Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice early example of a genuine WWII Front-Seam Fixed Bale M1 Helmet made by McCord Radiator, with an extremely rare Hawley pressed paper liner, a rare thing to see. These liners are quite delicate, and often were replaced during the war, making them very hard to find. This helmet has also has a lovely "Field applied" camouflage paint scheme, with various browns and greens added over the original O.D. green color.

The U.S. WWII M-1 helmet was only produced from 1941 to 1945. The first production batch resulted with over 323,510 M-1 helmets before the start of the American involvement in the war. This helmet is heat-lot stamped 157B, a low number which indicates the approximate manufacture date of May-June 1942, shortly after the U.S. entered into WWII.

The Ordnance Department selected McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit Michigan to produce the steel M1 helmet bodies. These bodies were made from a single piece of Hadfield Manganese steel that was produced by the Carnegie-Illinois & Sharon Steel Corporations. Each completed raw M-1 helmet shell weighed 2.25 lbs each.

The early M-1 helmet shells had a set of fixed chinstrap loops called "bales" and a stainless steel rim. These rims were both rust resistant and had "non-magnetic qualities" that reduced the chance of error readings when placed around certain sensitive equipment (such as a compass).

This helmet is a fine example and the shell has all original "corked" grain paint under the camouflage, with front seam and the right side fixed bale. The left bale is unfortunately missing, as is the entire shell chin strap. It looks like there were attempts at field repairs to the bales, which were unsuccessful. There is also a significant dent on top of the shell.

The liner is also in good condition, which is somewhat rare, as the Hawley liners were made of paper, and unfortunately not nearly as resistant to wear as the "low-pressure" or "high-pressure" types. It is slightly deformed, and does have a good piece out of the front brim, typical for these fragile liners. The web suspension is present, though the sweatband has deteriorated quite a bit. The leather is crumbling, and the sweatband webbing is now very delicate. The underlying webbing attached to the liner also shows significant wear. 

This is definitely a helmet that saw significant use over the war, giving it that great worn in look. This would make a worthy addition to any WWII or Helmet collection. Ready to display!

Features a RARE Hawley Liner:
The shape and characteristics of the Hawley liner were identical to those of the fiberglass counterpart. The differences were the material of construction and the absence from the front metal grommet, which is where insignia could be placed. The suspension was made of a series of canvas straps. The sweatband has a leather cover. The whole assembly was riveted to the body of the liner. Small buckles were provided to adjust the suspension. However, doing so was difficult and very clumsy. The Hawley liner was issued in very small numbers during the early days of World War Two.