Some so-far unidentified composite helmets - if you can supply information contact us - composite@gostak.wales
Possible SOUTH KOREAN ? Obtained from the Brecon militaria fair,
tagged as a 'Special Forces' helmet, which seems unlikely. There are no markings of any kind except
for a logo pressed into the crown, a sort of clock-face logo divided into
12 rectangles, which has '03' in the centre, and a tiny dot in the
second sector round from 12, which may mean February. Therefore February
2003 ? There's also a L for large (probably) and a 1, which could mean
anything.
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Photographs supplied by Greg Pickersgill |
HELMET MOULD - probably UK origin. "This is a mould for an unknown experimental combat helmet. It was found with other manufacturing parts and miscellaneous army (British) surplus during clearance of a container os - according to the seller - british military surplus from the 1970s and '80s. It consists of a heavy inner (male) section and a lighter but larger female base. A shape is visible around the edge of the male section and this mirrors the top edge of the base unit. Both parts have a ridge running front to back which would have been visible in any finished product. The base unit has a small hole leading to a larger circular opening and this in turn is surrounded by remnants of foam - this may suggest that suction was used in the moulding process. The parts are clearly marked "helmet" but there is a possibility that this was used to create an inner skullcap-type liner piece." ADRIAN BLAKE |
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Label reads - "HELMET, COMBAT, LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERIMENTAL. TOOL PART FEMALE 4578961" |
Label reads - "HELMET, COMBAT, LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERIMENTAL. TOOL PART FEMALE 4578961" |
Label reads - "HELMET, COMBAT, LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERIMENTAL. TOOL PART FEMALE 4578961" |
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Label reads - ""HELMET, COMBAT, LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERIMENTAL. TOOL PART MALE 4578961" |
Label reads - ""HELMET, COMBAT, LIGHTWEIGHT EXPERIMENTAL. TOOL PART MALE 4578961" |
"There's a base ("female") section which is smooth and pretty much feature-less. There's also a much heavier shaped "male" piece which fits inside. I suspect the helmet material was sheet/weave-based and pliable...laid over or into the base section and the top was pressed in...I don't think the substance, whatever it was, was poured in although I guess it could have been (there are two very small holes in the bottom of the base piece which could be drain-holes but I'd expect the base to have evidence of run-off). The holes may perhaps have been for suction? Whilst the male piece is very heavy for its size and really quite robust the base piece is much lighter and doesn't appear capable of taking a lot of pressure. I'm starting to wonder if it was used to make a helmet liner / hard skull-cap piece as I can't think of any helmet that's ridged front-to-back in the crown except the Brit lightweight RAF loaders helmet used as a bump helmet by some SF....but they are ridged on the OUTSIDE too and the female section is smooth." |
UNKNOWN - possibly Chinese commercial ? Acquired from a Dutch collector in 2012, there is no known information about this helmet. The vendor says he bought it from a militaria dealer in early 2012. The only marking of any kind is 'SCT-M-7' From its general appearance and characteristics it is suspected to be one of very many Chinese commercial products, but many hours of looking through Chinese trade websites have given no real answer. Might not be Chinese at all, of course! Particularly notable is an extremely unusual ratchet-bar as part of the chinstrap assembly. Greg Pickersgill |
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Unusual Gallet helmet. Offered for identification by Richard Jones - "... was bought as a French F2 and is obviously made by Gallet but I don't think it is an F2 - very lightweight, almost feels like plastic, and has a clip in mesh liner system." |
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Three more Unidentified Composites from Richard Jones. All were acquired via Ebay around 2006, so obviously predate that time. A number of composite collectors have seen these pictures and have not been able to ID them - can you do better? |
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NB - there is a suspicion that this 'JSF'-badged example is actually some sort of export RBR product. But no proof! |
A probable test/trials helmet, sourced from Belgium (which may have no significance). NB - the shells of this helmet and the one immediately below are NOT identical. |
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Letter 'C' on front, written in marker-pen. |
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The notation here is a repeat of a size stamp found inside the shell. |
The only other marking in the shell or liner is '06/94' which might be a date. |
Chincup is marked 'Made in England'. |
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Photographs supplied by Greg Pickersgill |
Another probable test/trials helmet, sourced from a dealer in
Belgium as above. |
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Note letter 'B' on front, apparently in the same hand as the 'C' on the above helmet. |
No other markings of any kind on either helmet, chinstrap, or liner |
Not obvious from this picture, but the chinstrap is in three parts, with a catch as shown below on each end on the middle element. |
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Photographs supplied by Greg Pickersgill |
Probable commercial helmet (but perhaps not, see following), well-used, has previous owner's initials on sweatband. No other markings of any kind on shell or liner. NB - shell appears to have been originally finished in dark green, and the outside has been painted black later. Possible identification - this helmet
could (not certain) be a Chinese QGF-03 as shown here.
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Photographs supplied by Greg Pickersgill |