US N°8 experimental helmet

Adler

Adler

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The US N°8 experimental helmet was Manufactured by the FORD MOTOR CO. in Brook Park, Ohio. The war department had requested submissions from various manufacturers for a new helmet when the US entered hostilities in Europe.
Ford entered this design which was stamped out in the Ohio engine facility in November 1918. Only 1300 of these helmets were made, which were to be tested in combat, however because of the wars ending they were never used.

According to the seller, this helmet was recently acquired from the family of a plant worker who had been involved in the design. The family had stored the helmet in a closet for many years. This must have contributed to the condition of the helmet...

The helmet is complete down to the drawstring which is still tied in factory bundle. The leather tabs are complete with a small amount of dry cracking. Pads and pad ties are in place. Web chinstrap has some light surface rust to the rivets. Outer shell retains about 95% original cork finish. A part of the cork has been scraped of due to the pivoting visor, but I think that adds a bit to the sinister character of the helmet…

Adler 1











 
That is a nice clean example of the Model 8. These have really gone up in price. I saw one at MAX a couple of years ago for $9600. At that price I'd sell the one in my collection.

These were produced in November and never field tested. I wonder how many of the 1,300 remain. It is uncommon but I wouldn't say rare. I see at least one for sale at the bigger shows.
 
Thank you for your comments gentlemen!

Peter_Suciu said:
That is a nice clean example of the Model 8. These have really gone up in price. I saw one at MAX a couple of years ago for $9600. At that price I'd sell the one in my collection.
These were produced in November and never field tested. I wonder how many of the 1,300 remain. It is uncommon but I wouldn't say rare. I see at least one for sale at the bigger shows.
Click to expand...
OMG #-o ! That's a lot of money you're talking about. Did the helmet actually get sold at that price :-k ? Overkill in my opinion...
I'm also interested to know how many are still in existance at the moment. This type of helmet can be uncommon in the US, but in Europe I've never seen one for sale the last 40 years, so it's maybe depending on where one lives to call it rare or not... For me it actually doesn't matter how it's called, this type of helmet has always been something that was not within my reach, but at the end I'm extremely happy that I finally have found one (in the US of course)...

Adler
 
Here's one that just sold for $1795

http://baystatemilitaria.com/WWI/WWIheadgear.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Keith
 
I have seen these with asking prices of $4000+. I know I didn't pay that much. I bought my Model 8 from Bill Combs in 2005.
 
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