Original Item: Only One Available. Now this was a truly incredible discovery! We looked in the obvious area for a heat stamp but couldn’t find one, so we continued to search. Above the left swivel bale was the unmistakable P3, as seen on a majority of the M1 helmets produced by the Parish Pressed Steel Company, of Reading, Pennsylvania. These helmets are considered even more rare than the illusive square bale paratrooper helmets!

If you were to generously round up the known production figures to 70,000 finished helmets and compared it to McCord's 20,000,000 and Schlueter's 2,000,000, Parish-Reading helmets would account for less than half of 1% of all M1 helmets produced during the war, making Parish-Reading helmets even more rare than the mentioned "D-bail" paratrooper helmets.

During WWII, private American manufacturers shifted their operations to produce war material under government contracts. In late 1944, both Detroit and St. Louis were experiencing labor shortages; further compounding the problem were the ever-changing demands placed on wartime producers - one month the Army needed canteens, the next it needed airplane seats. In turn, the Ordnance Department thought it wise to seek out a third producer of the steel M1 helmet. Very little is known about this third producer, however a handful of wartime documents have surfaced and this article attempts to shed some light on just how many Parish-Reading helmets were produced, and the number is still unclear. This 3rd company accounts for less than 1% of the M1 helmets produced, with numbers ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 helmets made.

The shell itself is in great condition and is fitted with post-war rivet on chin straps, very similar to the ones seen on Police issued helmets. The helmet's profile is very different from McCord’s and Schlueter’s shells, with a very pronounced flair leading to the visor at the front. The back of the helmet sits very high exposing the rear of the liner. The manganese steel rim has 13 spot welds which can be seen clearly on the inside. The drastic silhouette of the helmet is likely the cause of the many spot welds. A manganese rim would likely experience difficulty staying attached to such a curvy helmet, thus necessitating the 13 welds, which further complicated and delayed the production process. Some examples have been seen with fewer welds, indicating they were likely done on an as-needed basis.

Instead of their heat stamps being located by the front visor area, Parish-Reading helmets are stamped by the wearer's right chinstrap bale. Each known example showcases a 'P' prefix followed by a number (these stampings were applied by Parish - hence the 'P'). Of the few surviving helmets, only seven different heat stamps have been observed: P1, P2A, P2C, P2D, P3, P4, and P6 (two P6s have been discovered, one of which was an unfinished helmet - perhaps one of those Parish sold as scrap in late 1945 - while the other was completed and showed signs of post-war use).

The liner is correct “high pressure” WWII issue and stamped with an F logo over 48 for the FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY Manufactured in Akron, Ohio this “high pressure” manufactured M-1 helmet liner is identified by an embossed “F” in the crown. Firestone Tire and Rubber Company started M-1 helmet liner delivery to the US Army in September 1942. They produced approximately 7,500,000 M-1 helmet liners and discontinued production around August 17 1945 when the war ended.

This true US WWII M-1 helmet liner can be identified through the frontal eyelet hole. Other correct WW2 features include cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth suspension liner. This HBT suspension is held tightly within the M-1 helmet liner by rivets and a series of triangular "A" washers. The three upper suspension bands are joined together with the correct OD green string. This way the wearer could adjust the fit. The sweatband and chinstrap are unfortunately missing from this example. Besides the two missing items, this liner does not show any signs of much wear or use, with minor wear to the paint from storage and sitting in a helmet shell.

This is an exceptionally rare helmet paired with an equally lovely liner. You do not want to miss out on the opportunity to add a genuine Parish-Reading M1 helmet to your collection.
Comes more than ready for display!

On January 25, 1945, the Philadelphia Ordnance District awarded to Parish Pressed Steel Company contract W-36-034-ORD-4296. Beginning in March 1945 and running until September 1945, Parish was required to "draw, spank, visor, and trim" a total of 460,000 raw helmet bodies, at a price per helmet of $0.6619, but in all actuality it produced far fewer helmets.

These unfinished helmets still required rim and loop application, paint, and chinstrap bartacking. That is where Reading Hardware Corporation came in. Just two days later, on January 27, 1945, Reading Hardware was awarded contract W-36-034-ORD-4297. Beginning in April 1945 and running until October 1945, Reading Hardware was to finish, paint, assemble, and package Parish's 460,000 raw helmets, at an original price of $0.75 per helmet. Evidently, Reading Hardware discovered it could not fulfill the contract at $0.75 per helmet, so on May 12, 1945 the contract was amended and the price was increased to $0.79 per helmet.

If the early days of McCord and Schlueter's manufacturing process are any indication, it is likely Reading Hardware also had production problems of its own. This theory seems to be supported by the available documents. In March 1945, Parish and Reading Hardware both joined McCord and Schlueter in membership in the Industry Integration Committee at Watertown Arsenal. It was in this committee that the members discussed helmet manufacturing pitfalls and solutions.

Two months later, on May 1, 1945, an Ordnance Department Production Schedules and Estimates chart was completed. It shows that as of that date, Reading Hardware had yet to finish any helmets. It was predicted that by July 1945, it should have completed 10,000 helmets, August 50,000, September 80,000, October 70,000, November 60,000, and by December 30,000 (for a running total of 300,000 helmets).

Just the following week, however, the Allies claimed victory in Europe on May 8, 1945. This meant that two manufacturers (McCord and Schlueter) who had been, up to that point, efficiently producing helmets for both the Pacific and European Theaters of War could now shift their entire focus to outfitting men for the planned invasion of Japan.

With victory over Japan achieved just three months later on August 15, 1945, all three manufacturers began winding down their helmet operations. A March 15, 1946 experimental report from the Watertown Arsenal Laboratory, titled Investigation of Helmets Conducted at Watertown Arsenal 1940 - 1945 shows that Reading Hardware ceased all helmet production in August 1945. One month later, Parish listed for sale as scrap 73,681 steel discs that were to be pressed into helmets and 1,464 already-pressed helmets that would have otherwise been sent to Reading Hardware for completion.