Item:
ONJR23SWC056

Original U.S. WWI 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery, 2nd Division Indian Head Painted British Made M1917 Doughboy Helmet by Hadfield Ltd of Sheffield

Item Description

Original items: Only One Available. When America was drawn into the European conflict it possessed no steel helmets of its own. They looked to other nations for ideas and selected the British helmet as the most suitable. Britain supplied about half a million helmets to the Americans before production of an American version was started in the U.S. This is a fantastic, genuine Great War hand painted 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery, 2nd Division Indian Head British made helmet, with its original liner (detached) and missing chinstrap.

The heat stamp on the underside of the rim is HS 64, a nice and low lot number. This is the typical marking for the Hadfield Ltd firm of Sheffield. The heat stamp and the split rivets on the chinstrap bales are a solid indication and a good reference point for identifying British made helmets for American use during the Great War.

The best features of the helmet is the 2nd Division insignia painted on the front. The regiment was organized in 1917 by transfer of men from the 4th Field Artillery. The old regiment is indicated by the canton. It was part of the Second Division overseas and took part in the heaviest of fighting. The extent of the operations is indicated by the five wavy bars on the shield representing the four historic French rivers, the Aisne, Marne, Meuse and finally the Rhine, which the regiment crossed. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 15th Field Artillery Regiment on 14 September 1922. It was amended to correct the wear policy on 9 November 1926. It was further amended to correct the description on 9 November 1928. It was redesignated for the 15th Field Artillery Battalion on 20 October 1950. It was redesignated for the 15th Artillery Regiment on 10 February 1958. The insignia was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 15th Field Artillery Regiment.

The helmet is in lovely condition with a solid liner, oilcloth, under netting and felt top pad. The leather chinstrap is unfortunately no longer present causing the liner to be completely detached. There is a rather large dent on the top of the helmet and is surrounded by smaller dents.

This is actually a fantastic British made example, with great signs of service use. Comes more than ready for display.

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