My great uncle served with the 17th Armored Combat Engineers during WWII and he told me he never wore the chin strap and as a result lost about a helmet a week due to it falling off when the came under fire but there were helmets laying everywhere and he'd just pick up another one
I have an old helmet shell im using for reenacting, it has a stainless steel front seam rim, and swivel bales. It also has a suspiciously bullet-shaped indent on the crown which is perfect for leaving it as a shaving basin
5:17 The liner chinstrap can also been worn around the back of one's head if adjusted properly. This is is hard to spot because the leather strap is mostly covered by the helmet itself, but a great way to prevent losing your helmet as it is very secure.
I've been watching these episodes for a couple days now I think they're very informative and very useful for new recruits that are coming to reenactments this would have been a big help for us when we were starting me back in the day thank you for doing this for these new guys that are coming in it's a really helpful to us a lot of us can't help out these new guys but at least they can have something to look forward to when they go watch it on TH-cam
Underrated video... Well done! This video was great and will teach allot of people. Allot of intresting information where even I learned from! This video deserves a Like guys :)
I have a South african defense force helmet from 1967 with the exact same liner, seems to be a copy but interesting to see the lessons learned get translated into equipment
I use a post war pot that i converted to a WW2 one. Thats also something nets are good for hiding the rear seam. You have to watch out with french ones because they have a different shape. I use Belgian ones they have the nice OD color already
Brilliant video, hoping to start a GI impression myself (German reenactor) and your videos are helping big time! I have to ask though how do you make your intro, with the text and all?
We’re happy to hear the feedback! We use a professional film editing program called Final Cut Pro which gives us a wide variety of options in terms of effects for editing
I'm British, and I've been wanting to get into US army re-enacting, since I usually do British airborne. Since I'm not in a group for US stuff, I probably won't join one, and I like late war US uniforms, I'm going to be putting together a US medics uniform based on Battle of the Bulge onwards (basically just because of the helmet and M43 jacket I was given by a family member). I got given a Belgian M51 helmet, and did a lot of looking to make sure that it was close enough to the M1, and found out that with some changing, it should be good. I removed the Belgian flag on the side by just sanding it down, corked it myself with just some sanded down bottle corks, and repainted it, and now the only issue is the chinstrap (and the liner is too small). The chinstrap is based on the Vietnam war style one, so I'll probably replace it (which I should do anyway cause it's rusty and falling apart) US helmets are much harder to get in the UK, they're usually at least £50 (while British brodie helmets can be just £20), so the M51 is a pretty good alternative for late 1944 onwards.
Glad to hear you getting creative! The companies mentioned in the video have quality reproduction chinstraps. The liner on the other hand I’d recommend searching sites like eBay for original helmet liners as they still pop up there relatively cheap on there!
I think soldiers DID cook food in helmets. But it was NEVER their own. Most likely they salvaged helmets from fallen soldiers to use as stoves to cook food or boil water in.
Best to avoid Top Pots, an Australian based vendor for helmets and reenacting gear. He is over priced and faulty at sending items out via post, he is basically an Australian version of Man The Line. Please avoid unless you wanna get stung.
Very informative video, but i have a question. I own a "euro clone" of the m1 helmet that i think is norwegian or danish. Is there any difference between the US M1 helmet and the european one regarding the shape of the shell?
Hey there! There are minor differences in the overall shape of Euroclones compared to authentic American WWII M1 Helmets. The rims especially are a tad bit more slanted compared to their American counterparts. There are always very subtle differences in variation between the euroclones, but the differences are definitely there. They also exclusively have rear helmet seams and swivel bales. Hope this was helpful!
I own two WWII helmets Early war McCord M1 helmet front seam Fixed bale to Swivel conversion 126D heat lot# and late war Rear seam swivel bale 999D heat lot#.
Now if you were to restore a original WWII helmet it should only be if there is significant paint loss on the shell itself. Now you will find alot of vet bringback M1 shells for sale on Ebay with or without chin straps as well. Now I did find my late war McCord in the most unusual of places Goodwill Inc's online auction site. I am actually not going to restore the paint on my helmets they both look good and the rim wear is good too.
Im trying to be as accurate as possible wothought using too much original stuff. If i bought a repro from ATF, what ways could i make it more authentic?
Hey there! One of the biggest glaring differences in post war helmets to WWII Helmets is the bales. The vast majority of M1 helmets throughout the war were fixed bales. If you have access to the correct equipment you can remove the old bales and weld on fixed bales that many companies sell reproductions of. Stripping the paint and repainting and retexturing it with proper corking will also go a long way. Hope this was helpful!!
@@theusgireenactorguide1830 Great! Next video I release I will have a shout out for you. I will also put you as a featured channel on my channel. I hope your channel will help many new reenactors start the hobby.
My great uncle served with the 17th Armored Combat Engineers during WWII and he told me he never wore the chin strap and as a result lost about a helmet a week due to it falling off when the came under fire but there were helmets laying everywhere and he'd just pick up another one
Brilliant, something that every new (and not so new) re-enactor should watch.
I have an old helmet shell im using for reenacting, it has a stainless steel front seam rim, and swivel bales. It also has a suspiciously bullet-shaped indent on the crown which is perfect for leaving it as a shaving basin
Love the authentic WW2 training film presentation!
5:17 The liner chinstrap can also been worn around the back of one's head if adjusted properly. This is is hard to spot because the leather strap is mostly covered by the helmet itself, but a great way to prevent losing your helmet as it is very secure.
These videos are SO well done. You guys are seriously underrated.
I've been watching these episodes for a couple days now I think they're very informative and very useful for new recruits that are coming to reenactments this would have been a big help for us when we were starting me back in the day thank you for doing this for these new guys that are coming in it's a really helpful to us a lot of us can't help out these new guys but at least they can have something to look forward to when they go watch it on TH-cam
Underrated video... Well done! This video was great and will teach allot of people. Allot of intresting information where even I learned from! This video deserves a Like guys :)
I have a South african defense force helmet from 1967 with the exact same liner, seems to be a copy but interesting to see the lessons learned get translated into equipment
Very interesting! Thank you
I use a post war pot that i converted to a WW2 one. Thats also something nets are good for hiding the rear seam. You have to watch out with french ones because they have a different shape. I use Belgian ones they have the nice OD color already
Great history summary, Hope you get more subscribers!
Brilliant video, hoping to start a GI impression myself (German reenactor) and your videos are helping big time!
I have to ask though how do you make your intro, with the text and all?
We’re happy to hear the feedback! We use a professional film editing program called Final Cut Pro which gives us a wide variety of options in terms of effects for editing
@@theusgireenactorguide1830 That’s brilliant, keep up the good work. Looking forward to joining the dark side…
I'm British, and I've been wanting to get into US army re-enacting, since I usually do British airborne. Since I'm not in a group for US stuff, I probably won't join one, and I like late war US uniforms, I'm going to be putting together a US medics uniform based on Battle of the Bulge onwards (basically just because of the helmet and M43 jacket I was given by a family member). I got given a Belgian M51 helmet, and did a lot of looking to make sure that it was close enough to the M1, and found out that with some changing, it should be good. I removed the Belgian flag on the side by just sanding it down, corked it myself with just some sanded down bottle corks, and repainted it, and now the only issue is the chinstrap (and the liner is too small). The chinstrap is based on the Vietnam war style one, so I'll probably replace it (which I should do anyway cause it's rusty and falling apart)
US helmets are much harder to get in the UK, they're usually at least £50 (while British brodie helmets can be just £20), so the M51 is a pretty good alternative for late 1944 onwards.
Glad to hear you getting creative! The companies mentioned in the video have quality reproduction chinstraps. The liner on the other hand I’d recommend searching sites like eBay for original helmet liners as they still pop up there relatively cheap on there!
I think soldiers DID cook food in helmets. But it was NEVER their own. Most likely they salvaged helmets from fallen soldiers to use as stoves to cook food or boil water in.
I have a m2 airborne pot helmet but I want a Brody helmet so badly
Stainless Steel Rims were used so that it would not cause interference when using a magnetic Compass
Have you done a Navy shoe video?
Best to avoid Top Pots, an Australian based vendor for helmets and reenacting gear.
He is over priced and faulty at sending items out via post, he is basically an Australian version of Man The Line.
Please avoid unless you wanna get stung.
I’ve eaten out of my steel pot and I can confirm it’s something I will never do again.
I mean it’s for the integrity of the metal not the flavor
Where is your group located?
Very informative video, but i have a question. I own a "euro clone" of the m1 helmet that i think is norwegian or danish. Is there any difference between the US M1 helmet and the european one regarding the shape of the shell?
Hey there! There are minor differences in the overall shape of Euroclones compared to authentic American WWII M1 Helmets. The rims especially are a tad bit more slanted compared to their American counterparts. There are always very subtle differences in variation between the euroclones, but the differences are definitely there. They also exclusively have rear helmet seams and swivel bales. Hope this was helpful!
@@theusgireenactorguide1830 Thanks for the feedback. But do you know if the depth of the shell are the same between the two?
I own two WWII helmets Early war McCord M1 helmet front seam Fixed bale to Swivel conversion 126D heat lot# and late war Rear seam swivel bale 999D heat lot#.
Song?
Now if you were to restore a original WWII helmet it should only be if there is significant paint loss on the shell itself. Now you will find alot of vet bringback M1 shells for sale on Ebay with or without chin straps as well. Now I did find my late war McCord in the most unusual of places Goodwill Inc's online auction site. I am actually not going to restore the paint on my helmets they both look good and the rim wear is good too.
Im trying to be as accurate as possible wothought using too much original stuff. If i bought a repro from ATF, what ways could i make it more authentic?
Hey there! One of the biggest glaring differences in post war helmets to WWII Helmets is the bales. The vast majority of M1 helmets throughout the war were fixed bales. If you have access to the correct equipment you can remove the old bales and weld on fixed bales that many companies sell reproductions of. Stripping the paint and repainting and retexturing it with proper corking will also go a long way. Hope this was helpful!!
@@theusgireenactorguide1830 Thank you!
I'd like to see a video about underwear, t-shirts, and tank tops.
Stay tuned! That’s our next episode!
👍🏻🇨🇦👍🏻
10/10 videos. Would you mind if I gave you a shout out in one of my next videos to hopefully help get you more subscribers?
Sure! Go on ahead!
@@theusgireenactorguide1830 Great! Next video I release I will have a shout out for you. I will also put you as a featured channel on my channel. I hope your channel will help many new reenactors start the hobby.