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Item:
ONSV3099

Original U.S. WWI A.E.F. Marked M1917 Doughboy Helmet with Original Camouflage Paint

Item Description

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a fantastic genuine Great War hand painted camouflage helmet complete with its original liner and chin strap. Helmet features textured original period colored camouflage paint in various shades of grey, green, red, and blue. Definitely one of the more attractive camouflage color schemes we have seen. The helmet also has U S A and A.E.F. painted on the rear, for the American Expeditionary Force in WWI. It also has a wonderful red Eagle with a U.S. Shield on the front.

The paint is very nice and vibrant, with great color retention, and a nice patina of  age. The interior of the helmet has all the original paint. It also has a very nice complete liner, with partial original leather chin strap.  The liner does show some age, and the leather is somewhat dry, but the oil cloth is quite solid, as is the underlying netting.  The chinstrap has deteriorated and is mostly present but completely torn through and delicate.

The underside of the rim is stamped FS 52, 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. FS is the standard marking used by T. Firth & Sons Ltd of Sheffield.

A wonderful totally original helmet with genuine original paint! Ready to display!

The M1917 was the US Army's first modern combat helmet, used from 1917 and during the 1920s, before being replaced by the M1917A1. The M1917A1 helmet was an updated version of the M1917 and initially used refurbished WW1 shells.

The M1917 is a near identical version of the British Mk.I steel helmet, and it is important to note that when the US joined the Great War in 1917 they were initially issued with a supply of around 400,000 British made Mk.Is, before production began state side. The M1917 differed slightly in its lining detail, and exhibited US manufacture markings.

M1917 helmet liners typically show a paper label at the crown and the dome rivet head. The liner is set up as on the British versions, with an oilcloth band and net configuration, attached to a leather strap, riveted to the shell. The chinstrap is leather with steel buckle.

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