{"product_id":"original-u-s-wwi-british-made-mark-i-doughboy-helmet-with-museum-quality-post-war-painted-insignia-supply-company-5th-marines-2nd-division","title":"Original U.S. WWI British Made Mark I Doughboy Helmet with Museum Quality Post War Painted Insignia - Supply Company, 5th Marines, 2nd Division","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: One-Of-A-Kind. This is a genuine British-manufactured WWI \u003cb\u003eMark I Brodie “Doughboy” helmet\u003c\/b\u003e fitted with its original liner and chinstrap and later decorated with a remarkably convincing hand-painted representation of the insignia of the \u003cb\u003eSupply Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Brigade, 2nd Division\u003c\/b\u003e. The helmet itself is completely original to the Great War period, while the painted unit insignia was added after the war for display purposes and deliberately aged to reproduce the appearance of original service-applied paint. The work is extremely convincing at first glance, but after careful examination we are certain that the insignia is a later addition and not original wartime decoration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paint is worn, and definitely shows use, but it has a great look and the colors are still easily discernible. The underside of the rim is stamped \u003cb\u003eF.S. 154. \u003c\/b\u003eThis maker marking indicates that this is a British produced shell, which is further indicated by the split rivets used to retain the chin strap bales. The “\u003cb\u003eFS\u003c\/b\u003e” is the marking for\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e Thomas Firth \u0026amp; Sons Ltd of Sheffield\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e who manufactured helmets from 1916-1918. This firm also produced shells marked “F” and most likely used “FKS” according to research.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe liner is still present and the felt pad is gone, with the rubber donut still present at the interior crown, now stiff. The entire chinstrap is present and still in solid condition with cracking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best feature of this helmet is definitely the added hand painted Supply Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division - Indianhead Division emblem in the center of the front of the helmet. Marines under this division used specific colors and shapes behind the \"Indianhead\" to designate which unit they were in, and the \"green square\" indicates the 5th Marine Regiment, Supply Company. This is one of the only times they ever used army style unit patches, and generally each regiment used a different background shape, with the colors designating which battalion they were. The Unit Insignia is very well-done and looks close to original, but please understand that it was painted later and artificially aged to deceive. But it will look great as a placeholder in your collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe U.S. Marine Corps did not field divisional size units during WWI, so they were made part of the divisions of the U.S. Army. . In fact, the entire 2nd Division was for a time during WWI commanded by U.S.M.C. Major General John A. Lejeune himself!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis example is especially interesting for its combination of an \u003cb\u003eoriginal British-made Mk. I shell, production marking, original liner and complete chinstrap, and historically correct postwar representation of the green-square Supply Company, 5th Marines insignia\u003c\/b\u003e. The deliberately aged insignia should always be understood as a later display addition rather than original battlefield-applied paint.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45839729098821,"sku":"ONSV26MSB139","price":595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/581CDF23-796E-4BC2-8FD8-AA78385A1B69.jpg?v=1790187003","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-wwi-british-made-mark-i-doughboy-helmet-with-museum-quality-post-war-painted-insignia-supply-company-5th-marines-2nd-division","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}