Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a genuine WWII U.S. Navy issue Front-Seam Fixed Bale M1 Helmet made by McCord Radiator, fitted with a very nice liner by CAPAC. 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 heat lot stamped 194B which indicates the approximate manufacture date of June 1942, not long after the U.S. entered WWII.
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 very good condition M1 shell has correct earl war fixed chinstrap loops, called “bales,” and a stainless steel rim with a front fully welded 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 November 1944 the specification was changed to have the rim seam in the rear of the helmet.
This helmet…
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