Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very interesting example of a WWII M1 Helmet produced by McCord, refurbished during the Vietnam War period and painted white with four red crosses and an inverted red cross panel to the crown, most likely by a Navy Corpsman. Like many of the helmets that remained after WWII, this helmet looks to have been reissued for service during the Vietnam War Era, and was most likely used long after. It comes with a white-painted Firestone liner updated with Korean War era OD green suspension.

The U.S. WWII M-1 helmet was only produced from 1941 to 1945. The first production batch resulted with over 323,510 M-1 helmets before the start of the American involvement in the war. This helmet is stamped with heat lot number 1038I for mid-war production.

The Ordnance Department selected McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit Michigan to produce the steel M1 helmet bodies. These bodies were made from a single piece of Hadfield Manganese steel that was produced by the Carnegie-Illinois & Sharon Steel Corporations. Each completed raw M-1 helmet shell weighed 2.25 lbs each.

The early M-1 helmet shells had a set of fixed (static) chinstrap loops called "bales" and a stainless steel rim. These rims were both rust resistant and had "non-magnetic qualities" that reduced the chance of error readings when placed around certain sensitive equipment (such as a compass). In October 1943, issues with the fixed bales breaking off resulted in a change to the "swivel bales" that this helmet has. In 1944, to deal with paint wearing off the very shiny stainless steel rim, the material was changed to manganese steel in October, and then the seam moved to the rear in November. This example still has the front seam but has swivel bales, and was updated during the Vietnam War era with a new chinstrap. 

The helmet shell is painted white with a Red Cross to each of the four sides. The crown has a red circle panel with a white cross. The paint shows good wear with a heavy patina. There is chipping along the edge of the rim.

The liner is correct “high pressure” WWII issue and stamped with an F logo for the FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY Manufactured in Akron, Ohio this “high pressure” manufactured M-1 helmet liner is identified by an embossed “F” in the crown. Firestone Tire and Rubber Company started M-1 helmet liner delivery to the US Army in September 1942. They produced approximately 7,500,000 M-1 helmet liners and discontinued production around August 17 1945 when the war ended.

This example was refitted during the Korean War era with the new dark green suspension, and the shell likewise has the correct later Vietnam War chinstrap style. The leather sweatband in the liner is in great shape without serious wear, and the liner chinstrap is retained though it is likely a later replacement. The exterior of the liner is painted entirely white, the paint now heavily cracking and yellowing. 

The combination of the WWII McCord front-seam swivel-bale shell, heat lot 1038I, later medical repaint, four red crosses, distinctive crown marking, WWII Firestone liner, dark green postwar suspension, and matching white liner finish makes this a particularly interesting example of the long service life of the M1 helmet system. Its mixed WWII and postwar components are entirely consistent with the repeated refurbishment and reissue that kept M1 helmets in U.S. service for decades after 1945.