When I was issued the new 'kevlar' helmet in the early 80s - along with the rest of the unit - they were all spanking brand new. Each came with a post card with questions - if you ever got shot / hit with shrapnel in the head they wanted a report back for product improvement. It was comical - even had a place to check the block that you did not survive the experience. At least it was business reply mail so you did not have to buy a stamp. I still have it - and the little booklet that came with it on the care and feeding of the new helmet. Trouble was you lost your wash basin for shaving with the old M1 helmet - or bailing out your foxhole. Ah, the good old days
That data is still collected today, although I don't believe it comes on a postcard. That data is still available if you're working for the right company or on the right project.
Yes, that was our big complaint when we had to swap our M-1s for the kevlar and saw that there wasn't a removable liner. Then that first morning we had a new complaint. One guy dropped his new kevlar and the top of it hit square with the tarmac and it split. We figured that the testers had not thought about people hitting the deck and exposing the top to incoming fire,... plus they probably out them on poles for shrapnel blast testing,...thus not learning about this weak spot.
When the Kevlar composite design first came out for a time it was not that popular, even though it was lighter than the traditional steel helmet and gave better protection. However the design which gave more coverage to the back of the neck and ears, had in some peoples minds a strong resemblance to the German WW 2 helmet, they did not want to accept this "Nazi" style helmet. Also there is a misconception that helmets are bullet proof. They were designed to give protection from shrapnel. The US even had a requirement that any rifle round had to penetrate a helmet at 200 yards to be accepted. Hand guns are different. When I was growing up my friends grandfather had brought back his helmet from WW 1. He too was curious and put his helmet on the ground, put a rock on it to hold it down, stepped back a few yards and fired his 1911 into it. It had a big, deep dent in the front. He would probably have been knocked out by the concussion and woke up with a bad headache and a sore neck.
Apparently every M1 helmet in WW2 came out of the factory with green paint. Painting to "a more naval color" was the responsibility of the vessel, yard, station, etc.; I imagine they usually used whatever paint was on hand when painting/repainting the steel hats. You can see the green paint on the inside of the helmets and liner Ryan is handling ...
true story. and the myriad of colers they painted them in is mind boggling! ive seen about 5-6 shades of grey, blue, lime green, red, yellow, brown, black, blue and red.
I imagine some lieutenant in charge of maintenance, telling a CPO, "Chief, the helmets are looking kind of ratty." The CPO gets some sort of form, goes to whoever issues paint aboard; there's some negotiation ("I've got a lot of haze gray right now"), and a bunch of sailors get to spend a day painting helmets.
I spent a lot of time wearing that silly Darth Helmet looking helmet as a sound powered phone talker on the P&D (phone and distance) line during UNREPS. It might have pads on the inside of the helmet, but the weight bearing down on the wire sitting on top of your head is a real pain after 45mins - 1.25hours filling the ship up with DFM. Standing on the forecastle that long, I learned what it means to truly be salty.
I mainly didn’t wear helmets in the Navy (1964~1968), but one time I was sitting on the floor of an equipment space working on something, and “WHAM” I was hit on the head by something, it turned out to be a phone talker helmet that was improperly stored on a shelf about 6ft off the floor,and fell off when the ship rolled ! (My bad.) Garry A Reed, ETR2, USS Belknap DLG-26. (Deep six’ed some where off the East Coast.) You guys keep up the good work & keep the big “NJ” afloat ! A
About "new" equipment, or the replacing of existing equipment... Around 1990, we threw a life jacket in the water. It had been on our sub for, who knows. It SANK immediately. They finally bought some new life jackets for the bridge crew, but that was about it. After all, if a sub sinks, there's not a good track record for people needing life jackets. Our life boat (inflatable raft) was old enough we all were guessing as to whether it would actually inflate when needed.
Always thought it was strange having that gear onboard a sub, since there typically aren't many sailors around to talk about a sinking. An unfortunate reality of the submarine. Are they intended for the what if scenario of, the sub is on the surface and you need to abandon?
@@sparkplug1018 Yes, if you need to abandon. Also, when "topside" (on the surface) sailors need them in case they fall off. For instance, line handlers on the deck, and also those on the bridge.
One potential upshot to the M1 Helmet aboard-ship versus the newer composites: A steel shell with pressed-fiber liner won't melt on your head if you're trying to fight a fire. Or showering sparks etc won't, if they land on it, do more than scorch the surface paint. Plus, as Ryan points out, they're not bulletproof by any stretch of the imagination (though the Army did have some training videos back in WW2 showing a steel helmet stopping a .45 round from a 1911, at maybe 20 yards, so make of that what you will), but they'll still keep fragments from making holes in your skull. And really, aboard ship, which is more likely? Direct-fire from small arms, or fragments?
worked at a factory where the hard hat wasn't because of the head level pipes or overhead conveyors, it was for the chunks of cement and lengths of piping that fell on regular occasions. Also worked at a place with 2 massive metal shredders inside it, the 8 foot tall cement block walls weren't enough to put me completely out of harms way from flying chunks of metal while doing my job, oddly I was about the only one to wear a hardhat there until OSHA came on an inspection tour. I have a healthy respect for hard hat safety
Back in college, me and a few friends would explore the old steam tunnels, mechanical/electrical rooms, all the weird places that should be off limits. There are enough clotheslining pipes down there to make hard hats useful, and I heavily encouraged my fellow explorers to wear them.
You said “Kevlar” when showing inside the phone talker’s helmet, but it is not likely to be Kevlar. Kevlar, aka aramid fiber, is inherently yellow. The fiber appeared to be visible in the helmet you showed, and is white. Fiberglass is more likely. It certainly is possible to have multiple layers of fabric in a fiber reinforcement layup, so there could be Kevlar under the fiberglass, but I doubt the layer we see is Kevlar. According to Wikipedia, Kevlar came on the market about 1973.
They had fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic during WW2. No Kevlar. You can estimate the age of a helmet liner by the colors of the alternating fiberglass "darts." The early ones were much darker.
@@dalecomer5951 it wasnt fiberglass, it was phenolic resin impregnated canvas duck molded under pressure. its what they used to make the helmet liners, the USN MKII gunners helmets were steel just like the m1s.
On the Tarawa LHA 1, in the repair lockers we had steel pots, phone talker helmets and firefighter helmets. Before I left the ship in 92, the steel pots were being phased out. I snagged one before we dumped the rest over the side. I know that today they don't use steel pots anymore, it's the firefighter helmets that repair parties use now.
Being a Army tank crewman, we had the CVC helmets, combat vehicle crewman helmet. Those have an outer shell, fiberglass in the olden days, with a nylon liner that held shaped foam pads, and also incorporated headphones and a microphone, which connected to the tank's intercom and radios. The headphones are necessary both for hearing protection and for communication between crew members--esp. the driver, who's down in the hull all by themself. If the driver took off their helmet or it became disconnected, the gunner could get the driver's attention by poking him in the back of the head with the pole end of one of the signal flags we carried; there was a small space under the gun where the gunner could jab the flag staff through. We also had the M1 steel pots in Basic, and the more modern kevlar helmets for wear when we were off the tank.
@@Supersean0001 It's hearing protection that levels out ambient noise so you can still hear things but don't go deaf and has integrated comms. It's the headphones you usually see special forces wear.
Hey Ryan, that helmet with the yellow stripes look like that it could have been done by someone from Michigan who is a Michigan Wolverines fan, the stripes are in the style of the Wolverines helmets. Now about the kevlar, i don't think that kevlar was around in the 40's, it is a more recent development, i think that it was introduced in the 70's. Btw, I'm in Michigan, and am a Wolverines fan.
Those gray M1 helmets show up in several early episodes of JAG in what I assume is stock footage of sailors going to General Quarters. They're also shown in use aboard the USS Reuben James in Hunt for Red October.
This is the first video I have ever seen on TH-cam where someone actually takes a M1 helmet apart and shows the liner and the steel(dome?) part of the helmet. There must be hundreds of videos about steel helmets of WWII, but you showed the two parts of the M1. Thanks for that!
I love reading the comments on these videos. This has got to be one of the most informative comment sections on TH-cam. Always such great additional info you'd never find elsewhere.
I never liked the PASGT kevlar helmets. The suspension system always created pressure points on my head and became painful to wear after an hour or so. When we traded them in for ACH helmets I never looked back. Yeah, the foam pads don't breath as well, but I could and did wear them for days at a stretch.
Rock climber, canyoneer, rope rescue technician, swiftwater rescue technician. You better believe that I'm wearing the appropriate helmet for the activity! I haven't got much up there, so I try to protect what I have. Also, I've seen what happens when someone has a problem and is not wearing a helmet.
I worked on the flight deck of Nimitz 30 years ago. We used "cranials". Not really a "full" helmet. Morel like a liner with plates attached. They were color coded by shop. And we did decorate them. Today I ride a motorcycle pretty much all year long. I put a lot of consideration and money into my helmets. I tend to get expensive ones because they are usually more comfortable. And I prefer HIVIZ yellow for visibility. Although I bought my last one during the pandemic and wasn't able to get the color I wanted. Thanks for all the work you do.
Can't resist commenting early: No, they're not! Helmets until *very* recently have almost exclusively been to protect against shrapnel and incidental bumps and bashes. Brand new state-of-the-art combat helmets are starting to be actually 'bulletproof' to some degree in theory, not that anybody is keen to test it.
If you want to get even more technical, no piece of body armor ( none that I've ever seen or heard of ) is actually "bulletproof," a term that suggests an imperviousness to all bullets, which of course is absurd. Find a big enough bullet, and the toughest armor or helmet designed will fail. A better term I've been inclined to use for years now is "bullet resistant."
@@robertstaples3256 It doesn't just matter the size of the bullet, if you take enough hits your armor will be compromised. Remember what he said about cutting a hole in armor reduces it's strength by 60 percent. There is a similar rule for every bullet a vest or helmet stops, and how effective it will be against the next round.
I understand what you mean by bulletproof, but honestly it doesn't seem like the navy is encountering much small-arms fire these days. Nothing wrong with getting as much protection as you can.. but I'm pretty sure if anyone gets hit with anything more than shrapnel during a ship to ship engagement, they're very dead
@@robertstaples3256 the thing is that when you say "bulletproof" it's only half of it, it's "Bullet proof against..." and there's a rating. So a helmet built to protect against shrapnel would be bulletproof against certain pistol rounds.
Hi Ryan, I’ve just come across your channel and will, no doubt, deep dive into all of your videos as I’m fascinated by this beautiful ship. One video I’d love to see is of all the spaces and places YOU get to go, as curator, that the rest of us will never see!
Just like you show except that ours had a white DC on them. After over 50 years, I don't remember if they had our repair party location. I was the #1 nozzleman, so just wore the plain helmet. Never had a helmet when I was using a sound powered phone.
In the Marine Corps we used old Enhanced Combat Helmets for a couple years then we got upgraded to the Advanced Combat Helmet which is inherently more ballistic rated meaning that it may actually stop the bullet instead of redirecting it and giving you a hair cut like the ECH does
I was on USS Robison DDG-12 from 74-76. Deck Division, at first I was on the fo'c'sle and fantail for sea and anchor detail, later on the bridge for sea and anchor and GQ, At various times I wore both the M1 and the phone talkers helmet (steel one, we didn't have the fiber ones yet). Later, as a civilian on the Military Sealift Command unrep oilers, we wore the standard plastic hardhats during unrep ops.
I started my Army career in M1 steel pots and the tankers helmet a CVC (combat vehicle crewman's helmet) In the late 1980s we received Kevlar helmets to replace the steel pots but CVCs stayed mostly the same but the external shell got thicker possibly Kevlar.
Fun fact, the liner part of the M1 can be worn by itself has a hard hat. Original liners where made like pith helmets and out of duck cloth which is a early plastic. Later they where made out if nylon. No liner was made out of Kevlar. I have several m1’s, a WW1 brodie, and a usmc light weight helmet in my collection.
When I was 18 I was serving army in the country where I was born. We have to wear helmets all the time. Steel one peace helmets looking mostly like Soviet models. Pretty heavy and not that bulletproof. Made you feel bit protected though. Later on I’ve seen the war and there were no helmets at all. Not sure what felt better to be honest. I remember wishing something to protect my body and eventually I was right. Though sniper shot that did wound me would most probably miss the plate carrier anyways. Plus 8mm Mauser would go true lot of soft armor plates. No helmet gives you more alert state and less drag. Maybe even more speed, pun not intended. I guess I want to say it all depends where you are and what is enemy using against your position. People that have never participated in firefights often think they could carry a metric ton and run all day. Sure elevated adrenaline gives you strength to overcome peaks. But as longer you need to go you will get tired and slow and that might kill you more than having no protection. Yet again depending on situation. On ships and fortified positions as well as in vehicles it makes more sense. Shrapnel protection and you will not need to run to much. All day long on your feet’s, well lighter setup might be better for you. There is one huge aspect of it all. Luck. If everything misses you you are fine. If it hits you it might defeat the protection to. Sounds silly, I am very aware of it, but not everyone gets hit. At least not in first few years. Also some people survive hardest things despite of the all odds. So luck does matter but one should not count on staying lucky for ever.
After reading the 1st sentence I thought he is Russian but doesn't want to say. I could be wrong but If not I feel bad that u feel that you can't say that openly
@@charlesvaughan3517 if you were just bit more concentrated you would come to the right conclusion. It's simple, helmets looks like soviet hence eastern Europe. Than second clue is I was in war hence what countries have had war? So that puts you in countries of ex Yugoslavia. Simple right. Plus everyone should be ashamed only of the bad thing they have done or they are doing. That means there are millions of people in every country that have nothing to be ashamed of not even in the Russia.
well helmets are mostly there to protect your noggin against shrapnel, since the majority of injury and death comes from heavy ordinance, like artillery in wars. 95% of the helmets do not stop rifle rounds, even the modern ones, and those that do are meant to be worn for a short period of time, since even modern helmets with stuff like NOD's and com sets tend to lead to neck injuries from prolonged use. Edit; Was that 8mm mauser round perchance fired from the M76? Anyways glad you pulled trough getting hit by 8mm mauser.
@@thesayxx yes from M76. In ex Yu army bullets designated for precision rifles have had purple ring around primer. Those were calibrated weight rounds. When I woke up after the first operation bullets was tide up around my wrist. When I saw it I've threw it away. Upper body shot. Was extremely lucky to survive. Normally people do not survive this kind of wounds. Anyhow garand thumb has good video about modern head gear. You are right on both accounts.
I did my military service in the Italian Army in 1997 and I wore the Italian WW2 style M33 steel helmet. Unlike the M2 it is steel shell only, with a leather liner on a flexible steel frame rivited to the shell, with the three rivets acting also as ventilation holes. The Italian M33 comes in 3 different shell sizes and different liner sixes from 55 to 61. On the whole it's a comfortable and well ventilated helmet.
While in service I used the old M1, the PASGT, CVC, and the ACH. I also was issued a construction-site hard hat for some duties. One night in West Germany my lieutenant was giving me grief because I wore my helmet while erecting a radio antenna. I had objected to using too many poles, necessary because we weren't line of sight in our location--and it was windy. We just got the antenna up and I was being chewed out for my paranoia when there was a loud crack and I was driven to my knees by something glancing off my helmet. No injury--but my helmet (PASGT) was gashed and my helmet cover ripped. I surveyed my damaged helmet at supply when we returned to garrison, but otherwise didn't hear another squeak about wearing helmets.
I guarantee there are fixed bales onboard. They stopped making them in 1942 but they didn't phase them out until after the war and some survived in service as long as the m1 was in service.
I had to wait all this years to understand how the M1 helmet is configured and why the leather band is seen on the rim in the front. I always believed that was the chin strap with the GIs trying to be cool. 😂
I saw a whole video about the chin strap thing, (summary: there was a rumor among GIs that the strap could decapitate you in a shell explosion, and later they may have thought it looked cool) and it never mentioned the liner strap. Thanks for reminding me to thank Ryan for mentioning that!
We used the M1 helmets when I was in the (Danish) army in the 1970s. The liner strap was always attached behind the neck. It was never placed over the rim of the helmet. Used together, the nape strap and the chin strap held the helmet firmly in place so it didn't fall off like you see in the movies. Sometimes we wore the liner separately (at parades and light duty), and then the nape strap was necessary to prevent the liner from tipping over.
Dumb question, would the Marine detachments serving on board into the late 80s have used the M1s as well? Or would have they been assigned something more modern?
Up until fairly recently the Marines got everyone else’s cast offs and unwanted equipment. That helmet, or a similar model was likely used up until the introduction of the PASGT.
I work in the utilities I’ve been issued three for different tasks such as working at heights, supervising chemical deliveries and finally working in high noise environments this one has a built in electrical flash visor
I was stationed onboard a FFG in the late 90s to early 00s and we still had the M1 style helmets for the bridge crew, but I don't recall seeing them elsewhere on the ship, at least not at any of my stations or spaces I frequently was in.
Im not sure if anyone mentioned it but the slit in the back of the helmet is to hold the battery back for the UWG-0682 helmet lamp. The helmet is modified so the clip of the battery pack could slide in since the elastic band wasn't always the best.
I was an Airdale, depended on what I was doing. Cranial for working, flight helmet, and later in C-130's in combat zones Kevlar helmets. We usually sat on the bullet proof vest because we would be shot at from below. Later on they added armor plating inside the flight station walls and floor. Then we would wear the vest. Sometimes wore the Kevlar helmets out the plane depending on where we landed. This was in the Navy.
I'm late to write this, but great video. I really like seeing topics im passionate about being discussed, that being helmets; however, I can say I was very surprised that the USN Mk-2 talker helmet was not featured prior to the Mk-4 you showed. Did the battleship retain any of those helmets after reactivation or were they thoroughly removed from the ship? Thanks for the great content as always. -Leo
I used to do pest control, which involved going in crawlspaces. I had a skateboard helmet I used for night vision with a shroud mounted on the front. Later when I got a dedicated night vision bump helmet, I took the go-pro adapter that came with it, mounted a light to it, put it on the shroud on the skateboard helmet, and used that for crawlspaces. Anyway, had to go into a crawlspace with one of my supervisors, and he was busting my balls about the bright blue skateboard helmet. I told him it was, "to protect my grape!" He had a good laugh at me. We go in the crawlspace, and we're not in there 5 minutes, when I hear *TONK* "OW! SONOFABITCH!" I yelled, "AND THATS WHY I WEAR THE HELMET!" Long story short, when we got out, he asked me to school him on my helmet setup.
Yeah no kidding...why create an extra step of having to wash out your helmet? Just dig a hole, get down to business, and bury. Vs get down to business, dig hole, bury, wash out helmet. That makes no sense at all.
Ludicrous speed! 🤣 when I was in we were using the MICH 2000 series helmets still. I wear a fast helmet now though. It’s more accommodating to the night vision gear.
Most of my jobs and hobbies involved several types of helmets. From construction , firefighting, rope rescue, WW1 and WW2 living history bike riding and equestrian. Maybe that's why I now collect helmets...LOL
I was a sonar tech from89-93 and I never had a helmet. Lol.. I saw plenty on board the USS Miller but to my surprise I never used one. I always figured they were assigned equipment. Of course I did find out after three years but by then who cared.. I was always in a dark hole anyway! Lmao.. I hate to think back that far it hurts.. great times and bad. But with everything going on today that we worked so hard to overcome back then . I.e. the cold war.. seems like history just runs in circles. Anyhow, great bit, nice job explaining it.
the m1 youre wearing is ww2 produced btw. you can tell by the sewn on chinstraps. the liners ww2 as well. awesome helmet! yeah the ww2 MKII talker helmets were steel like the m1s (made by the same mfg mccord) with a big bowtie shaped foam rubber liner. i loved this episode!!!!
Never ride my bicycle with a helmet. I definitely wear a hardhat in the many Nevada Ghost Mines. Navy, wore various depending upon assignment. Hardhat again, in drydock.
I was USAF Security Police 71-75. We had a stash of M1 helmets that I swear were left over from WW2. The liner straps stunk and made stains on your head. Originally, you just took one from a stack, but a few of us managed to hang onto some of the better ones. When I was getting out of the service, the supply NCO asked me if I wanted to keep anything. "Hell no", I said, I don't want to look at one of those again and happily returned it, along with the flak vest.
I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman. What, me wear a helmet? Actually, in Vietnam, we all wore the M1 style on occasion, that occasion being when we were under rocket or mortar fire and had them handy. Since we kept them in the barracks, we were usually without the helmet during our duty time.
I wore a helmet in Boot Camp. That was the last time. I was assigned to 4 ships on both coasts. They gave operating instructions to never hook the chin strap because of the hazard of needing to jump off the ship with it on would break your neck on water impact.
I make a game out of finding actors in war movies who are wearing only the liner of the M-1 helmet....you can tell by noticing the rivets which hold the harness inside, the steel pot itself does not have any rivets.
I was a U.S. Naval Aircrewman on Lockheed P-3C Orion's. We'd have to wear helmets for battle condition 1 and also for whoever the crewman was that setting condition IV (upon takeoff one crew member is designated to get out of his seat & check the airplanes vital components inside & outside the plane from the tail to the flight station. Once condition 4 is set that crewman takes his helmet off for the rest of the mission. I believe it was 70% of the helmets surface had to show the reflective coat in case we ended up in the water so that the SAR guys could spot you easier especially at night, so you couldn't completely cover your help with a huge Metallica sticker or logo or anything else.
The Army Kevlar helmet, the drill sergeants specifically told us, were not bullet-proof, especially against an AK-47 round. At most they are bullet resistant
Yup. The materials get fancier, but the weight limit remains the same, because the typical wearer does too re' neck strength (pretty much). Not to mention a heavier helmet would make neck breakage from the kenetic impact of a round on the helmet worse.
Yeah I wear a helmet when I ride a bike and I remember back when I was doing my military service (compulsory service in my country) I hit a branch (fairly large one) while on training march in the woods and all I felt was a bit of a push which I probably wouldn't have even noticed if there was distractions about. Oh and that was steel helmet similar to the M1 (though different model and a later design).
I have my uncle's Vietnam era helmet. Probably an M-1. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also still have the camo cloth cover that wraps around it. He passed suddenly shortly after marrying my aunt, so I never really got the chance to even ask him about it. All I really know is that he was a Marine sniper and highly decorated.
Good stuff thanks. I haven't really ever wore a helmet except on my motorcycle, but I know of a lot of times I should have been wearing one that I wasn't
The WWII phonetalker (MK 2) helmets were made of metal and had a suspension system similar to the M1 steel pot style. Beginning in the 80s the Navy started to experiment with different styles of prototype helmets but never fully adopted any of them (with the possible exception of the phonetalker MK4. Many of the prototypes were made of Kevlar and had a "Starwars" look to them. Each helmet came with a bag of different size foam blocks for sizing. Problem was, once it was sized to 1 individual it may not fit the next user.
At 0:53 you can see the guy on the far left putting on a steel talker helmet. The one I've got has an integrated pad stuck in the top shaped to fit around the headset rather than a suspension system like an M1.
We had the M1s on all my ships and in the Seabees until the early 1990s. Today, all I wear is a STIHL helmet with hearing protection and a face shield when cutting brush on our volunteer railroad.
Only time I had to wear my Kevlar was on exercise in the USAF. We had the enhanced combat helmet which was a slightly smaller version of the advanced combat helmet. Other than that I never really had to wear one, and I never wore any head gear on the flight line.
I was in the Army for 5 years from 2009-2014 but cannot recall the nomenclature for the style we wore. All I know is that it was hot and heavy and our headsets didn’t fit inside them all that well for people with big heads! I must admit that a few people called me Lord Helmet from Space Balls. 😂
I was the bridge phone talker on a cruiser in Japan a few years ago. I only ever had to wear the “Storm Trooper” helmet when we were doing GQ drills. Most military helmets make you feel a little bit cool…this one did not lol. We still use sound powered phones to this day.
I find interesting that the sailors just pulled a helmet off the rack and adjusted it each time they put. As a rock climber I have my own helmet that I've pre-addjusted the fit for so it's easy to put on.
I was thinking the same thing. If I had to guess, I'd say its possible that gun crews kept track of which helmet was theirs or initialed or marked their helmets to identify who's helmet was who's.
There’s a testing report by Bashford Dean (yes, that Bashford Dean!) in his 1920 “Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare” (it’s public domain and on Google Books) that says Brodie Helmets (or “British-American Helmet”) and Stalhelm as well as some of the M1’s design prototypes absolutely were able to stop handgun rounds (at least the comparatively slow .45 ACP). I see no reason the final M1 helmet would be any worse in that regard.
Good Day all : I have spoken to the motorcycle people over the years about metal shelled helmets . There is only one manufacturer that I know of , it was in California . It was a father and son company and only were in business for a short time and made about 800 aluminum shelled helmets . Over the years I've inquired around about such , but never received a positive response . The military have been successfully using metal shelled helmets since world war 2 . If the military uses them , there is no doubt about about it ; It's Good !
The liner on the M1 helmet is not kevlar, but rather strips of fibreglass or even cotton fabric soaked in an epoxy-like resin then compressed and molded. It has little to no ballistic resistance on its own. The M1 helmet shell is not "bullet proof" by any means, however, they have been known to be able to sometimes stop or deflect some small caliber rounds, though they were not intended for that. The newer phone talker helmet certainly looks like it might be kevlar to me though, or perhaps a similar material used to make a composite helmet. I have seen kevlar in that color before. As for cooking in the helmet shell, it's a very bad idea. Heating up the steel can ruin the temper and make it far too brittle.
It might be worth mentioning that the chin strap was not attached if a sailor had to jump from the ship into the water. The theory is that the helmet collects water upon entry, and the shock could cause neck injuries.
that was one of the reasons they adopted the T-1 chinstrap buckle system. that and explosive concussion. it was designed to break loose with 15 lbs pressure.
Throughout the video I had the feeling this had been taped in the 90s. But lo and behold it's been done in 2022. Great info but maybe stay on topic. Not much about the helmets not being bullet proof. Maybe compare them to modern helmets and have examples of both modern and vintage ones.
Bike and skiing helmets are the only ones I use regularly… I have used hard hats occasionally but never served, so I have little to no experience of that type of protection. Fortunately that means I never got shot at either, so there is that little bonus I guess…
@@WALTERBROADDUS Don't need it. A 1 1/4 inch combination wrench, 15 nuts off the Main Condenser overboard access cover and you can walk out. Same with the Scoop Injection, if you lash open the check valve flapper. And that's just two egress points. There are more. Don't need to cut anything.
@@SSN515 how many crew actually have a wrench handy, in the dark and upside down? It does bring upon an odd point in the movie though. What happened to the entire engine room crew on the Poseidon? It was just playing on TV today.
as for bullet proofing, seems like if you're on a battleship and being shot at by small arms, something has gone very wrong, or somebody else's day is about to go very very wrong
Helmet collector and restorer from Europe here. Everyhting from Adrians to M16 through M42 stahlhelm, brodies and M1, Russian wartime types and rare Dutch, Italian and Romanian types. I would love to see and handle one of those giant earphone helmets. If you have some to restore please send one over please. I'll restore and ship it back free of charge. Indeed, helmets are shrapnel, bump and concussion protection only, not bullet protection. Modern helmets and German M16's and the 1956 East German stahlhelm or wartime Swiss should be able to take up to 9mm but i wouldent bet my life on it. I know they wartime tested these on a 25 meter range with a high velocity 9mm from a hand gun and they should pass in as new condition. Based on shape, thickness, ballistic deflection rate etc. Kevlar makes a difference, its lighter, but only the early US ones like issued in the 91 gulf war offered anything above 9mm. Also be aware kevlar and carbon fibres have a use by date and will deteriorate, unlike steel. Since then the helmets have grown lighter but also much more fragile. 9mm is the official industry test mark nowadays, but in realility count only on shrapnell, bump and concussion protection unless you have a top spec military kevlar or fibre one that is not older than 5 years.
@6:55 -- I'm sorry but I can't get this out of my mind! I saw this in the preview image for the video and NOW I see it here again! If you painted the grey helmet of the guy on the right white, it would look almost like one of the helmets the Spaceball troopers wore in the movie "Spaceballs"! Just a coincidence, I'm sure! 😂 The only helmets I've seen were worse were prototypes from 1989 or thereabouts. They were testing integrated screens and sensors for helmet-mounted sights. These would have been ancient prototypes for the tech that ended up in the F-35! I could see WHY those things weren't integrated for decades. The helmets if they'd been put into service back then would have weighed 35-40 lbs and would just not been practical for high-G fighters! As it was, I think the 1989 prototype helmets were suspended on cable from the ceiling to keep from killing/injuring the necks of the volunteers that were testing these systems,
Does anyone know if modern helmets have to be replaced after a certain time ? Heard that OSHA requires all hard hard to be replaced every two years but nobody does that. My old company was going to order me a replacement hard hat a month before retiring for my over 10 year old one.
When I was issued the new 'kevlar' helmet in the early 80s - along with the rest of the unit - they were all spanking brand new. Each came with a post card with questions - if you ever got shot / hit with shrapnel in the head they wanted a report back for product improvement. It was comical - even had a place to check the block that you did not survive the experience. At least it was business reply mail so you did not have to buy a stamp. I still have it - and the little booklet that came with it on the care and feeding of the new helmet. Trouble was you lost your wash basin for shaving with the old M1 helmet - or bailing out your foxhole. Ah, the good old days
That data is still collected today, although I don't believe it comes on a postcard. That data is still available if you're working for the right company or on the right project.
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I also missed losing the bucket. As you get deeper in the foxhole it was easier to use your helmet to move dirt out.
Yes, that was our big complaint when we had to swap our M-1s for the kevlar and saw that there wasn't a removable liner.
Then that first morning we had a new complaint. One guy dropped his new kevlar and the top of it hit square with the tarmac and it split.
We figured that the testers had not thought about people hitting the deck and exposing the top to incoming fire,... plus they probably out them on poles for shrapnel blast testing,...thus not learning about this weak spot.
When the Kevlar composite design first came out for a time it was not that popular, even though it was lighter than the traditional steel helmet and gave better protection. However the design which gave more coverage to the back of the neck and ears, had in some peoples minds a strong resemblance to the German WW 2 helmet, they did not want to accept this "Nazi" style helmet.
Also there is a misconception that helmets are bullet proof. They were designed to give protection from shrapnel. The US even had a requirement that any rifle round had to penetrate a helmet at 200 yards to be accepted. Hand guns are different. When I was growing up my friends grandfather had brought back his helmet from WW 1. He too was curious and put his helmet on the ground, put a rock on it to hold it down, stepped back a few yards and fired his 1911 into it. It had a big, deep dent in the front. He would probably have been knocked out by the concussion and woke up with a bad headache and a sore neck.
Apparently every M1 helmet in WW2 came out of the factory with green paint. Painting to "a more naval color" was the responsibility of the vessel, yard, station, etc.; I imagine they usually used whatever paint was on hand when painting/repainting the steel hats. You can see the green paint on the inside of the helmets and liner Ryan is handling ...
Yep they got repainted more times than you could imagine on ships. And not just that one shade like he said.
true story. and the myriad of colers they painted them in is mind boggling! ive seen about 5-6 shades of grey, blue, lime green, red, yellow, brown, black, blue and red.
I imagine some lieutenant in charge of maintenance, telling a CPO, "Chief, the helmets are looking kind of ratty." The CPO gets some sort of form, goes to whoever issues paint aboard; there's some negotiation ("I've got a lot of haze gray right now"), and a bunch of sailors get to spend a day painting helmets.
I spent a lot of time wearing that silly Darth Helmet looking helmet as a sound powered phone talker on the P&D (phone and distance) line during UNREPS. It might have pads on the inside of the helmet, but the weight bearing down on the wire sitting on top of your head is a real pain after 45mins - 1.25hours filling the ship up with DFM. Standing on the forecastle that long, I learned what it means to truly be salty.
I've never seen a recipient using one, which hopefully means they've been phased out.
Darth Helmet was the first thought that came to my head when I saw the picture lol
I mainly didn’t wear helmets in the Navy (1964~1968), but one time I was sitting on the floor of an equipment space working on something, and “WHAM” I was hit on the head by something, it turned out to be a phone talker helmet that was improperly stored on a shelf about 6ft off the floor,and fell off when the ship rolled ! (My bad.) Garry A Reed, ETR2, USS Belknap DLG-26. (Deep six’ed some where off the East Coast.) You guys keep up the good work & keep the big “NJ” afloat !
A
About "new" equipment, or the replacing of existing equipment...
Around 1990, we threw a life jacket in the water. It had been on our sub for, who knows. It SANK immediately.
They finally bought some new life jackets for the bridge crew, but that was about it.
After all, if a sub sinks, there's not a good track record for people needing life jackets.
Our life boat (inflatable raft) was old enough we all were guessing as to whether it would actually inflate when needed.
Always thought it was strange having that gear onboard a sub, since there typically aren't many sailors around to talk about a sinking. An unfortunate reality of the submarine.
Are they intended for the what if scenario of, the sub is on the surface and you need to abandon?
@@sparkplug1018 Yes, if you need to abandon.
Also, when "topside" (on the surface) sailors need them in case they fall off. For instance, line handlers on the deck, and also those on the bridge.
One potential upshot to the M1 Helmet aboard-ship versus the newer composites: A steel shell with pressed-fiber liner won't melt on your head if you're trying to fight a fire. Or showering sparks etc won't, if they land on it, do more than scorch the surface paint.
Plus, as Ryan points out, they're not bulletproof by any stretch of the imagination (though the Army did have some training videos back in WW2 showing a steel helmet stopping a .45 round from a 1911, at maybe 20 yards, so make of that what you will), but they'll still keep fragments from making holes in your skull.
And really, aboard ship, which is more likely? Direct-fire from small arms, or fragments?
worked at a factory where the hard hat wasn't because of the head level pipes or overhead conveyors, it was for the chunks of cement and lengths of piping that fell on regular occasions. Also worked at a place with 2 massive metal shredders inside it, the 8 foot tall cement block walls weren't enough to put me completely out of harms way from flying chunks of metal while doing my job, oddly I was about the only one to wear a hardhat there until OSHA came on an inspection tour. I have a healthy respect for hard hat safety
that sounds like a massive OSHA violation
Back in college, me and a few friends would explore the old steam tunnels, mechanical/electrical rooms, all the weird places that should be off limits. There are enough clotheslining pipes down there to make hard hats useful, and I heavily encouraged my fellow explorers to wear them.
You said “Kevlar” when showing inside the phone talker’s helmet, but it is not likely to be Kevlar. Kevlar, aka aramid fiber, is inherently yellow. The fiber appeared to be visible in the helmet you showed, and is white. Fiberglass is more likely. It certainly is possible to have multiple layers of fabric in a fiber reinforcement layup, so there could be Kevlar under the fiberglass, but I doubt the layer we see is Kevlar. According to Wikipedia, Kevlar came on the market about 1973.
I agree that it looks like fiberglass. Looks like the inside of my old steel mill hard hat.
It is naturally yellow, it does not have to stay yellow as part of the manufacturing process. I've had this discussion directly with DuPont.
They had fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic during WW2. No Kevlar. You can estimate the age of a helmet liner by the colors of the alternating fiberglass "darts." The early ones were much darker.
@@dalecomer5951 it wasnt fiberglass, it was phenolic resin impregnated canvas duck molded under pressure. its what they used to make the helmet liners, the USN MKII gunners helmets were steel just like the m1s.
its a weave of kevlar like materials, i forget the names. its stronger than fiberglass.
On the Tarawa LHA 1, in the repair lockers we had steel pots, phone talker helmets and firefighter helmets. Before I left the ship in 92, the steel pots were being phased out. I snagged one before we dumped the rest over the side. I know that today they don't use steel pots anymore, it's the firefighter helmets that repair parties use now.
aw man, as a helmet geek thats makes me wanna cry lol.
Steel pots issued to an LHA? What the hell...
Being a Army tank crewman, we had the CVC helmets, combat vehicle crewman helmet. Those have an outer shell, fiberglass in the olden days, with a nylon liner that held shaped foam pads, and also incorporated headphones and a microphone, which connected to the tank's intercom and radios. The headphones are necessary both for hearing protection and for communication between crew members--esp. the driver, who's down in the hull all by themself. If the driver took off their helmet or it became disconnected, the gunner could get the driver's attention by poking him in the back of the head with the pole end of one of the signal flags we carried; there was a small space under the gun where the gunner could jab the flag staff through.
We also had the M1 steel pots in Basic, and the more modern kevlar helmets for wear when we were off the tank.
So you were basically wearing pre historic comtacs.
@@G-Mastah-Fash What's a comtac? At least they weren't M1938's
@@Supersean0001 It's hearing protection that levels out ambient noise so you can still hear things but don't go deaf and has integrated comms. It's the headphones you usually see special forces wear.
Hey Ryan, that helmet with the yellow stripes look like that it could have been done by someone from Michigan who is a Michigan Wolverines fan, the stripes are in the style of the Wolverines helmets. Now about the kevlar, i don't think that kevlar was around in the 40's, it is a more recent development, i think that it was introduced in the 70's. Btw, I'm in Michigan, and am a Wolverines fan.
Go (Big) Blue!
Go Green!
@@terryboyer1342 Lol.
Those gray M1 helmets show up in several early episodes of JAG in what I assume is stock footage of sailors going to General Quarters. They're also shown in use aboard the USS Reuben James in Hunt for Red October.
That's what we had in the mid to late 80s.
Also in Final Countdown!
We had them until the early 90's on USS Midway.
This is the first video I have ever seen on TH-cam where someone actually takes a M1 helmet apart and shows the liner and the steel(dome?) part of the helmet. There must be hundreds of videos about steel helmets of WWII, but you showed the two parts of the M1.
Thanks for that!
I love reading the comments on these videos. This has got to be one of the most informative comment sections on TH-cam. Always such great additional info you'd never find elsewhere.
I keep watching in amazement. Your videos of New Jersey are fascinating and getting better Mr Curator. Museum and memorial with a pulse.
I was issued the old Kevlar "Fritz" helmet. They even had a similar adjustment system like the old steel pot.
Cool video man. Appreciate the old footage of back then.
I never liked the PASGT kevlar helmets. The suspension system always created pressure points on my head and became painful to wear after an hour or so. When we traded them in for ACH helmets I never looked back. Yeah, the foam pads don't breath as well, but I could and did wear them for days at a stretch.
Yeah, those little foam donuts they sold at the PX didn't help much either. Never did get to wear the ACH myself.
I always learn something from Ryan's videos. This one is no exception. Thank you Ryan!
Rock climber, canyoneer, rope rescue technician, swiftwater rescue technician. You better believe that I'm wearing the appropriate helmet for the activity! I haven't got much up there, so I try to protect what I have. Also, I've seen what happens when someone has a problem and is not wearing a helmet.
Wore the ACH "kevlar" in the Army. Wear a hardhat occasionally driving trucks
I worked on the flight deck of Nimitz 30 years ago. We used "cranials". Not really a "full" helmet. Morel like a liner with plates attached. They were color coded by shop. And we did decorate them.
Today I ride a motorcycle pretty much all year long. I put a lot of consideration and money into my helmets. I tend to get expensive ones because they are usually more comfortable. And I prefer HIVIZ yellow for visibility. Although I bought my last one during the pandemic and wasn't able to get the color I wanted.
Thanks for all the work you do.
Can't resist commenting early: No, they're not! Helmets until *very* recently have almost exclusively been to protect against shrapnel and incidental bumps and bashes. Brand new state-of-the-art combat helmets are starting to be actually 'bulletproof' to some degree in theory, not that anybody is keen to test it.
If you want to get even more technical, no piece of body armor ( none that I've ever seen or heard of ) is actually "bulletproof," a term that suggests an imperviousness to all bullets, which of course is absurd. Find a big enough bullet, and the toughest armor or helmet designed will fail.
A better term I've been inclined to use for years now is "bullet resistant."
Even if they get bulletproof, a big enough bullet may carry enough kinetic energy to break your neck
@@robertstaples3256 It doesn't just matter the size of the bullet, if you take enough hits your armor will be compromised. Remember what he said about cutting a hole in armor reduces it's strength by 60 percent. There is a similar rule for every bullet a vest or helmet stops, and how effective it will be against the next round.
I understand what you mean by bulletproof, but honestly it doesn't seem like the navy is encountering much small-arms fire these days. Nothing wrong with getting as much protection as you can.. but I'm pretty sure if anyone gets hit with anything more than shrapnel during a ship to ship engagement, they're very dead
@@robertstaples3256 the thing is that when you say "bulletproof" it's only half of it, it's "Bullet proof against..." and there's a rating. So a helmet built to protect against shrapnel would be bulletproof against certain pistol rounds.
Hi Ryan, I’ve just come across your channel and will, no doubt, deep dive into all of your videos as I’m fascinated by this beautiful ship. One video I’d love to see is of all the spaces and places YOU get to go, as curator, that the rest of us will never see!
A lot of the videos are him showing spaces like that
Just like you show except that ours had a white DC on them. After over 50 years, I don't remember if they had our repair party location. I was the #1 nozzleman, so just wore the plain helmet. Never had a helmet when I was using a sound powered phone.
I visited BB NJ on Mother’s Day on a tour by Joe the firefighter. I really learned a lot thank you
In the Marine Corps we used old Enhanced Combat Helmets for a couple years then we got upgraded to the Advanced Combat Helmet which is inherently more ballistic rated meaning that it may actually stop the bullet instead of redirecting it and giving you a hair cut like the ECH does
I was on USS Robison DDG-12 from 74-76. Deck Division, at first I was on the fo'c'sle and fantail for sea and anchor detail, later on the bridge for sea and anchor and GQ, At various times I wore both the M1 and the phone talkers helmet (steel one, we didn't have the fiber ones yet). Later, as a civilian on the Military Sealift Command unrep oilers, we wore the standard plastic hardhats during unrep ops.
I started my Army career in M1 steel pots and the tankers helmet a CVC (combat vehicle crewman's helmet) In the late 1980s we received Kevlar helmets to replace the steel pots but CVCs stayed mostly the same but the external shell got thicker possibly Kevlar.
Fun fact, the liner part of the M1 can be worn by itself has a hard hat. Original liners where made like pith helmets and out of duck cloth which is a early plastic. Later they where made out if nylon. No liner was made out of Kevlar. I have several m1’s, a WW1 brodie, and a usmc light weight helmet in my collection.
What is a "USMC light weight" helmet?
@@dalecomer5951 its a slightly lighter modified version of the pasgt. The inside has pads like the ach and ech.
@@Mree17 Thanks.
When I was 18 I was serving army in the country where I was born. We have to wear helmets all the time. Steel one peace helmets looking mostly like Soviet models. Pretty heavy and not that bulletproof. Made you feel bit protected though. Later on I’ve seen the war and there were no helmets at all. Not sure what felt better to be honest. I remember wishing something to protect my body and eventually I was right. Though sniper shot that did wound me would most probably miss the plate carrier anyways. Plus 8mm Mauser would go true lot of soft armor plates. No helmet gives you more alert state and less drag. Maybe even more speed, pun not intended. I guess I want to say it all depends where you are and what is enemy using against your position. People that have never participated in firefights often think they could carry a metric ton and run all day. Sure elevated adrenaline gives you strength to overcome peaks. But as longer you need to go you will get tired and slow and that might kill you more than having no protection. Yet again depending on situation. On ships and fortified positions as well as in vehicles it makes more sense. Shrapnel protection and you will not need to run to much. All day long on your feet’s, well lighter setup might be better for you. There is one huge aspect of it all. Luck. If everything misses you you are fine. If it hits you it might defeat the protection to. Sounds silly, I am very aware of it, but not everyone gets hit. At least not in first few years. Also some people survive hardest things despite of the all odds. So luck does matter but one should not count on staying lucky for ever.
After reading the 1st sentence I thought he is Russian but doesn't want to say. I could be wrong but If not I feel bad that u feel that you can't say that openly
@@charlesvaughan3517 if you were just bit more concentrated you would come to the right conclusion. It's simple, helmets looks like soviet hence eastern Europe. Than second clue is I was in war hence what countries have had war? So that puts you in countries of ex Yugoslavia. Simple right. Plus everyone should be ashamed only of the bad thing they have done or they are doing. That means there are millions of people in every country that have nothing to be ashamed of not even in the Russia.
@@charlesvaughan3517 If he saw war and mentioned 8mm mauser, thats a dead giveaway of the old SFRJ aka Yugoslavija
well helmets are mostly there to protect your noggin against shrapnel, since the majority of injury and death comes from heavy ordinance, like artillery in wars. 95% of the helmets do not stop rifle rounds, even the modern ones, and those that do are meant to be worn for a short period of time, since even modern helmets with stuff like NOD's and com sets tend to lead to neck injuries from prolonged use.
Edit; Was that 8mm mauser round perchance fired from the M76? Anyways glad you pulled trough getting hit by 8mm mauser.
@@thesayxx yes from M76. In ex Yu army bullets designated for precision rifles have had purple ring around primer. Those were calibrated weight rounds. When I woke up after the first operation bullets was tide up around my wrist. When I saw it I've threw it away. Upper body shot. Was extremely lucky to survive. Normally people do not survive this kind of wounds. Anyhow garand thumb has good video about modern head gear. You are right on both accounts.
I did my military service in the Italian Army in 1997 and I wore the Italian WW2 style M33 steel helmet. Unlike the M2 it is steel shell only, with a leather liner on a flexible steel frame rivited to the shell, with the three rivets acting also as ventilation holes. The Italian M33 comes in 3 different shell sizes and different liner sixes from 55 to 61. On the whole it's a comfortable and well ventilated helmet.
While in service I used the old M1, the PASGT, CVC, and the ACH. I also was issued a construction-site hard hat for some duties.
One night in West Germany my lieutenant was giving me grief because I wore my helmet while erecting a radio antenna. I had objected to using too many poles, necessary because we weren't line of sight in our location--and it was windy. We just got the antenna up and I was being chewed out for my paranoia when there was a loud crack and I was driven to my knees by something glancing off my helmet. No injury--but my helmet (PASGT) was gashed and my helmet cover ripped. I surveyed my damaged helmet at supply when we returned to garrison, but otherwise didn't hear another squeak about wearing helmets.
some of the older Tico cruisers still had some extra steel pots and flak jacketsfor backups to kevlar as of like 2008
wow! thanks for sharing that. i suspected some steel pots soldiered on after 2000, but i wasnt sure of it.
@@thurin84 i’m sure by now they’re all gone but crazy to think that a helmet could stay in the fight for over 70 yeara
@@meatyyt8731 shortly after it started i saw a ukrainian soldier wearing an old us ww2 m1 helmet.
A great video from the battleship.
Any fixed bail M1 helmets on board? They were phased out of production in 1942 for the swivel type. Any fixed ones are probably original to the ship.
I guarantee there are fixed bales onboard. They stopped making them in 1942 but they didn't phase them out until after the war and some survived in service as long as the m1 was in service.
they phased them out late 1943 around sept i think. im also sure theres FBs onboard.
I had to wait all this years to understand how the M1 helmet is configured and why the leather band is seen on the rim in the front. I always believed that was the chin strap with the GIs trying to be cool. 😂
I saw a whole video about the chin strap thing, (summary: there was a rumor among GIs that the strap could decapitate you in a shell explosion, and later they may have thought it looked cool) and it never mentioned the liner strap. Thanks for reminding me to thank Ryan for mentioning that!
We used the M1 helmets when I was in the (Danish) army in the 1970s. The liner strap was always attached behind the neck. It was never placed over the rim of the helmet. Used together, the nape strap and the chin strap held the helmet firmly in place so it didn't fall off like you see in the movies. Sometimes we wore the liner separately (at parades and light duty), and then the nape strap was necessary to prevent the liner from tipping over.
Dumb question, would the Marine detachments serving on board into the late 80s have used the M1s as well? Or would have they been assigned something more modern?
Up until fairly recently the Marines got everyone else’s cast offs and unwanted equipment. That helmet, or a similar model was likely used up until the introduction of the PASGT.
If they had something more modern it would have been something the marines gave them and not the ship.
The ones they issue now are high cut ACH which is Kevlar. We have them in our repair lockers I have picture if you want to see
I work in the utilities I’ve been issued three for different tasks such as working at heights, supervising chemical deliveries and finally working in high noise environments this one has a built in electrical flash visor
I was stationed onboard a FFG in the late 90s to early 00s and we still had the M1 style helmets for the bridge crew, but I don't recall seeing them elsewhere on the ship, at least not at any of my stations or spaces I frequently was in.
Im not sure if anyone mentioned it but the slit in the back of the helmet is to hold the battery back for the UWG-0682 helmet lamp. The helmet is modified so the clip of the battery pack could slide in since the elastic band wasn't always the best.
I was an Airdale, depended on what I was doing. Cranial for working, flight helmet, and later in C-130's in combat zones Kevlar helmets. We usually sat on the bullet proof vest because we would be shot at from below. Later on they added armor plating inside the flight station walls and floor. Then we would wear the vest. Sometimes wore the Kevlar helmets out the plane depending on where we landed. This was in the Navy.
I'm late to write this, but great video. I really like seeing topics im passionate about being discussed, that being helmets; however, I can say I was very surprised that the USN Mk-2 talker helmet was not featured prior to the Mk-4 you showed. Did the battleship retain any of those helmets after reactivation or were they thoroughly removed from the ship? Thanks for the great content as always. -Leo
Being an enlisted sailor who's ship's currently in the yards I wear a blue hardhat and occasionally a Kevlar helmet along with a Firefighing helmet.
I used to do pest control, which involved going in crawlspaces. I had a skateboard helmet I used for night vision with a shroud mounted on the front. Later when I got a dedicated night vision bump helmet, I took the go-pro adapter that came with it, mounted a light to it, put it on the shroud on the skateboard helmet, and used that for crawlspaces.
Anyway, had to go into a crawlspace with one of my supervisors, and he was busting my balls about the bright blue skateboard helmet. I told him it was, "to protect my grape!" He had a good laugh at me. We go in the crawlspace, and we're not in there 5 minutes, when I hear *TONK* "OW! SONOFABITCH!" I yelled, "AND THATS WHY I WEAR THE HELMET!"
Long story short, when we got out, he asked me to school him on my helmet setup.
I wear the MICH/ACH style helmet. My father used the M1 steel pot style while at army OCS.
I wore a steel pot the entire time I was in the Army, and I can't say I EVER saw a soldier use his helmet for a latrine. C'mon man...
Yeah no kidding...why create an extra step of having to wash out your helmet? Just dig a hole, get down to business, and bury. Vs get down to business, dig hole, bury, wash out helmet. That makes no sense at all.
Ludicrous speed! 🤣 when I was in we were using the MICH 2000 series helmets still. I wear a fast helmet now though. It’s more accommodating to the night vision gear.
Got out in 1979 & still using the steel helmets then, used both. The (phone talker’s) helmet gets heavy after you’ve had it on for awhile.
Most of my jobs and hobbies involved several types of helmets. From construction , firefighting, rope rescue, WW1 and WW2 living history bike riding and equestrian. Maybe that's why I now collect helmets...LOL
I was a sonar tech from89-93 and I never had a helmet. Lol.. I saw plenty on board the USS Miller but to my surprise I never used one. I always figured they were assigned equipment. Of course I did find out after three years but by then who cared.. I was always in a dark hole anyway! Lmao.. I hate to think back that far it hurts.. great times and bad. But with everything going on today that we worked so hard to overcome back then . I.e. the cold war.. seems like history just runs in circles. Anyhow, great bit, nice job explaining it.
the m1 youre wearing is ww2 produced btw. you can tell by the sewn on chinstraps. the liners ww2 as well. awesome helmet!
yeah the ww2 MKII talker helmets were steel like the m1s (made by the same mfg mccord) with a big bowtie shaped foam rubber liner.
i loved this episode!!!!
Never ride my bicycle with a helmet. I definitely wear a hardhat in the many Nevada Ghost Mines. Navy, wore various depending upon assignment. Hardhat again, in drydock.
I was USAF Security Police 71-75. We had a stash of M1 helmets that I swear were left over from WW2. The liner straps stunk and made stains on your head. Originally, you just took one from a stack, but a few of us managed to hang onto some of the better ones. When I was getting out of the service, the supply NCO asked me if I wanted to keep anything. "Hell no", I said, I don't want to look at one of those again and happily returned it, along with the flak vest.
Thank you
I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman. What, me wear a helmet? Actually, in Vietnam, we all wore the M1 style on occasion, that occasion being when we were under rocket or mortar fire and had them handy. Since we kept them in the barracks, we were usually without the helmet during our duty time.
Those Brody helmets and steel pots saved thousands of guys during WWI and WWII
I wore a helmet in Boot Camp. That was the last time. I was assigned to 4 ships on both coasts. They gave operating instructions to never hook the chin strap because of the hazard of needing to jump off the ship with it on would break your neck on water impact.
I make a game out of finding actors in war movies who are wearing only the liner of the M-1 helmet....you can tell by noticing the rivets which hold the harness inside, the steel pot itself does not have any rivets.
I was a U.S. Naval Aircrewman on Lockheed P-3C Orion's. We'd have to wear helmets for battle condition 1 and also for whoever the crewman was that setting condition IV (upon takeoff one crew member is designated to get out of his seat & check the airplanes vital components inside & outside the plane from the tail to the flight station. Once condition 4 is set that crewman takes his helmet off for the rest of the mission. I believe it was 70% of the helmets surface had to show the reflective coat in case we ended up in the water so that the SAR guys could spot you easier especially at night, so you couldn't completely cover your help with a huge Metallica sticker or logo or anything else.
You never actually said if the steel helmet was bullet proof? I do enjoy you're videos Ryan, NICE JOB!
The Army Kevlar helmet, the drill sergeants specifically told us, were not bullet-proof, especially against an AK-47 round. At most they are bullet resistant
Yup. The materials get fancier, but the weight limit remains the same, because the typical wearer does too re' neck strength (pretty much).
Not to mention a heavier helmet would make neck breakage from the kenetic impact of a round on the helmet worse.
Spaceballs called - they want the Dark Helmet back...
Yeah I wear a helmet when I ride a bike and I remember back when I was doing my military service (compulsory service in my country) I hit a branch (fairly large one) while on training march in the woods and all I felt was a bit of a push which I probably wouldn't have even noticed if there was distractions about. Oh and that was steel helmet similar to the M1 (though different model and a later design).
Navy: Let's call it something other than M1
Army: Hold my beer....
I have my uncle's Vietnam era helmet. Probably an M-1. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also still have the camo cloth cover that wraps around it. He passed suddenly shortly after marrying my aunt, so I never really got the chance to even ask him about it. All I really know is that he was a Marine sniper and highly decorated.
I used the old PASGT Kevlar helmet when I first joined the army and later got a newer MICH Kevlar. I still have that MICH helmet to this day.
When I was a linemen retired now I wore a hard hat like the Brody helmet it helped to keep sparks away from the body if something went wrong over head
Good stuff thanks. I haven't really ever wore a helmet except on my motorcycle, but I know of a lot of times I should have been wearing one that I wasn't
The WWII phonetalker (MK 2) helmets were made of metal and had a suspension system similar to the M1 steel pot style. Beginning in the 80s the Navy started to experiment with different styles of prototype helmets but never fully adopted any of them (with the possible exception of the phonetalker MK4. Many of the prototypes were made of Kevlar and had a "Starwars" look to them. Each helmet came with a bag of different size foam blocks for sizing. Problem was, once it was sized to 1 individual it may not fit the next user.
At 0:53 you can see the guy on the far left putting on a steel talker helmet. The one I've got has an integrated pad stuck in the top shaped to fit around the headset rather than a suspension system like an M1.
the MKIIs suspension was a big foam rubber bowtie shaped piece to allow for the headset. i think youre thinking of flak helmets.
I always wear a helmet cycling and climbing. Not so much for skiing, but most people seem to now.
I've used the tortoise shell (phone talker's helmet), PASGT helmet, ACH, and of course the ubiquitous plastic hard hat.
We had the M1s on all my ships and in the Seabees until the early 1990s. Today, all I wear is a STIHL helmet with hearing protection and a face shield when cutting brush on our volunteer railroad.
No body cares
Only time I had to wear my Kevlar was on exercise in the USAF. We had the enhanced combat helmet which was a slightly smaller version of the advanced combat helmet. Other than that I never really had to wear one, and I never wore any head gear on the flight line.
Hey Ryan I have a gray fixed bale m1 helmet that i believe came off a navy ship did the navy use both fixed and swivel bales during ww2?
Yes
As a kid I had a liner for a M1 helmet. As an adult I've worn a hard-hat a few times.
I was in the Army for 5 years from 2009-2014 but cannot recall the nomenclature for the style we wore. All I know is that it was hot and heavy and our headsets didn’t fit inside them all that well for people with big heads! I must admit that a few people called me Lord Helmet from Space Balls. 😂
Most likely an ACH unless you were high speed and got an early high cut OpsCore.
The Steel Helmet, great Sam Fuller film.🤠
I was the bridge phone talker on a cruiser in Japan a few years ago. I only ever had to wear the “Storm Trooper” helmet when we were doing GQ drills. Most military helmets make you feel a little bit cool…this one did not lol. We still use sound powered phones to this day.
Wore an MSA ACH in the Army and a MSA Cairns 880 fire helmet when needed now.
I find interesting that the sailors just pulled a helmet off the rack and adjusted it each time they put. As a rock climber I have my own helmet that I've pre-addjusted the fit for so it's easy to put on.
I was thinking the same thing. If I had to guess, I'd say its possible that gun crews kept track of which helmet was theirs or initialed or marked their helmets to identify who's helmet was who's.
You grab the helmet near you, RIGHT AWAY. No time to search for which one is yours, or go back to your bunk for it.
They probably didn't they grabbed a helmet that most likely didn't fit them very well.
There’s a testing report by Bashford Dean (yes, that Bashford Dean!) in his 1920 “Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare” (it’s public domain and on Google Books) that says Brodie Helmets (or “British-American Helmet”) and Stalhelm as well as some of the M1’s design prototypes absolutely were able to stop handgun rounds (at least the comparatively slow .45 ACP). I see no reason the final M1 helmet would be any worse in that regard.
Good Day all : I have spoken to the motorcycle people over the years about metal shelled helmets . There is only one manufacturer that I know of , it was in California . It was a father and son company and only were in business for a short time and made about 800 aluminum shelled helmets . Over the years I've inquired around about such , but never received a positive response . The military have been successfully using metal shelled helmets since world war 2 . If the military uses them , there is no doubt about about it ; It's Good !
The liner on the M1 helmet is not kevlar, but rather strips of fibreglass or even cotton fabric soaked in an epoxy-like resin then compressed and molded. It has little to no ballistic resistance on its own. The M1 helmet shell is not "bullet proof" by any means, however, they have been known to be able to sometimes stop or deflect some small caliber rounds, though they were not intended for that.
The newer phone talker helmet certainly looks like it might be kevlar to me though, or perhaps a similar material used to make a composite helmet. I have seen kevlar in that color before.
As for cooking in the helmet shell, it's a very bad idea. Heating up the steel can ruin the temper and make it far too brittle.
Kevlar was developed by DuPont in 1965 so your phone talker example with the woven look is most likely just woven fiberglass cloth.
So, does the entire engineering crew have to put on the Mickey mouse helmets when the captain orders the ship above flank and to plaid?
It might be worth mentioning that the chin strap was not attached if a sailor had to jump from the ship into the water. The theory is that the helmet collects water upon entry, and the shock could cause neck injuries.
that was one of the reasons they adopted the T-1 chinstrap buckle system. that and explosive concussion. it was designed to break loose with 15 lbs pressure.
Throughout the video I had the feeling this had been taped in the 90s. But lo and behold it's been done in 2022. Great info but maybe stay on topic. Not much about the helmets not being bullet proof. Maybe compare them to modern helmets and have examples of both modern and vintage ones.
Bike and skiing helmets are the only ones I use regularly…
I have used hard hats occasionally but never served, so I have little to no experience of that type of protection.
Fortunately that means I never got shot at either, so there is that little bonus I guess…
I work in a salt mine museum 650’ underground! I wear an MSA Comfo-Cap hard hat all day.
Is the Poseidon adventure movie for reals? Is there a way to escape a ship upside down?
You know I was just watching The Poseidon Adventure today. Is it possible? Yes. There was such an event during Pearl Harbor with the USS Oklahoma.
Yes. If you know what you are doing and the ship gives you time before she goes under.
@@SSN515 well there is the small matter of lack of tools. It's not like you have an acetylene torch handy.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Don't need it. A 1 1/4 inch combination wrench, 15 nuts off the Main Condenser overboard access cover and you can walk out. Same with the Scoop Injection, if you lash open the check valve flapper. And that's just two egress points. There are more. Don't need to cut anything.
@@SSN515 how many crew actually have a wrench handy, in the dark and upside down? It does bring upon an odd point in the movie though. What happened to the entire engine room crew on the Poseidon? It was just playing on TV today.
as for bullet proofing, seems like if you're on a battleship and being shot at by small arms, something has gone very wrong, or somebody else's day is about to go very very wrong
Helmet collector and restorer from Europe here. Everyhting from Adrians to M16 through M42 stahlhelm, brodies and M1, Russian wartime types and rare Dutch, Italian and Romanian types. I would love to see and handle one of those giant earphone helmets. If you have some to restore please send one over please. I'll restore and ship it back free of charge. Indeed, helmets are shrapnel, bump and concussion protection only, not bullet protection. Modern helmets and German M16's and the 1956 East German stahlhelm or wartime Swiss should be able to take up to 9mm but i wouldent bet my life on it. I know they wartime tested these on a 25 meter range with a high velocity 9mm from a hand gun and they should pass in as new condition. Based on shape, thickness, ballistic deflection rate etc. Kevlar makes a difference, its lighter, but only the early US ones like issued in the 91 gulf war offered anything above 9mm. Also be aware kevlar and carbon fibres have a use by date and will deteriorate, unlike steel. Since then the helmets have grown lighter but also much more fragile. 9mm is the official industry test mark nowadays, but in realility count only on shrapnell, bump and concussion protection unless you have a top spec military kevlar or fibre one that is not older than 5 years.
The Missouri/Wisconsin sailors in the Gulf War looked like they had then modern PASGT helmets and woodland camo uniforms
@6:55 -- I'm sorry but I can't get this out of my mind!
I saw this in the preview image for the video and NOW I see it here again!
If you painted the grey helmet of the guy on the right white, it would look almost like one of the helmets the Spaceball troopers wore in the movie "Spaceballs"! Just a coincidence, I'm sure! 😂
The only helmets I've seen were worse were prototypes from 1989 or thereabouts. They were testing integrated screens and sensors for helmet-mounted sights. These would have been ancient prototypes for the tech that ended up in the F-35! I could see WHY those things weren't integrated for decades. The helmets if they'd been put into service back then would have weighed 35-40 lbs and would just not been practical for high-G fighters!
As it was, I think the 1989 prototype helmets were suspended on cable from the ceiling to keep from killing/injuring the necks of the volunteers that were testing these systems,
When asked why he wears a cup but not a helmet Gordie Howe said “You can always get someone to do your thinking for you.”
Used to wear helmets for hockey and firefighting, now I seldom have a task that needs one.
Does anyone know if modern helmets have to be replaced after a certain time ? Heard that OSHA requires all hard hard to be replaced every two years but nobody does that. My old company was going to order me a replacement hard hat a month before retiring for my over 10 year old one.
Beard is looking nice!