United States PASGT (kevlar) helmet part II - Michigan National Guard

This is a continuation of my previous post on the PASGT helmet.  Rather than repeat all of that information, kindly go to:  https://combathelmets.blogspot.com/2024/06/united-states-pasgt-combat-helmet.html for the complete rundown of another PASGT helmet from my collection.

In 1985 I was working as a graphic artist at a typesetting company in Grand Rapids Michigan.  One of my colleagues, Randy, was a sergeant in the Michigan National Guard.

Randy asked me to design a Tee-shirt for his unit.  When price was discussed, I told him that instead of money, I'd like one of the new Kevlar helmets which had only just been issued to his unit.  He gave me the look of someone who knew that he was being hoodwinked, but he reluctantly agreed.  He got the Tee-shirt and I got the helmet; the helmet featured in this post.

Thanks Sergeant Randy.

In the mid 1970s research and development began to find a replacement for the Venerable M1 helmet.  The helmet was to be all new - different look, different materials, different capabilities, and eleven percent more protection for the wearer.  Commonly called the Kevlar helmet, it is officially called the PASGT - Personal Armor System for Ground Troops.

The US military phased out the steel helmet and opted for a whole new concept in helmet design - ballistic composite resin-saturated Aramid fiber compressed under heat and pressure.  This was to be the first composite helmet to enter the world stage.

Where the M1 consisted of two pieces - the helmet and helmet-shaped liner, the PASGT helmet was a one piece.  Although the new helmet provided superior protection, it wasn't as versatile as the M1, which, because of its removable liner, could be used as a bucket, a wash basin, a shovel, as well as other handy uses. Many a WWII GI dug his foxhole or soaked his feet with an M1 shell.

The PASGT was commonly called the "Fritz" because of its resemblance to the German helmet of world wars I and II.

Helmets were issued with the "woodland" pattern camouflage cover; this was in the days prior to the US military engaged in desert operations, and was more suitable for Cold War operations against the Soviets.

The rear of the foliage band included two glow-in-the-dark "cat's eyes" allowing soldiers to keep track of each other in darkness.

A hold-over from the M1 is the familiar Riddell suspension system.

As with previous US helmet models, the PASGT has a textured non-reflective surface finish.

The bulges in the sides of the helmet provided clearance for communications handsets.

The headband size was adjustable with a sliding buckle.

The DLA number indicates that this particular helmet was contracted in 1983 - very early in the production run of the PASGT helmet.

As with all American helmets, the webbing and furniture are robust and well-made.

The rim is bound with rubber edging.

Another hold-over from the M1 - though  much-modified - are the "A" washers which affix the suspension to the shell.

The chinstrap includes a rudimentary chin-cup.

A final remnant from the old M1 are the metal spring-clips which secure the headband to the suspension.  The purpose of the little loop is unknown to me.  Perhaps a reader could leave a comment of explanation.

These helmets were issued in sizes extra small to extra large, with fifty percent of the production being size medium.

The PASGT soldiered on for about twenty years before the Army and Marine Corps adopted a newer helmet with a slightly different, and improved, design.  The PASGT is still found in the US Navy as well as many reserve units,

Thanks to Sergeant Randy for "appropriating" this helmet from the Michigan National Guard.  I hope he didn't end up in Leavenworth  prison.

Stay tuned for the third and final installment of the PASGT helmet story featuring another cool helmet from the collection.  Until next time...

Mannie

(Again, for more photos of another PASGT, as well as the full story of its development, kindly go to my previous post from a few days ago:  https://combathelmets.blogspot.com/2024/06/united-states-pasgt-combat-helmet.html)

Sources

Brayley, Martin J., Tin Hats to Composite Helmets: a collectors guide. The Crowood Press, 2008.

Military One Source,  Military Installations, https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/in-depth-overview/natick-

soldier-systems-center-nssc

Yonggiang, Li, Science Direct vol 238, June 1, 2022,  Ballistic helmets: Recent advances in materials, protection mechanisms, performance, and head injury mitigation.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359836822002694#preview-section-references

U.S. Army, USAG Natick, https://home.army.mil/natick/my-fort/newcomers

Digital Commonwealth, Massachusetts Collections Online, PASGT helmet development, https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search?page=8&q=PASGT+helmet+development&search_field=all_fields

Reynosa, Mark A., (PASGT) Helmet: an Illustrated Study of the U.S. Military's Current Issue Helmet.  Schiffer Military History, 1999.

Reynosa, Mark A., U.S.Combat Helmets of the 20th Century.  Schiffer Military History Books, 1997.

Army Navy Warehouse, Using Contract Numbers to Determine Dates on Military Gear, July 7, 2020.  https://www.armynavywarehouse.com/post/contract-number-dating

Camopedia, United States, https://www.camopedia.org/index.php/USA

German Luftschutz Helmet

fourth in a series of Civil Defense helmets

Luftangriff!

When your enemy controls the skies, the idea of Civil Defense grows large in the public imagination.

The "Luftschutz" was the air defense arm of the RLB; civilians, that is old folks, women, and children performing all of the Civil Defense roles so abundantly available in a smoldering and crumbling Germany while the last of the able bodied men were being pushed into the sausage machine of Hitler's "Thousand-year Reich".

This brave-looking dark blue helmet, of that Germanic-flared style, has a deep dome, wide protective skirt, and is emblazoned with the winged swastika insignia of the Luftschutz.

The profile demonstrates that typical "Fritz" style. The 'bead" or circumference ridge is an element we'll see again in a police-style helmet in a later posting of German helmets.

These distinctive colander-like ventilation holes prompt thoughts of draining pasta.



The rear view shows the widely flared skirt to fine effect.

The top view shows a finish in quite good condition, all very much intact save for that ding, caused perhaps by falling masonry? I'm hoping the damage occurred as the lid was thrown down in greeting the advancing food trucks of the American GIs (and not Russkis, for heaven's sake).

The very simple, very cheap, liner is indicative of the scrimping that Germany had to resort to in order to support a madman's hallucination of world domination. The cork spacers provided the wearer with a scant eighth of an inch separation between shell and skull. Let's hope our Aryan Air raid warden had a healthy head of hair.

The size is stamped on one of the liner fingers. The leather, by the way is very thin and cheap. Had the war gone on another year the liner doubtless would have ended up as some Berliner's lunch.

Manufacturer's mark stamped in the rear skirt.

Those familiar with German helmets will recognize the trusty split rivet that fastened the liner to the shell. The liner band, by the way seems to be some sort of pressed heavy paper.

The cork spacer is all that lies between the wearer and a concussion.

The nicest piece of leather is the chinstrap, of which only the buckle-half is currently attached.

This insignia will also be found on the captured helmets of many nations before the war ended.

Three cute German girls in Luftschutz gear, dutifully and cheerily marching toward oblivion...

as Hitler's Reich reaps the whirlwind.

As you collect, reflect.

The Luftschutz "gladiator style" helmet of World War Two. A sad cautionary icon, reminding us that willingly following pied pipers and maniacs can bring with it a terrible price.

Next Monday's installment will be the British MkII air-raid warden's helmet of WWII.

Note: the three German girls photo is a copyrighted image of German-Helmets.com and is used here without permission, though I'm still hoping to hear from them.

United States Civil Defense "OCD" WWII

second in a series of five civil defense posts

"Don't Scream", is always good advice

The World War Two homefront in the United States had already learned a lot from our friends in Britain regarding air raids and civil defense.

These spotlights and tracers converge on a false alarm high in the sky over Los Angeles.

Early on in that war there was already an organized structure of roles and responsibilities in place for trained, enthusiastic civilians.

Every specialized job had its own identifying insignia, quite a dazzling array!

I think the pinetree insignia had something to do with automobile deoderizers.

Pictured here from the homefront of Grand Rapids, Michigan is the typical "Office of Civil Defense" steel helmet of WWII.

The generic CD insignia is a slide-on water transfer.



Although many US M1917 helmets were recycled for the Civil Defense role, these "OCD" helmets were unique and had, as evident here, a much deeper bowl than the "tin lid" of WWI.

This symmetrical helmet, stamped out of steel may have come from the same Detroit machinery that was stamping out automotive hubcaps prior to US entry into the war.

Don't mess with the "Arsenal of Democracy".

The interior shows a suspension system very similar to the US M1 helmet liner.

The property stamp on the underside of the brim.

Simple size adjustment provided a snug, custom-fit for the owner, in this case a woman from...

Grand Rapids Michigan.

The chinstrap (and suspension) is a cotton twill, secured to a spot-welded bail.

Close-up of the generic Civil Defense insignia.

Our aunts and uncles, moms and dads who donned these helmets in WWII did their bit to keep America safe from the Japanese...



and return to those Auto plants to once again produce gas-guzzling cars . Until we got rescued, that is, by fuel-efficient Japanese technology.

provenance:
accession number:
United States Civil Defense OCD helmet, WWII
Acquired 2002, a gift

Condition: good