Item Description
Original items: Only One Grouping 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 3rd US Army British made helmet, complete with its original liner and chinstrap.
The heat stamp on the underside of the rim is HS 402, 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 3rd U.S. Army insignia painted on the front. The shoulder patch for the Third Army was approved on December 20th, 1918, while the Third Army was assigned to the American Expeditionary Force. The colors of the patch are the National Colors, and the design of the patch forms the letters "AO" for "Army of Occupation" to honor the post WW I mission that the Army was given.
The helmet is in lovely condition with a solid liner, oilcloth, under netting and felt top pad. The leather chinstrap is present but is in rather delicate condition. There is a rather large dent on the top of the helmet and is surrounded by smaller golf ball sized dents.
This is actually a fantastic British made example, with great signs of service use. Comes more than ready for display.
- This product is available for international shipping.
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