Original U.S. WWII M1 Helmet Worn by Technician 5th Grade Timothy E. Upham in Film Saving Private Ryan with Cut-Down Firestone Liner - 29th Infantry Division - Comes with Original Notarized Letter of Authenticity
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is one of the original steel prop helmets used during the filming of "Saving Private Ryan", worn by Technician 5th Grade Timothy E. Upham. There is a tape tag on the interior shell with marker script reading UPHAM and the outside was painted with a 29th Infantry Division marking on the front and a horizontal white bar on the back. The shell itself is an original WWII Front Seam Swivel Bale bearing heat lot number 712B.
Technician 5th Grade Timothy E. Upham was a soldier, and one of Miller's men during World War II, serving as the tritagonist of Steven Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan. He was played by actor Jeremy Davies. Corporal Upham was reassigned to Captain John H. Miller's (Tom Hanks) squad as a translator in their mission to rescue Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon).
A fiberglass version of the M1 helmet was most commonly worn by actors, as it was significantly lighter and more comfortable during long shooting days. However, steel helmets were also provided and used for set dressing, as well as in certain action sequences where stunt performers—or the actors themselves—required additional protection.
One of these fiberglass helmets is currently up for auction through Prop Store in Hollywood, with an estimated value of up to $4,000 USD. You can view the listing at this link. Note that the hand writing on the tape tag in the fiberglass helmet is identical to this steel example.
The Firestone liner in the helmet appears to have had the rim cut down for more comfortability. The helmet still has the original OD Green stamped steel buckle chinstrap. Like most helmets used in the production, a variety of shells and liners were used. Liners used were a wide variety, ranging from original WWII production, Vietnam era, 1980s, foreign clones, etc. The particular liner in this helmet is a WWII example that has been cut down.
This helmet comes with an original notarized letter confirming that the helmet came from CRC, the Costume Rentals Corporation, who supplied a substantial amount of World War II-era wardrobe and uniform pieces for use in the film. The letter confirms that these materials were indeed used in the Production of SPR. The letter was signed by Harlan Glenn, who worked on the production of "Saving Private Ryan" as Costume Consultant and Purchaser.
This is a wonderful example of a helmet used in the popular film “Saving Private Ryan” and worn by Upham! Comes ready for display.
The M1 Helmet
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 total production of M-1 helmet shells during the war reached 22,000,000. Of these about 20,000,000 were produced by the main contractor McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit. Although McCord was supposed to be the single source of M-1 helmet shells, by the summer of 1942 a second company was enlisted to help the production effort. This was Schlueter Manufacturing of St. Louis, Missouri. Schlueter began production of its M-1 helmet shells in January 1943. Schlueter produced only 2,000,000 M-1 helmet shells during the war (both fixed and swivel).
The early M-1 helmet shells had a set of fixed (static) 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). In October 1943, issues with the fixed bales breaking off resulted in a change to the "swivel bales" that this helmet has. In 1944, to deal with paint wearing off the very shiny stainless steel rim, the material was changed to manganese steel in October, and then the seam moved to the rear in November.
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