Tropical Helmets & Headgear WW2

[RON]

Hope everyone's having a nice and quiet Sunday.
I recently took some photos of the few Tropical Helmets I have in my small collection.
For now, these are all WW2, until I have the gutts to buy me a nice German East Asian 1902 (or 1904) Tropenhelm which is, IMO, the Rolls Royce of all Tropical Headgear, followed by the Luftwaffe's Afrika Korps "Hermann Meyer" Tropenschirmmütze...
Interestingly, the Italian Sun Helmet has a faint Wehrmacht stamp on the inside which seems to highlight the fact the Italian Army operating in North Africa was put under the command of Rommel who, in 1941, became the principal Axis field commander.

 

[badener]

Nice grouping Ronny! I especially like the Itie. =D>

 

[RON]

Hey Matt!
I recon it has a very nice shape with a neck guard reminiscent of the imperial sun helmets:

 

[Peter_Suciu]

Nice collection. The Italian M28 is in fact likely copied from the British Wolseley helmet. The rear neck is quite similar to the British pattern, and a bit different from the German Imperial 1902 pattern (that was designed to fold up whereas the Wolseley/Italian M28 was not).

Of course I'm partial to sun helmets (http://www.militarysunhelmets.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false... :-"

 

[stuka f]

Just came by thise post!
Nice groupe!
You might need a Belgian helmet to complete it...
cheers
|<ris

 

[Redlegwolf]

Very interesting! Good posts.

 

[Peter_Suciu]

These can be addictive. I have German, American, British, French, Japanese, Greek, Belgian, Canadian, Dutch and various ones from South America! I have a thing for sun helmets.

 

[J.LeBrasseur]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing!

James

 

[Khukri]

These are great!
I need to find myself a black rooster to complete my italian sun helmet...

thanks,
Francis

 

[stuka f]

Some pith helmets offered here;
http://images.liveauctioneers.com/static/mail/client-promo-emails/affiliated-jul2015/webview.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Probably the only genuine items they have.... :thumbsdown:

 

[RON]

New photos added or upgraded above...

 

[poniatowski]

Nice collection! Is the US made by Hawley?

Ron

 

[RON]

Thanks Ron. I can't see any maker's mark inside.
All I know is that it's WW2

 

[Peter_Suciu]

Thanks Ron. I can't see any maker's mark inside.
All I know is that it's WW2

I can answer this question without looking for a stamp. It is a Hawley. You can tell by the number of "folds" in the faux puggaree around the helmet. Also, note the three grommets. Two of these hold the liner on each side and the other is for the fixed chinstrap. You only see this style in the early helmets, I believe pre-1940, that were made by Hawley. The other company making these was the International Hat Company, but those never had this grommet configuration.

However, this pattern I believe was also exported - as you see many Canadian helmets (with or without badges) of this style. I've never seen the later patterns from Hawley or International Hat Company with a Canadian badge. What makes it more interesting is that the Hawley Canada made two variations. One has nine grommets on each side, while the other has the shape of the South African polo helmet.

I've written about the pressed fiber helmet on my MilitarySunHelmets.com site quite a bit. I have about 30 or so of the American, Canadian and other used pressed fiber helmets. It seems that Argentina used these as well as Panama (I have one of each). I've seen photos of the Nicaraguan Army wearing these as well, but I've never seen a real example.

Here are some pieces I wrote that sheds some light on the history and evolution of the pressed fiber helmets:

Evolution of the American Pressed Fiber Helmet
http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/2013/evolution-the-american-pressed-fiber-helmet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Origin of the Pressed Fiber Helmet – In Perspective
http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/2014/the-origin-of-the-pressed-fiber-helmet-in-perspective" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Canadian Pressed Fiber Helmet of World War II
http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/tag/pressed-fiber" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Khukri]

The chinstrap of my Italian WWII sunhelmet broke...
I wanted to place it over the visor. Want to display this one on my bookshelf.
Any idea where I could find a replacement chinstrap...? Bet the original ones might be hard to find...perhaps a replica...?
Thank you ,
Francis

 

[Peter_Suciu]

The chinstrap of my Italian WWII sunhelmet broke...
I wanted to place it over the visor. Want to display this one on my bookshelf.
Any idea where I could find a replacement chinstrap...? Bet the original ones might be hard to find...perhaps a replica...?

I seriously doubt you could find a replacement and if you have the complete chinstrap but it is just broken I'd suggest using pins to keep it in place over the visor. I've seen many helmets displayed this way.

 

[Khukri]

Peter,

Thank you !
Will try to fix it that way.

Francis

 

[b.loree]

Another alternative suggestion Francis.... using a glue for leather.....glue the 2 ends together using a thin piece of leather on the back side so that it can not be seen.

 

[stuka f]

My Belgian tropical headgear collection so far;

 

[Peter_Suciu]

My Belgian tropical headgear collection so far;

Some very nice Belgian headgear! Hints of King Leopold's ghost?