Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a genuine WWII Front-Seam Swivel Bale M1 Helmet made by McCord Radiator, with a rare Inland Mfg. liner. It is in very good "service used" condition, and both the shell and liner are marked on the front with the two bars of a Captain rank officer. This looks to be a helmet that saw extensive use during WWII, and possibly after, giving it an impossible to duplicate look.

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 in a very dearly configuration, however the heat lot stamp is very faint due to paint wear on the interior, so we do not know the exact time period it was produced during. However the oval welds on the rim and shape are definitive for a McCord shell.

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.

This M1 shell has correct early war fixed chinstrap loops, called "bales," and a stainless steel rim with a front seam. 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). In October 1943, issues with the fixed bales breaking off resulted in a change to the "swivel bales". Then in October 1944, the rims were changed to non magnetic manganese steel, due to issues with the paint wearing off the rim. Shortly after this in November 1944 the specification was changed to have the rim seam in the rear of the helmet.

This helmet is a fine example and still retains most of its original WWII parts. The original "corked grain" can still be seen on the exterior, with moderate service wear and most of the original cork still intact. It has the correct fixed bails and a stainless steel rim, which is missing some paint, as is typical. The chin strap is the correct early war OD Green #3 with a cast brass buckle. Due to wear it has faded to an almost khaki color, and it has had the extension added later to the design, which would "break away" if the straight was too great.

The correct "high pressure" style M-1 Helmet liner was manufactured in Dayton, Ohio by Inland Manufacturing Division, as indicated by the embossed INLAND logo inside the crown. It is also marked with mold number 26. This company started M-1 helmet liner delivery to the US Army in September 1942. They produced approximately 1,900,000 M-1 helmet liners and converted about 75,000 liners to airborne configuration. Inland Manufacturing discontinued M-1 helmet liner production in 1943 when their manufacturing services were deemed better used elsewhere.

This true US WWII M-1 helmet liner be identified through the frontal eyelet hole. Other correct WWII features include cotton OD Green #3 herringbone twill (HBT) cloth suspension liner, however it is definitely quite worn, and partly missing. The webbing has torn away from many of the 'A' washers, and shows a lot of age overall. Definitely a liner with loads of history!

A great example of a genuine WWII issue fixed bale Captain's M1 helmet, complete with a rare Inland liner. Perfect for any collection and ready to display!