors. Also the bails are attached with steel Harness Rivets and NOT British "Split" Rivet + NOTE: The WWI-era American-made shells rolled and stamped during late-1917 and 1918 did NOT have simply the one or two-digits numbers, but had the following "Heat/Lot/Batch/Cast Code" Letters. The first letter (i.e. 'Z') indicates the SUPPLIER of the steel. The second letter (i.e. 'd') indicates the COMPANY that pressed and made the helmet. UC, YJ, XH, ZA (Crosby Co.), ZB (Worcester Pressed Steel Co.), ZC (Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co.), ZD, ZE, ZF, ZG, ZG, ZH, ZJ (Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co.), and ZN. + This is the model helmet worn by USMC, Army, and Navy of the A.E.F. in France and the Siberian Expedition as well troops during the interwar years. Aboard USN warships the M1917 Helmet was left in in the flat O.D., or painted "battleship gray"). It was worn stateside during the first months of the war as well with the modified Liner and Chinstrap introduced in the mid-1930s. + This particular Helmet was never modified, but remains in untouched condition, since 1918!!!***** PARTICULARS OF CONDITION: + ZERO dents or significant rust apart from the 'bleed through' on the side of the crown. + ZERO paint loss to the crown. Several "rub" marks on the steel rim Edging. + Virtually NO SIGNIFICANT cracks or "flaking" of the black rubberized/oilcloth liner, but the LEATHER BACKING of the liner with the sections of RUBBER TUBE shows significant AGE DETERIORATION. + ZERO breaks or tears in cotton string Netting. + ZERO names, serial number, or markings anywhere! + The CHIN STRAP is entirely PRESENT but SEPARATED. It is very dry and fragile with 'fissures,' crazing, stains, and "dry rot" but is still flexible and substantial. + ZERO corrosion to the C/S rivets, the brass loops of the copper rivet and washer that would held the gauze-backed paper ADJUSTMENT INSTRUCTION TAG. + The INTERIOR PAINT is intact with a uniform 'hazing' of superficial rust on a portion of the underside of the BRIM. + The "Heat/Batch/Lot/Cast Code" number, "192 ZD", stamped on the underside of the rim is clearly visible upon careful inspection beneath the O.D. paint. + The steel TRIM on the Brim is secured at the seam with a single punch mark on the overlapping ends. + The STRING NET, the black RUBBERIZED/OILCLOTH LINER with LEATHER BACKING (which shows some deterioration on the reverse), and the gray wool felt CROWN PAD are present, but the CROWN PAD shows age and superficial "de-lamination." + As is often the case, the white PAPER/CLOTH INSTRUCTION TAG for adjustment is ABSENT, with only the remnant threads of the gauze backing remain beneath the rivet. It would have read, TIGHTEN CORD AND ADJUST THE NET TO FIT THE HEAD + ZERO corrosion to the bright CAST STEEL CHINSTRAP BUCKLE.*****History of the post-WWI use of this helmet shell design: ++ This recognizable "tin hat-shaped" Helmet Shell was what was worn in the trenches of the Western Front as well as during the Siberian Intervention of 1918-1919 to rescue the Czechoslovak Legion in Vladivostok (at which time the Helmet was painted snow-camouflage white) in the midst of the Russian civil war in support of the 'White Russian' forces. ++ This was the Helmet shell worn by the "China Marines" of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment (who had been biding their time aboard the USS Chaumont in the Shanghai estuary) when they marched ashore on Shanghai's waterfront Bund in 1927 in response to the plea for protection issued by Stirling Fessenden, the American chairman of Shanghai's International Settlement's Municipal Council. Chang Kai Shek's Nationalist Army forces in their Northern Expedition were attacking warlords, communists in Northern China, but also European, Japanese, and American citizens. ++ Photographs exist of U.S. Marines wearing this M1917 shell (with both the Matte Sawdust finish as well as the glossy finish) with the Leather Chinstrap during clashes with Japanese at Soochow Creek and the Sinza Bridge as late as 1937. ++ This is also the Helmet shell worn by the American Regular Army garrison (Infantry, 26th Cavalry, Coast/Harbor Defense of Subic and Manila Bay, etc.) and the Philippine Scouts of the Philippine Department in the 1920s and 1930s before the introduction of this modified M1917A1 "Kelly" Helmet with the improved Liner and Web Chinstrap. *****Background from Mark A Reynosa's exceptionally well-researched, U.S. Combat Helmets of the 20th CenturyThe United States entered into World War I in April 1917, at this time the United States Army did not have a helmet for its troops. The adoption of a helmet by the French, British and German armies convinced the United States Army that a helmet was needed as a standard piece of equipment. In June 1917, the United States Army selected the standard British helmet design for its use. This was the British Mk. I steel helmet. There were three main reasons for the selection of the British Mk. I helmet design: "the immediate availability of 400,000 ready-made helmets from England, the simplicity of manufacture from hard metal, and the superior ballistic properties." When the British Mk. I was selected by the United States Army, its United States production version was designated and standardized as the Helmet, M-1917. Until United States production of the M-1917 could begin, the United States Army purchased the 400,000 available British Mk. I helmets in England and issued them to the American Expeditionary Forces already in Europe. Production was begun on the M-1917 helmets in the fall of 1917. By the end of November 1917, large quantities of M-1917 helmets became available for the United States Army. The M-1917 helmet was very similar to the British Mk. I helmet. The helmet was basically an inverted bowl stamped out of a single piece of manganese alloy, which was made up of 13 percent manganese and was .036" thick. This differed from the British helmet, as the Mk. I helmet was made up of 12 percent manganese. Thus ballistically, the M-1917 helmet increased protection for the wearer by 10 percent over the British Mk. I helmet, and could withstand a .45 caliber pistol bullet traveling at 600 feet per second fired at a distance of 10 feet. A rim was spot welded to the edge of the steel bowl, with the ends butted, as opposed to lapped, which was done on the British Mk. I helmet. Riveted to the steel bowl were two flexible guiding loops for the chin strap. Here again, the U.S. M-1917 helmet differed from the British Mk. I helmet. On the U.S. helmet the loops were secured by solid machined rivets, whereas the British Mk. I helmet used split rivets. An adjustable leather chin strap was riveted to the steel bowl and consisted of two halves, each joined together by metal loops which were secured to the ends of the leather halves by steel split rivets. Also riveted to the steel bowl was the helmet lining. The lining was also similar to that of the British Mk. I helmet and consisted of a number of items described below: The lining was woven of cotton twine in meshes three-eighths of an inch square. This web, fitting tightly upon the wearer's head, evenly distributed the weight of the two-pound helmet, and in the same way distributed the force of any blow upon the helmet. The netting, together with the small pieces of rubber around the edge of the lining, kept the helmet away from the head, so that even a relatively large dent could not reach the wearer's skull.The linings of the U.S. M-1917 helmet were produced by 10 shoe manufacturing companies. The lining, as mentioned above, consisted of cotton twine mesh surrounded by a circular piece of leather that held tubular pieces of rubber, and the mesh was covered by a piece of black oil cloth. Sandwiched between the lining and the steel bowl was also piece of felt. The steel for the M-1917 helmet was rolled by the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company. The steel was then pressed and stamped into its bowl shape by seven companies, which were: Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Sparks, Withington Company, Jackson, Michigan; Crosby Company, Buffalo, New York; Bossett Corporation, Utica, New York; Columbian Enameling & Stamping Company, Terre Haute, Indiana; Worchester Pressed Steel Company, Worchester, Massachusetts; and Benjamin Electric Company, Des Plaines, Illinois. The steel was stamped with an austenite heat number and shipment number, which were used to identify the quality of steel and shipment lots. The metal helmets and woven linings were delivered to the plant of the Ford Motor Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were they were painted and assembled. To make the outside surface of the helmet anti-glare, the helmets were first painted, then fine sawdust was blown on the wet paint, and finally the helmet was painted again. To increase protective properties the helmets were painted in an olive drab shade. During the fall of 1917 production was begun on the M-1917 helmets. By the end of November 1917, the first deliveries of large quantities of M-1917 helmets were being made to the United States Army. On 17 February 1918, approximately 700,000 M-1917 helmets had been produced. As United States involvement in World War I increased, the U.S. Army placed additional orders for the M-1917 helmet. By July 1918 orders for the M-1917 helmet reached 3,000,000, in August 6,000,000, and in September 7,000,000. In November 1918, when hostilities ended and American production was ordered to cease, U.S. Manufacturers had produced a total of 2,707,237 M-1917 helmets. Production figures for the pressed and stamped steel helmets during World War I, were as follows:Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co. 1,150,775 Sparks, Withington Co. 473,469 Crosby Co. 469,968 Bossett Corporation 116,735 Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co. 268,850 Worchester Pressed Steel Co 193,840 Benjamin Electric Co. 33,600 ***** Donovan Webster, from the SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, May 16, 2017 How the Military Helmet Evolved From a Hazard to a Bullet Shield No area of military technology might be more indicative of how change has come to war than the American military helmet. “In 1917,” Blazich says, “when America entered World War I, we used a variation of the British helmet of the time, called the Brodie Helmet, or Mark 1 helmet.” The American helmet was called the M1917. Effectively an overturned metal dish weighing about 1.3 pounds, with a basic liner to keep a soldier’s scalp from chafing against the helmet’s manganese-steel alloy shell, plus a solid chinstrap that cinched tight, it was a primitive tool at best. As a protective device, Blazich says, it didn’t do much more than keep explosion-driven rocks off the tops of soldier’s heads while they were in the trenches of France. “Though it could also be protective against shrapnel, which was also a big concern in that war,” Blazich adds. Yet with no real face and side-skull coverage, it left troops wide open to facial and cranial injury, and lasting disfigurement from shell fragmentation was an enormous problem in World War I. The Brodie Helmet also had other inherent dangers. The chinstrap, which once tightened down, was hard to release: so if a Doughboy’s helmet got trapped or lodged between objects the situation could prove fatal, as the soldier would have a difficult time getting the helmet off and would therefore be trapped and immobile on the field of battle. Still, despite the M1917’s liabilities, innovation remained slow. In 1936, a slightly more protective version was rolled out, called the M1917A1, or “Kelly” helmet. It had a more comfortable helmet liner and an improved canvas chinstrap. The intent of these changes was to improve the helmet’s overall balance and performance. But it still didn’t provide the kind of protection from side assault that the War Department desired. ***** Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare by Bashford Dean PH.D., Curator of Armour, Metropolitan Museum of Art U.S.A. and formerly Chairman of the Committee on Helmets and Armor, Engineering Division of the National Research Council U.S.A., page 130, "The manufacturer was required to demonstrate that his product was proof to shrapnel ball, forty-one to a pound with a striking velocity of 700 foot seconds. This test was given to ten helmets in the first thousand, three helmets in the second and third thousand, and two helmets in each succeeding thousand. No requirement was given as to the depth of indentation or the deformation allowed, the decision in this regard having apparently been left to the discretion of the inspecting officer. All helmets, however, were to bear the initial of the manufacturer and the heat number of the steel..." So, just what are these heat numbers and how do they work? The internet has the following entry under 'Heat Numbers': A 'heat number' is an identification number that is stamped on a material plate after it is removed from the ladle and rolled at a steel mill. Industry quality standards require materials to be tested at the manufacturer and the results of these tests be submitted through a report, also called a Mill Sheet, Mill Certificate or Mill Test Certificate (MTC). The only way to trace a steel plate back to its Mill Sheet is the Heat Number. A heat number is similar to a lot number, which is used to identify production runs of any other product for quality control purposes. The same article also carries a photograph of a modern day heat number in situ on a steel plate - a long and fairly complex string of information which clearly means something to those inside the industry, but as far as I can tell, this number will be imprinted onto the initial rolling of the sheet of steel concerned. ***** NOTE: Any overage in postage will be refunded.

Price: 455 USD

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-12-19T14:18:51.000Z

Shipping Cost: 17.85 USD