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LATE WAR US M-1 C PARA


Mark K

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I added this US late war M-1 C to my collection some time back .
The liner is a late war production Westinghouse in the proper jump configuration it is sporting OD#7 A-Yokes and blackened brass A-washers I do believe the chin-cup is as well a later war four hole as opposed to the earlier war five grommet variation.
Take note that the liner suspension has been torn which you will notice in the images below  which as I started to delve into the world of M-1's I started to hear this is a fairly common occurrence as the sweatband shrinks and can put to much pressure on the webbing causing them to tear .
Needless to say I have loosened off all the sweatbands on the M-1''s in my collection.
This particular M-1 is a rear seam swivel bail with its original cork finish and is sporting a stainless steel rim the helmet body has at some time in its service life been re-painted as has the liner it is my understanding that these can be found in this configuration very late war and early post war alike.
The production of the rear seam swivel bails started in November of 1944 and although the heat stamp is partially obliterated by paint I can tell it has a been stamped with the numerals 1116 which puts production in either late November or early December of 1944 the chinstraps are the longer para OD#7 with the press the stud fasteners for attaching the liner.
IMO the net that came with the M-1 is a section of mobile equipment and or vehicle camouflage netting and looks to be proper WW II vintage as does the hessian and looks to have been woven through the net and added eons ago.
The helmet body and liner bare the Identification and service number of a Robert M Edwards C company of the 504 PIR although very hard to tell from the images there is a flash and or mark painted on the side of the helmet body but it is impossible to make it out as it has been obscured by the repaint                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Regards Mark

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Edited by Mark K
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  • Major General

Fantastic lid with named provenance, absolutely love these original M1's.:)

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Many thanx Gents I hunted for an example for some time till I found one that showed just the right amount of wear and patina that would fit into my collection..

Regards Mark

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Guest Fred Karno's Army

I know there has been much debate about the canvas chinstraps and there use or non use in the European theatre but we found one of these along with much more stuff at the crash site of a C47 that was shot down on the night of the 5th of June outside St Marie Eglaise so you can't really argue with that :D.

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There is good period images to support the Web type chinstraps were indeed worn in the theater of operations what is still unclear in my mind is if the four grommet hole strap was used I suspect so but very late in the war..

Regards Mark 

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Thanx @Manu Della Valle it fits in well with my helmet theme of used and not abused showing wear indicative of field use and if you look closely at the blackened A washers were the OD-7 A-Yokes are attached you will notice they are slightly bent out away from the liner this indicates that this helmet is indeed a jump veteran as they had a tendency to slightly bend and warp do to the the helmets being pulled on from the initial shock of either exiting the door of the aircraft and or when the static line engaged releasing the chute.

Regards Mark

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 months later...

Hello Mark,

 

Great item and thanks for showing us on MCN. Please send us more images from your collection....Look forward to seeing them.

Best wishes to you & your family for 2018....Desert Rat

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7 hours ago, Desert Rat said:

Hello Mark,

 

Great item and thanks for showing us on MCN. Please send us more images from your collection....Look forward to seeing them.

Best wishes to you & your family for 2018....Desert Rat

Thank you for the reply and Best wishes to you and your family as well in the new year I have added a couple of new posts today that you may find of interest...

Kind regards Mark K

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Another super helmet, looks brilliant....Great Mark.

Best to you....Desert Rat

Edited by Desert Rat
correction to text
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This comment may be a bit late, but that is an incredible M-1.  It looks like it has the 2 inch mesh camo net.  I have a WW2 M-1 in my collection, also with the 2" camo net.  Upon closer inspection, I found the manufacturer tag still attached.  "Dennison USA 1944"  

US M1 834.JPG

US M1 835.JPG

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Super nice example with a rare net indeed if you look at image number 4 in my post you will see the remnants of the webbing that was used on the outer edge for reinforcing the cargo nets...

Regards Mark 

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Hello Boonie,

 

Thanks for showing this Super helmet....Great!

Best to you....Desert Rat/ Ian

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