French Captain's M-1 Helmet with Parachutist Liner
This U.S. M-1 "fixed bale" helmet belonged to a French Captain during World War II or early French Indochina War. The shell is of early WWII production containing McCord Manufacturing code "43Q," which dates the helmet to early 1942. Sources describe that French forces used the M-1 helmet as early as the Normandy campaign in 1944.1 This particular helmet's exterior has an olive drab paint job and early standard chinstrap with "J" hook buckle. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company made the liner around 1944. It is a paratrooper model developed for the airborne M-1C helmet, but in this case the shell's chinstrap does not snap to the liner as was the norm. The liner's exterior has two Lieutenant rank bars on the front just under the eyelet. Since the shell and liner ranks do not match, this could signify that the soldier received a field promotion and for some reason only added the third bar to the shell. Finally, the wearer attached the inner sweatband to the neck strap instead of the headband as it was designed. This could be for several reasons, but future models of the M-1 tried to increase neck stability.
| France | World War II |
| Infantry Helmet | 1942 |
| McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company | |
| FRH-28-1008 | |
