Again reversed helmets

R

Robert

New member
A while back there was a posting about a soldier with reversed helmet. Here is a nice detailed pic with four soldiers in a trench, all of them reversed. But the price is likely to end out substantial.

Maybe it was just cool, like turning around a base cap.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Foto-Sturmsoldat...ryZ34648QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


no4.JPG
 
OK, to start with, these are Navy guys, so we would expect problems with knowing whether they are coming or going, I even heard that if you want to join the Navy, you are disqualifyed if your parrents are married. But on a serious note, one can see that there would be more protection to the face with the longer skirt on the helmet worn to the front, even the Italian Farina helmet looks like it is being worn backwards when it is correctly worn.
Best wishes
Gus
 
Gus
I would wonder if a M16/17 would be easier to put a gas mask on as the chinstrap is an obstruction.I think your protection theory is better.I have seen WW2 pictures of Canadian wearing the turtle shell helmet backwards.
Mark
 
Hey Mark,
That is as good a reason as any, but I am thinking that these boys do not have that much experiance with gas, as they are not wearing their mask "at the ready" and the masks are left hangiing on the trench wall in the carrier.
Best wihses
Gsu
 
How easy does a helmet fall off your head without Chinstrap? Lacking experience, I can only guess that any actual combat would require the strap to be on.

But in a static position, you are definitely right about the better protection.

Concerning the italian helmet, it seems to appear in both positions on pictures (http://www.cascoscoleccion.com/italia/itafarin.htm). BTW this is a nice helmet site with many references for the various counties (scroll to bottom).
 
My 2 cents: looking at the picture, one can see how low the skirt of a M16/17 stahlhelm goes. Perhaps when peering up & out of from behind a defensive position, it allows the head to elevate or "look up" more easily, without the rear skirt digging into the shoulders & restricting neck movement.
 
the strap will sit at the back of the head and hold t on. The gas point is a note I made in the Gas warfare section. If these Brittish or Candian Infantry they would all have mask's at the ready.Bad gas dicipline
Just because they are navy does not mean they are new to the line.They look way to settled in for that.
Mark
 
Hey Mark,
I do not think that these boys had bad gas disipline, I think that theywere in an area where gas was not commonly used, on the coast it would be unlikely to use it due to weather and wind conditions, not to mention that ther would be a less concentration of enemy (even though tere would be the same number of men in the trenches, the fact that the trenches ended abruptly at the coast would make it a waste of resources to have the gas attack go out over open water)
As far as the use of chin straps go, I have been told by vets that they were told not to use their chin straps during battle, as the concussion of an explosion would tear their head off if the strap was hooked, this makes no sence to me. I would suspect that some where a soldier was observed decapitated with little other damage, and it was assumed that his helmet pulled his head off, if you check WWII period photos, you will see that many GIs would have their chin straps hanging (not to confuse the strap that is over the visor, that is the chinstrap of the helmet liner and is always worn over the visor to keep the two parts together)
Gus
 
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