Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a genuine late WWII Issue U.S. Army M1 Helmet, with a very nice 61 dated Vietnam War Era Liner. Like many WWII helmets, the shell was reissued for use later, with a new shell chin strap and liner. It was probably used during the Korean war era, and possibly into the Vietnam Era. This example also at some point had the FOUR STARS of a full General Rank stenciled to the front, with the name “KARDASH” added on the back. We have not been able to find any information regarding this, so the markings are most likely spurious in nature. The helmet itself however is definitely not.
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 1096A, which indicates the approximate manufacture date of October – November 1944.
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…
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