M1 Helmet - WW2 Shell Korea-Vietnam Era Painted Liner USAF Police? M-1 Steel Pot

Description: The M1 Helmet became a symbol of American military power in the 20th century. Introduced in 1941, just months before the U.S. entered World War II, it was specifically designed for modern mechanized warfare, where shrapnel could come from any direction, unlike the trench warfare of World War I, which mainly posed threats from above. The M1 was widely issued across all military branches and used in all theaters of combat during World War 2, as well as in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It remained in service until the 1980s, when it was replaced by the Kevlar PASGT helmet. This iconic helmet was also exported and copied by many of America's allies during the Cold War. The M1's design consisted of two parts: an internal one size fits most fiber liner with a suspension system that provided basic bump protection, and an outer metal shell, or "steel pot," that fit over the liner. You will receive the exact steel pot in the photos. This helmet had a ridiculously long service life, spanning almost the entire M1 helmet's life cycle. The shell is a front seam fixed bale helmet produced during WW2, likely late 1941 - early 1942 as indicated by the faintly visible "87C 8" heat batch code (The inside paint is NOT sanded down to view the numbers). The liner was made some time between 1955 - 1963, just in time for Vietnam, and afterwards it was retrofitted with a 1983 dated headband just in case the Cold War went hot in the 80's. The liner is also painted a dark blue with a white band at the bottom, similar to some US Air Force Air Police units' color schemes, but without any unit insignia or numbers. Whatever it means, it was together with the metal shell for most of its life considering the blue paint scratches on the inside. This item would be perfect for a US militaria collection, or any historical collection for that matter. Can you really call yours complete without something from one of the major power players of the 20th Century? Please see my other items for more awesome militaria items from all modern eras. If you buy or win multiple items from me, please message me about combined shipping.

Price: 199.99 USD

Location: Los Angeles, California

End Time: 2024-11-20T16:32:25.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD