Season's greetings from the war room

 May you find helmet-sized boxes under your tree.

Happy holidays,

Mannie

A beginner's guide to German helmets of WWI - the video

I took a semester off and one of my resolutions of how to make best use of this time was to make a new helmet video.

I hope you find it of some use.

Book review: The Austrian M1 Steel Helmet by Oliver C. Dorrell

 

A first-rate read

Oliver C. Dorrell sheds some much-needed light on the often overlooked, and always fun to collect, Austrian family of M1-type helmets.

There are many helmet books out there, and a precious few that I find of this caliber.  Dorrell approaches the subject with what seems to be both affection and scholarship; both of these are all too often missing from the usual stable of such books.

The art direction of this book is superior, richly illustrated with excellent photographs, drawings, and charts. Dorrell provides observation rather than conjecture, which is refreshing in this hobby.  His approach is the "walk-around" style of presentation.  His observations of each iteration of the Austrian M1 are clear, concise,,nearly complete.

He surprised me.  My first stop, with any helmet reference book, are the final pages - where the sources should be.  For some reason, all too frequently, collectors allow the so-called "experts" to make unsubstantiated claims, providing neither citations nor bibliography.  Dorrell, provides both bibliography and references.  Though I would have preferred citations, Dorrel relies heavily on his own observations, approaching the subject as a fellow enthusiast rather than a self-anointed guru.

The Austrian M1 family of helmets represent a group that too often go unnoticed by collectors, which is a shame as they are so interesting and so representative of the post-war/Cold War era in Europe, Dorrell explores every detail, compares every component, and seems to leave no stone unturned in his summary of these interesting helmets...and he provides the reader with many, many examples.

This is a solid piece of reference material, and a boon for both novice and advanced collector.  I'm very happy to have this volume on my helmet bookshelf, it is informative, pretty to look at, and an altogether very useful book.

Let's see more of this and less of the helmet porn that passes for authoritative reference books filled with beautiful photos and unsubstantiated conjecture.

I really like this very worthwhile book, and I highly recommend it.

I'm hopeful that we'll see more from this collector.

Don't be a dick

Goodness gracious, to look at some of the helmet collecting sites, it often seems that many of the members have wet diapers.

Novices are often berated by self-styled "experts" for asking fundamental questions about helmets.

"Yeah, but..." counter the experts as they qualify their bullying - pronouncing that before a novice asks questions, they should do ample research before troubling the experts with such fundamental questions.  Sadly, the I've never seen a moderator call out such bullying.

Another thing that bugs me (uh-oh...is this turning into a rant?)  are the guys who shout "fake" at every opportunity, without giving any explanation for their reaction.

One guy pronounced a helmet as fake, and when the original poster asked him what he based his opinion on, the response was:

"Because it's fake."

My personal policy regarding the forums is that if I have nothing to add to the conversation, I say nothing.  When I do make a comment, and someone wants to bicker about it, I remain aloof.

The forums exist for three reasons:

1. to show off your cool helmets

2. to get information about cool helmets.

3. to have fun

What is there in any of that to get one's panties in a bunch?

What are your experiences in this regard? share in the comments.

I gear this site toward the novices, and all questions are welcomed.  You can always email me at:  museumofamerica@myactv.net.  I'd love to "talk helmets" with you.

Stay enthusiastic and keep having fun.

Mannie

Book review: The M-1 Helmet of the World War II GI (Oosterman)

Published by Schiffer, this book, by Pieter Oosterman has been around since 2010.

Like manySchiffer books, it is beautiful, and ultimately disappointing.

The book profiles, in loving detail, fixed-bail McCord and Schlueter helmets of World War II.  That is the first disappointment, it does not cover flexible-bail helmets...this is the sort of thing that propagates the common fallacy that flexible bails were solely post-war: this is particularly misleading for novice collectors, that belief is no fault of the author, but it would have been more satisfying, comprehensive, and useful had he included the flexible-bail models.

Despite that large omission, the book is chock-full of information, and, as is typical with Schiffer books, the volume is lush and the photos are a treat to behold, and the author has provided a superb variety of helmets, liners, straps, buckles, etc, to satisfy the novice and intermediate collector alike.

Much of the narrative information is based upon what the author observes about the pictured component.  However, many assertions are made without citation of any sort.  In many instances the author's assertions are qualified with phrases such as "...it seems likely that..." which is great, he is qualifying his statement.  However, in other instances he will make a statment without qualifaction or citation, which leaves the reader in the position of simply having to take the authors word for it. I'd like to research further, I'd like the original source so that I can find more details...or even confirmation of the information; but again, no citations are given, no bibliography is provided, and the reader is left with only the word of the author to go on. 

 Since when is this good scholarship?  

Even an eighth-grader is required to subscribe to the basic rules of research; indeed, most word processing programs have style guides for inserting footnotes and citations built right in to the system.

These requirements are unshakable in any legitimate scholarship.

Again, this is the most fundamental rule of scholarly research - to prove your assertions, and to allow the reader opportunities to go to the sources listed in the bibliography to continue their research.  Without these basics - required basics - of scholarship, the entire work can be called into question.

The University of Wisconsin states the resons we cite in a very succinct manner:

• Sources that support your ideas give your paper authority and credibility
• Shows you have researched your topic thoroughly
• Crediting sources protects you from plagiarism
• A list of sources can be a useful record for further research

Different academic disciplines prefer different citation styles. In addition to Turabian, APA and MLA are common at UWW. 

Besides these styles, there are Chicago, AAA, AP, and many others. You should only use the most current edition of the citation style unless told otherwise.

Ask your instructor which citation style he/she wants you to use for assignments. (1)

(1)  https://libguides.uww.edu/turabian#:~:text=Most%20academic%20writing%20cites%20others,sources%20protects%20you%20from%20plagiarism [wasn't that simple?]

I would also add that citations show respect for your reader.

Here we are at the back of the book where the sources and bibliography should be; it's the first place I look when buying a non-fiction book.

I'd like to say that this book is the exception, however, ninety percent of the books on my helmet bookshelf are without the fundamentals of citations, footnotes, references, and bibliography.

Why do we, as collectors, allow this (especially in this ninety-dollar book)?

Sadly, in future book reviews, I'll merely have to cut-and-paste the foregoing, so widespread is the problem.

In a classic case of the-pot-calling-the-kettle-black, I, myself, in this blog, have routinely omitted references, though in the past year I have corrected that lapse with citations whenever needed.

Despite these serious shortcomings, the book is filled with sumptious photos, which are great references, especially for the collector who has some experience in the hobby.

I recommend this utterly gorgeous book...

with some serious qualification.

See you next time.

Mannie

Berndorfer chinstrap gets a new lease on life.

 Four years ago, I was fortunate enough to acquire an Austro-Hungarian Berndorfer shell, and sooner, rather than later, I will post an entry on it.

I display a reproduction chinstrap with it simply for aesthetic reasons.

When the helmet arrived, with it in the box was a long, brown, damp, lumpy mass...I know, right? I set that aside, uncertain what it was. Last week I was having a purge and came across that lump. Close examination revealed a mass of clay, rust, and what looked like perished leather; I started to dissect it. What was revealed was the very rusted original chinstrap cam-buckle.

I gave it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush which effectively got rid of the mud and the surface flakes of rust. Following that, I used a vinyl eraser to remove the rest of the rust. It cleaned up very well.

As you can see, the reproduction is an exact twin of the original, and the strap is first-rate quality.

I replaced the reproduction buckle with the original and the result is very pleasing.

This was a pleasant surprise and a nice conclusion.

See you next time with another cool helmet from the collection.

Mannie

France m.1915 combat helmet (infantry)

General Adrian's wonderful helmet.

Excerpt from: Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare by Bashford Dean, Yale University Press, 1920:

The French appear to be the first to accept the helmet in actual service and thousands of soldiers today bear witness to the practical value of the casque which was provided for them, notably through the efforts of General Adrian.

A few words as to the work of General Adrian... General Adrian sought ways and means in all directions for reducing his losses. One day he stood before a stretcher and talked with a wounded man --- "I had luck," said the sufferer, "I happened to have a metal mess-bowl in my hat and it saved my life."  This incident impressed the General deeply.  Here was the question of a device which might prove of universal value.  So with his usual earnestness, he attacked the problem of a head defense.  He promptly had a steel "calotte" made and fitted inside his cap; then he wore it constantly to find whether it would cause notable discomfort.  Next he had many of them made and used experimentally.

Good reports soon came in from the front. Thereupon, he developed the regular helmet which was manufactured in great numbers for the French Army.  At first this defense was turned out hastily, stamped from dies which had already served in making the helmets of firemen.

Investigation showed that the new helmet was of actual value in the field; hence it became a part of the regular equipment and was used by every soldier on active duty...

It is interesting to note that almost from the beginning the "casque Adrian" was a successful experiment.  It protected a measurable portion of its wearer; it was light and soldiers of all classes shortly "took to it."  The casque was attractive in its lines and it added martial distinction to its wearer - which proved, in the opinion of many officers, a more important argument for its use than its ballistic value.

French General August Louis Adrian made the battlefield a 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.

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.

The "flaming bomb" is the symbol of the infantry...

  this is much like the insignia of the US Army Ordnance Corps.

A critical weak point on this helmet, where the bowl and the front and rear visors

are joined together by rivets.

This close-up of the leather, wool, and metal liner demonstrate another weakness of this pioneer attempt a cranial protection: corrugated aluminum spacers provide less than a quarter of an inch separating 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 ?

Manufacture of the helmet was a combination of machine and hand-work, and saw the employment of many female war-workers.

Multiple stampings form the bowl-shaped shell.

 Visible are the crimped edges which will accept the front and rear visors.

 Here, the crests have yet to be added showing to good effect the ventilation hole

at the crown of the shell

Assembling the liners.  These are the earlier one-piece versions.  Later in the war, in a move to conserve leather the ends of the leather fingers were separate pieces, allowing the manufacture to utilize leftover portions of leather.

Ready for shipment, and...

et voilà!



Now, for some action shots.

It seems as though General Adrian's helmet brought out the romantic in your average poilu.





La Mitrailleuse, 1915 by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson



Here we have a silent reminder of the dreadful cost of the Great War to the French:

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

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!

See you next time with another cool helmet from the collection.

Mannie