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USN WW2 Deck Talkers Helmet.


Norrie

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I finally managed to get one of these after a couple of weeks of looking..it was bought from an Ebayer in the US, again for much cheapness......and now....its winging it's way to my cousin in California, and I'll collect it when i'm there soon...The chinstrap might well be a repro...not sure...as the only pics I have are off the advert for it...

I'm looking now for a set of radio gear for it, i thought I'd bought one, but was using my phone at work, and the sale didnt go through...arghhhhhhh....BUT, it'll give me something to hunt down when I'm in the US...

 

WHY are prices so cheap over there??? That's three helmets and a liner I've bought off t'interenet, and they have all been fantastically priced. Hope I get them all in my suitcase...:S

 

Thanks to @Fred Karno's Army for "talking" me through this sale...and advising me...AGAIN... yer a star mate....:D

 

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Edited by Norrie
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Guest Fred Karno's Army

That may give you a rough idea mate,and once again your welcome,the admin fee is in the post ;):P.

PS - That helmet you bought the stamp inside is Firestone manufacturing mate.

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Edited by Fred Karno's Army
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nice pick up. I fell in love with these when I was kid, after watching a black and white war movie. I have no idea what the movie is, or what it was all about. All I remember was some bugger standing beside a shipboard gun yelling into his mic.

 

I had one many moons back, but it was just the shell. Almost wish I still had that one. It may be well time to add another to the collection.

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1 hour ago, pylon1357 said:

nice pick up. I fell in love with these when I was kid, after watching a black and white war movie. I have no idea what the movie is, or what it was all about. All I remember was some bugger standing beside a shipboard gun yelling into his mic.

 

I had one many moons back, but it was just the shell. Almost wish I still had that one. It may be well time to add another to the collection.

@pylon1357 Thanks for that...it was bought from a guy in Illinois, and is on its way to California...it wasnt expensive either...VERY cheap in fact, cheaper than the all the others on the Bay in the US right now...I was just lucky I suppose, made my bid, went to bed, woke up to find I'd won it...;)

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  • Major General

Fred's set up is yet another variation of comms gear, different shaped plate, plug, but same ear cups and neck strap.I managed to source a set from the US, cheap too, which is a cross between the set I have and FKA's example pictured.I shall plagiarise it for the parts I require when it arrives.

there seem to be several variations which is confusing the hell out of me?seen them advertised as anything from USN to USAF.does anyone have any info at all on these comms sets?

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  • Major General

Thanks for that FKA.seen similar on that forum but so far still unsure as to the variation I have.would love to know if it's 100% WW2, or Korea/Vietnam, USN or artillery, etc etc ad nauseum......!!

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First off a Lovely example @Norrie of a under appreciated helmet  the M-2 was designed in 1942 and was manufactured by the McCords Radiator Company in Detroit Michigan the helmet body was constructed of non-magnetic Hadefield manganese steel while the rim was produced from a separate piece of magnetic steel the helmet bodies were factory painted in two different colours the first being a khaki green and the other as best I can tell has been identified as a sea blue much like there distant cousin the M-1 cork was applied with in the paint to provide a textured finish the latter of the two factory applied finishes on the helmet body being harder one to source.
The liner is non-removable and is glued into the interior helmet body they were produced by Firestone and B.F. Goodrich and is comprised of a vinyl rubber material the padding is very thick and semi-flexible. 
One can easily make out the channel in the liner that crosses the helmet body from side to side this provides ample clearance to accommodate the wearing of headphones designed for Radiomen and or anyone using shipboard sound-powered phones
The wire clips that hold the leather chin bales in place were produced with brass as it offers some protection from the corrosive nature of salt water and or performing ones duties aboard ship.
The chinstrap was produced of horse leather and the slider-buckles are made of non-corrosive aluminium the chin-cup has had a layer chamois leather added to it to offer a little more comfort to the wearer @Bil4338 I looked through my reference material and found this link you may find it of some interest  http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/255042-usn-deck-talker-equipment/

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  • Major General

Thanks for the link @Mark K! It seems my set with the added telephone set could still be WW2 period, albeit perhaps used by Marine artillery, the  'phone set for an officer??

it'd be great if all the different variations were discussed on that forum, or even elsewhere...perhaps out there somewhere it's occurred, need to do more research!^_^

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No worries @Bil4338 I will do some more digging as I know I have a bit more reference material but have to go through hundreds of links saved in my favourites list...lol.. so bare with me and I will see what else I can scrounge up...

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@Bil4338 I just bought this set for the sum of £16 incl post...:D...it's not the correct setup, and only has one earphone... but will do till I get a proper rig...I really just wanted a chest mike for a display....tho, just thought, would it do for the Anti Flak helmet??? 

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@Mark K Thank you for sharing that information...it's all being saved, printed and put inside the various helmets you and the other knowledgable guys have told me about...:)

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Guest Fred Karno's Army
13 minutes ago, Norrie said:

@Bil4338 I just bought this set for the sum of £16 incl post...:D...it's not the correct setup, and only has one earphone... but will do till I get a proper rig...I really just wanted a chest mike for a display....tho, just thought, would it do for the Anti Flak helmet??? 

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No in a word AAC totally different kettle of fish so as to speak.;)

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Guest Fred Karno's Army

The Army Air Corps commonly used throat mikes @Norrie and microphones fitted in later war oxygen masks.The headsets differ greatly from just basic head over sets to fitted earpieces in the helmets.Very varied and usually down to personal preference or crew position,gunner,pilot,nav etc.Hope that helps a bit but I am sure there are more knowledgeable guys on here regarding AAC stuff ;).

Heres some examples.

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Edited by Fred Karno's Army
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  • Major General

Holy crap @Norrie, where you getting all these great deals?....thought you got a set from @Fred Karno's Army???

@Mark K, thanks for all your help...no worries, whatever you can come up with, in your own time, is greatly appreciated!

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Guest Fred Karno's Army

No Bill they weren't mine I found them for sale for £40 and let Norrie know,but by the time he got onto them they had sold on a buy it now :(.

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  • Major General

Ach, that's a bummer! I assumed you had them in your treasure trove....!

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@Fred Karno's Army, Just bought a throat Mike set, for well under £20 too....!!!! And am talking to a guy about the rubber earphone thingy set he has....should get that for app £20...:D Only thing is tho, collection from San Diego.......9_9

 

 

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