Original Item: Only One Available. This is an outstanding original British-made Mk. I Doughboy helmet from WWI, featuring an elaborate hand-painted panel camouflage pattern, four battle and campaign inscriptions, and the distinctive insignia of the 82nd Division, better known as the “All-American” Division. The helmet displays an unusual combination of blue, gray, black, green, red, and tan camouflage panels, with St. Mihiel, Somme, Meuse-Argonne, and Alsace-Lorraine painted onto the shell as a record of the division's wartime service. Particularly impressive is the prominent “AA” insignia on the front, incorporating a bright blue camouflage panel into the traditional divisional emblem. The helmet retains its original British liner assembly and bears the manufacturer's marking HS 100, identifying a British-produced shell of the type supplied to American forces during the First World War. The combination of its distinctive camouflage, commemorative inscriptions, and surviving original interior makes this a particularly interesting example of American WWI headgear.
The helmet is painted with a panel camouflage pattern of blue, gray, black, green, red, and tan, with the following battle/campaigns painted onto the helmet:

St. Mihiel
Somme
Meuse-Argonne
Alsace-Lorraine

The best feature on this helmet is the deep red square with white borders a bright blue circle in the center with “AA” painted in the iconic shape. The bright blue is the background camouflage color to the front which is why it was used, giving the insignia a unique look. 

The helmet is in lovely condition with a solid liner, oilcloth, under netting and felt top pad with interior rubber “donut”. The leather chinstrap is gone. The underside is stamped HS 100, indicating that the shell is one of the 400,000 British manufactured helmets supplied to the U.S. at their entrance into the war. The split pin rivets attaching the chin-strap bales further confirm this. "HS" is the marking used by Hadfield Ltd of Sheffield, the company that invented the "Hadfield Steel" that these helmets are made of.

This helmet is a particularly interesting example of the relationship between British-manufactured military equipment and the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War. Its HS 100 marked Mk. I shell and surviving liner document its British origins, while the multicolored panel camouflage, four campaign inscriptions, and prominent “All-American” Division insignia reflect the commemorative traditions associated with American wartime service. The incorporation of the bright blue camouflage into the divisional emblem is an especially distinctive detail, giving this example an appearance unlike more conventional painted Doughboy helmets. Although the identity of the original wearer and the precise circumstances of the painting remain unknown, the helmet preserves an unusually elaborate visual record of the 82nd Division and its connection to the fighting in France during WWI.