U.S. Navy M1 Repair Party Helmet

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!



This sailor coming down the ladder means some shipmate's about to be rescued from a very dangerous situation.

When there was fire or flooding aboard ships of the United States Navy it was the job of the men of the repair parties to save the ship. And the helmet they wore from 1942 until the early 1990s was the good old McCord M1.

The standard M1 shell painted red and labeled with concise information regarding the number of the team or repair party locker that the team was operating out of.  The larger the ship the more repair lockers and parties.

This photograph is from the 17th edition of the Bluejacket's Manual, the traditional handbook of the American sailor for over a century.   These black and white photos were copied from my BJM from 1970.

The sailors in this damage control party are preparing to enter a burning space.  Hoses are charged and at the ready, the men are wearing OBAs (oxygen breathing apparatuses) and are crouched below the smoke and heat level ready for the leading petty officer to undog the watertight door and send them in.  Although every sailor was trained for this duty, the shipboard parties were comprised of specialists, hull technicians, and damage controlmen.

Every other sailor, not a part of the party, stands by as a ready labor pool to be utilized as needed.

                                                                             

Damage Controlman

                                            

      Hull Technician

Nearly all repair party helmets were equipped with battery-powered helmet-mounted lamps.  Often these provided the only illumination in a space in which flooding or fire had shorted out the electricity.


The waterproof black hose connects the wiring from the headlamp to the waterproof battery box.


The battery box clipped to the sailor's belt.  This is a typical WWII repair party M1 in all respects.


This rear view provides a glimpse of the battery box and also identifies the helmet as belonging to repair party two, and stowed in repair locker two.  The repair lockers were located in strategic areas of the ship and were completely redundant in equipment.





Though not brilliant by the standards of today's technology, these little headlamps did help save ships for over 40 years.


This battery box is well marked, another in my collection is not.


Clearly marked "OFF", whatcha call "sailor proof".


Note the original green corked finish under the thick layer of sand and flat red paint.


Marking on the rear of the helmet.

A similar helmet I'll be posting at another date is a "REP-3" helmet (and now you all know what that means).   Marking the helmets in the rear made it handy to keep track of who was who in a smoky chaotic situation.


Close up of the front seam on this earlier M1.


You can just make out the heat treatment numbers.


This model has the swivel bales,


and some pretty "salty" (literally) hardware.  Seagoing M1s could be exposed to a lot of salt spray and corrosive powder smoke.  While I was on destroyers, I seldom saw a pristine M1.


The marking "UNIT 22" causes me to think that this helmet was from a larger ship.  The sooty grime and firefighting foam residue on the surface also leads me to believe that it has seen action.


These were the good guys,


and this trusty M1 was their helmet for nearly half a century.

See you next week with another Navy M1

Mannie

"They say its just like going to sleep."

pfc. Jarvess

       Ricardo Montalban 1920-2009

                   (with George Murphy in "Battleground" - 1949)

A first-rate performance in an outstanding film.

Danish M39 steel helmet

Again I ask, What's not to like about Denmark?

Though never having been there, I find Danish helmets nearly as cool as Danish culture.

Look at all of the wonderful things the Danes have given the planet:

The Little Mermaid,

delicious bacon,


the model for recent American foreign policy,


Classic looking palace guards,

(Click here for a Youtube of these guys marching around at Amalienborg Palace)

And a very cool and unusual looking helmet, the M39, known in some circles as the "Amalienborg" helmet.

For perhaps the very best exploration of this helmet, be sure to check out Joseba's outstanding site here.

With a profile nearly as unique as Brigitte Nielsen, the M39 helmet has a look unlike any other.

Deep bowl and very wide skirts characterize the very Danish design.

Originally a Police helmet, though now in Civil Defense livery, this helmet is often referred to as the Amalienborg helmet, in reference to its use by the guards of that magnificent royal residence. I don't know if that is true or simply a ploy to peddle these helmets.

Though the design of these helms is, in my opinion, selling point aplenty!

Providing very good over all protection, the M.39 doesn't seem to interfere with the wearer's peripheral vision as the Danish M. 23/41 could.

The top view reveals a very symmetrical oval shape with a generous all-around lip.


The liner and suspension are downright lush with no scrimping on either materials or engineering. I suspect that this helmet was a very expensive one to manufacture.

Split rivets secure the leather liner to the suspension system.


Similar to the Dutch helmets of the same period, the M39 (like the Danish M 23/41 ) has this hanging slot in the rear skirt.


The lugs securing the suspension to the shell are another feature unique to the M.39. For as highly engineered as they appear on the outside...


they are even more so on the inside. The padding and spacing of this liner provide outstanding protection for the wearer, with a good deal of adjustment available.


My model had, at one time, a police shield mounted on the front since removed and leaving only a trace, a tantalizing pentimento, a vague stromatolite, of that badge I do so wish it had. The badge, now removed, left its faint outline on the helmet which has been repainted from police black to civil defense gray, the badge mounting holes individually sealed with rivets.

Again, for outstanding views of the police and army insignias refer to Joseba's site here.

Here's the interior view showing the other side of those rivets.

One of the things I enjoy about many helmets are the many markings and mysterious clues to its former life and use. This one has an abundance of markings; including this one...

Mr. Rasmussen's head being a former occupant of this helmet, I presume.

Mr Nielsen also wore this helmet for a time, no doubt Brigitte's dad.

Another cryptic notation stenciled on the very fine quality leather liner.

When I pulled back the liner fingers I was greeted with this nice surprise...

a brass tag with two more marks. I'm assuming the "57" refers to the size of the liner. Again, the craftsmanship of this helmet is remarkable.

Again, I'm assuming this stamp on one of the liner fingers refers to the liner size.

The chinstrap is very straight forward with a high-quality roller buckle. Again, unique to this helmet are the cleated split pins securing the chinstrap halves.

The leather, like the hardware, is first-rate.

This is a marvelous helmet, such a unique design and so much evidence of prior use. If only this helmet could talk, fortunately most Danes speak English so my limited linguistic skills would not be overly-taxed.

An altogether unique and handsome helmet, fit to guard a royal family, if indeed that is the history of these so-called "Amalienborg" helmets. Perhaps a reader can enlighten me on this issue.  (See comments below)

Thus, ends my two-installment exploration of the Danish helmets of my collection. I hope to begin a fairly long series on U.S. Navy M1s with the next post.

I'll see you next week with a new posting. Thanks for stopping by.

Mannie

Danish M. 23-41 civil defense helmet

(For the video version, click here)


What's not to like about Denmark? It has a long tradition of standing up to bullies during WWII, and more recently here.


 My introduction to the Danes (aside from Danny Kaye's protrayal of Hans Christian Andersen) was a really cute exchange student when I was in high school.  I decided then that I'd like all things Danish.  My instincts were good.

In my collection I only have two helmets from Denmark.  For many years it was difficult to find them in the States at reasonable prices.  Eventually, as the Danes switched over to composite helmets, and ebay turned the world in to a garage sale, I was able to acquire two of my own including this piece, a Danish M. 23-41.

At the risk of sounding like one of my least favorite ebay dealer dodges, characterized by the phrase"as I'm given to understand",  nonetheless, as I'm given to understand (there, I said it) from other collectors as well as the Marzetti book Combat Helmets of the World (1996, pp. 56-57, fig 23.7) that this particular helmet was used by the Danish resistance movement during World War Two, as indicated by the red stripe painted along the crown of this helmet.

On to the helmet in question.


This distinctive helmet has that unmistakable Danish profile.


Although it affords a great deal of coverage, I find the widely flared skirts restrictive to peripheral vision.


The top view shows the longitudinal stripe to good effect.  The original black, smooth finish, as well as the light weight liner leads me to believe that this helmet did not start its career as a combat helmet but rather a police or civil defense helmet.


The liner is pretty conventional in the European sense.  The leather is in outstanding condition, bright and supple.

A hanging slot in the rear skirt of the helmet.  Hey! go here for a Youtube video of the M.23 produced by a guy in Denmark.

Four fairly diminutive rivets secure the liner to the shell...


passing through these leather washers which serve as spacers between the liner and the shell.

There's a good 1/2 to 5/8 of and inch clearance here, which is good for the health of the wearer's skull.


The liner and the chinstrap couldn't be more different.  The liner is fresh and the strap is cracked and weathered, leading me to believe that the strap predates the liner, which may have been a replacement during the career of this lid.

Unlike the typical European helmet, this one has a dearth of markings, only this single serial number appears lightly on the inside skirt.


The typical drawstring adjustment in the crown of the liner affords varible distance between the top of the wearers head and the shell of the helmet.  This is the only adjustment point available on this liner.  Definately not a "one size fits all" situation.


Altogether a fine looking helmet which may have an interesting past.  I hope more information is forthcoming.

Click here see what makes Denmark so cool.