USAAF M4A2 Flak Helmet

From the M3 to the M4, and lots of intermediate steps, the M4A2 was not quite the apex of American flak helmet but it led directly to the M5

Introduced in 1944 is the M4A2 aircrewman's helmet.

Made of plates of Hadefield manganese steel this low-profile helmet provided head protection as well as accommodation for headsets.

It is covered over all with olive drab fabric

Keepers at the back secure goggle straps.

The label on this helmet is very much intact and readable.

Of interest is the fact that this helmet, unlike nearly any other, has no suspension but fits snugly over the leather flyers helmet.

This specimen in my collection is in very fine condition save for one small hole in the interior fabric and...

a particularly cracked and dry chinstrap.

The ear cups are fastened by fabric, rather than metal, hinges with heavy-duty stitching.

The M4A2 in action.

Photos can be found of the M3, M4,  and M4A2 being utilized by tank crews, and these helmets are often misidentified as primarily armored vehicle crewmen helmets.

Note that at the beginning of this post I said that the M4A2 represented the "apex" rather than saying the "acme".  The two words mean the same thing; I just didn't want to conjure up this image:

And just where is Wiley Cayote's trusty M4A2 in this picture?

USAAF Mk3 Flak Helmet

World War Two American bomber crews in the skies over Europe needed something more than their leather flying helmets to provide them with shrapnel injuries, however it took a surprisingly long time for a new helmet to be developed and deployed to meet that need.  Not until December of 1943 did the M3 reach the ETO, it was a the first of three versions of the American flak helmet.

One of the cool things about the M3 is its M1 profile, its like the steel pot but with hinged armored earcups.

The  earcups accommodated the headsets worn by the aircrews.

The profile of the M3 is very similar to that of the M1.

It utilized a pretty straightforward hinge not unlike what you find on an old-school kitchen cabinet.

The surface of the helmet  is flocked with a velvety surface to help prevent the build up of ice and to prevent bare flesh from sticking to the chilled steel shell (think tongue on a sub zero flagpole).

The chinstrap is altogether different than that of the M1.

The chinstrap fastens with a heavy-duty snap rather than the "hook and arrow" of the M1.

The bales however are identical to the M1

The suspension is very much like the M1 except its attached directly to the shell without a separate liner.

Interior of the earcup displays felt padding for the earphones.

Headband clips are identical to the M1 as is the herringbone fabric.

Similarly the size adjustment is the same as the M1 though the arrow washers are quite different.

Unlike the WWII M1 which has the rim-seam on the front, the M3s rim is joined on the side by one of the ear cut-outs

An M3 ready for action.

The M3 led to a series of Flak helmets including the experimental model below which never saw service.

The venerable M1 takes to the skies as the M3

helmet as art as helmet as art as helmet as art as helmet

Check this out from the Contemporary Art Society



Some helmet!

Great Britain MkII Dispatch Rider Helmet

This just in...

                                                    

Rocketing along on their Triumph motorcycles rumbled the Dispatch Riders of the armed forces of Great Britain in WWII, carrying messages hither, thither, and yon and keeping distant points of a moving army in communication with one another.

Two Tommies try to figure out just how lost they are. "I knew you meant left when you said right".

Two distinctly different helmets with the MkII on the left.  Any information from a knowledgeable reader on the helmet on the right would be greatly appreciated.

Now for the walk-around

This is an unissued helmet that had its original box when I acquired it, sadly, the carton went the way of all things.

The distinctive MkII shell was also utilized by the Royal Armor Corps as well as by British airborne forces.

Manufacturer (Briggs Motor Bodies), size, and date.

Perforations in the leather skirt allow the wearer to hear and...

this little felt flap on the reverse side keeps his ear warm and unwonted road noise out.

The rear of the skirt is gussetted to allow a custom fit.

Leather chinstrap with roller buckle secures the unit to the noggin of the wearer.

A Riddell-style suspension provides space between the steel and the head of the wearer as does the thick, coarse felt padding and bumper at the front.

Finished rough, the rivet secures... 

The liner suspension.  Seen to good effect here is the felt padding.

The sole blemish on this other mint helmet is an area of corrosion on the side right at the rolled rim.

Ready to give Steve McQueen a run for his money, our dispatch rider is about to motor off in a cloud of dust and glory,

but McQueen is way cooler.

Vroooooom!

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As you do not have a comment on this helmet here are a few words to add to your fine explanation of this lid. BMB is Briggs Motor Bodies- the company that pressed car bodies for Ford and ultimately became a part of Ford. One of their plants (in the UK) was next to the Ford factory in Dagenham and others at Southampton and Doncaster.

 The only identifiable Triumph motorcycle I can see in this article is the one that Steve McQueen time-travelled to about 1963 to acquire after he had escaped fromm the Cooler-so he would not break his tailbone doing those jumps. The other identifiable bikes are a WLA Harley-Davidson and a BSA WM20 which is a bike I own and a rugged piece of primitive machinery that even the humble British Tommy could not totally destroy! About 120,000 were made during WW2 and they can still be found just about anywhere in the world where British Commonwealth soldiers needed bikes that could take an unjustified hammering and still struggle on!