Helmets US
US WWII Identified M1 Helmet Liner, GI Front Seam Pot
Helmets US
US WWII Identified M1 Helmet Liner, GI Front Seam Pot
Item #69989 : Original period manufacture. Non-reflective edge, front seam steel helmet with light OD canvas chinstraps with blackened, non-magnetic fittings. My call is that the cloth straps have been replaced, I can be mistaken, but prefer to err on the side of caution. Nice paint to the helmet shell, the lot number looks to be 1064D. The Westinghouse marked liner is in very sound condition, displaying inkstamp variations in about six locations, of Warnock, Francis H. 42023335. In addition, there is a rabbit's foot secured to the center drawstring by a piece of rawhide. Non-adjustable nape strap, proper WWII sweatband with a magnetic adjusting buckle with a blackened finish. Most of the original paint remains on the liner exterior, with a large W done in pencil around the ventilation grommet. The large pattern helmet net was on the helmet at the time of our purchase, it has a 1944 dated tag stating Dennison. Controversy as to the originality of these tagged nets appears on a number of online forums, so for our purposes with this helmet we will address it as suspect, also the rawhide holding the rabbit's foot in place, looks a little too fresh for 80 years of age. In both cases they are easily removed should you so desire. I did a shallow dive into Ancestry to try and find some information on GI Warnock, I was not disappointed.Francis H.Warnock born in New York,1915-1949, joined the US Army in 1943, with a matching serial number to the inkstamps. Notes of his hospitalization for influenza in 1944 are noted. He died a few years after his discharge and is buried in the family plot in Rochester NY. In wrapping this up, we have a nice identified Westinghouse liner inserted into an original WWII front seam, non-reflective edge steel pot, with replaced cloth chinstraps and a debatable large style helmet net. Great looking helmet for display, with some additional research possibilities with the naming.
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