The Canadian MkII air raid warden helmet of WWII

During the Second World War, these people...

took to the skies to fly over England (and, many feared, Canada) to kill their enemies, who were...

                                      these younger people.

Those younger people were...

                                                warned,

                                            protected,
  


                                               and rescued...

by people like these:


                        the British and Canadian wardens of World War Two.

And here is the warden's trusty helmet,  the standard British MkII in warden livery.


The letter painted on the front identified the responsibilities of the wearer.  "W"  for air raid warden, "A" for ambulance service, "RP" for rescue party, and so on.  Paolo Marzetti has a two-page spread of most of these helmet markings in his outstanding work "Combat Helmets of the World".

Side view provides that very familiar "battle bowler" profile.

Note that the finish is without any non-reflective sand or sawdust.  Simply a coat of brownish green paint.


Sadly, mine is missing its liner, though I'm still very happy to have this particular piece in my collection.  Usually I like to collect the best specimen possible, though sometimes I find that that means the only specimen available.

The manufacturers mark is stamped underneath the brim,  in this instance its of Canadian manufacture.


The rim seam butts neatly in the rear of the helmet.

The MkII spring-loaded chinstrap; here, relaxed...



and here, extended.  This strap in is very good condition.




The buckle is highly enameled and lustrous.


Stenciled proudly on the front is the Warden's insignia.  Take that you motherless Nazi swine!






provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar219.26
MkII British ARP Warden Steel Helmet
Acquired 1983, Grand Rapids Michigan.
Purchase price :$16.00
Condition: excellent though liner is missing

Attention Readers:

Give me your input!  For my next series of helmet posts what would you prefer to see: Spanish helmets of the Spanish Civil War and beyond or Mk1 helmets of the U.S. Navy of WWII and beyond?

The model 1915 French Colonial Infantry helmet

,

What can I say about Adrian helmets that I haven't already said here and here?

Plenty,  I love these helmets.  The so-called Adrian is my favorite helmet design.  This earliest entry into the helmet race, though of no ballistic value, did protect the wearer from falling debris and splinters, and perhaps just as importantly, instilled a large degree of elan among fighting troops who enthusiastically embraced this distinctive piece of headgear .

The naivete of the warring nations in 1915 is reflected in the design of this artistic little gem.  

Little could they imagine the horrors they had unleashed upon Europe.

 Unlike any helmet coming after it, the 1915 French steel helmet still retained a design which reflected the aesthetics of the era.

Do I detect a hint of an art nouveau Doorway in the arc of the helmet's comb?

(source: designhistorylover.blogspot.com)

Of four-piece construction, the model 1915 could not withstand a heavy blow let alone a projectile strike or an encounter with a taxicab tire.

Still, this light-weight helmet was better than the cloth kepis it had replaced

The horizon bleu finish, though quite complete on the exterior of this helmet is nonetheless oxidized and considerably darker than the day it came from the factory.

The distinctive Adrian profile has an American connection.

African-American soldiers, in the Jim Crow-era were issued what the US Army deemed "second-rate" equipment, and were thus equipped with French rifles and model 1915 helmets.

The men of the 93rd Infantry Division turned an intentional slight into a prized symbol of distinction and esprit de corps, even incorporating the model 1915 into their shoulder insignia

 But I digress. 

Back to the French.

The insignia on my new acquisition is a real piece of confection; the flaming bomb and anchor  of the French Colonial Infantry.

 visor and skirt are riveted at the centerline of the bowl; one of the structural fail points of this helmet.

Quite pronounced is the boss of the front split rivet which secures the comb to the bowl.

Sadly, the interior can only be described as being in "relic" condition with much paint loss, significant pitting, no liner, no chinstrap, missing bale and incomplete liner mounts.  

The good news is that the exterior is very presentable with few dents, 90 to 95% percent of the paint intact, a mellow patina, and a wonderful insignia, all illuminated here by the evening sun of the Cumberland Valley of Maryland:

 "Life", as my friend Steve says, "is full of trade-offs".  Ain't it the truth?

The ventilator hole as well as the split rivets affixing the comb are illustrated here.

as well as the corresponding vent slits on the exterior.

This overall view of the interior demonstrates the weaknesses of this helmet as a collectible

When I first started collecting, that wise old sage - Floyd Tubbs - advised me "always get the best helmet you can at the price you can afford".  And that is superb advice, which I always pass on to beginning collectors; but here I make an exception to that rule.  This helmet, in its current condition, is somewhat noncollectable among the high-end collectors.  For my garden-variety purposes however, well...  I simply can't pass up a pretty helmet.

And gosh, a pretty helmet paired with a pretty face?

ooh la!

Vive la France

More Adrians to come.

.

French Model 1915 Steel Helmet: General Adrian's legacy to the modern soldier.

Me, I love all things French: liberté, fraternité, égalité, nudité!

the French were the ones who recognized the American colonials in our struggle against the British during the American Revolution. When the French recognized the Americans they backed that recognition up with men, money, ships, and guns in an abundance.

Without the assistance of the French in our struggle against the British, we Americans might all be speaking English today.





France has given Western Civilization some of its greatest gifts:

Juliette Binoche



French fries, French bread, French lingerie, and Lafayette.











French culture has made the world a richer, more delightful place.

And French General August Louis Adrian made it a slightly safer place for the soldier when he designed the first modern combat helmet (click the link for the video).

The French armed forces appeared on the field in the opening year of the Great War uniformed much as they had been fifty years earlier. Pomp and prettiness by the yard, but very little functionality either in personal protection or concealment.


French soldiers, Like their British counterparts, entered the war with cloth caps as their only headgear.

The obvious shortcomings of this sort of headgear will quickly become apparent to these French soldiers.
It was General Adrian who developed the first , rudimentary head protection; a close fitting steel bowl that was worn underneath the soldier's cloth kepi.
Adrian went on to develop a more elaborate and effective helmet, patterned after the French firefighter's helmet of the time (can you say "pompiers"?)


Behold, the gem of my collection, my favorite and the third helmet I acquired on this long journey. The French model 1915 Artillery Helmet.
Front view of the helmet, blue in color, with the brass "veteran's plate" affixed to the front visor.


Side view, showing both the distinctive profile of this beautiful helmet and , at the same time, exposing its inherent weaknesses. The helmet consists of four separate parts: front visor, rear visor, bowl, and crest. Each seam and each rivet represents a weak point, a place of potential failure. This helmet is very light, the steel very thin, the liner rudimentary, and the whole thing is made of only mild steel, still...

it was a breakthrough, and immediately fatalities from head wounds decreased.

The only way for protective equipment to be successful is if it is actually used. The French high command was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm that the French G.I.s accepted this helmet. It provided them with a martial élan, that stoked their professionalism and pride. In short, the French soldiers embraced it.

And the other nations took note.

Front view showing the crossed cannon insignia of the artillery and the brass Veteran's plate (issued after the war).

"Soldier of the Great War 1914-1918"

The helmet and liner are pretty much free of manufacturers marks, there is a roughly inked number, 27?, on one of the goatskin tabs of the liner.

This close-up of the leather, wool, and aluminum liner demonstrate another weakness of this pioneer attempt a cranial protection: less than a quarter of an inch separates the shell of the helmet from the skull of the wearer. Typical displacement of a dent in the helmet is an inch...so where does that leave the skull of the wearer? Improvements will come, but, still, this is much better than a cloth cap, ne conviendriez-vous pas ?

The critical weak point on this helmet, where the bowl and the front and rear visors are joined together by rivets.

Like the Peruvian helmet profiled in an earlier post, the riveted crest provides a rain-proof cover for the ventilation hole atop the shell of the helmet.

A close-up view of the stamped artillery insignia..


This period advertisement makes it quite clear that the Adrian helmet was worn with pride by enlisted men and officers alike


French soldiers, wearing Adrian helmets at the front.




And a silent reminder of the great cost of the Great War.

As much as silly Americans like Donald Rumsfeld like to belittle the combat mettle of the French, the fact remains...

1,357,800 dead, 4,266,000 wounded.


Vive La France!

Before you go, check out the delightful label of this California winery, with the model 1915 as its logo.  How cool is that?



Link to Le Casque here, and raise a glass of this fine California wine in a toast to General August Louis Adrian, the man who started it all. Cheers!


provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar.vi.60.9.13
Model 1915 French artillery helmet.
Acquired 1978, Lansing Michigan.
Purchase price :$35.00
Condition: very good.

Next post: The Italian model 1915-16 of World War One