US Helmet liner. What era?

[jnkhntr]

Can anyone ID the era this is from? Any idea of value?

 

[clovis97]

I believe that is a WWII era helmet liner.

I am not an expert by any means, but the composite material, the leather head band, the cotton webbing, the strap and the steel clips holding the head band to the outer liner look to me to be WWII.

While there were many makers of these liners, look for a black imprint on the inside. The markings can be a bear to find and see.

I think the last one that I had was a Westinghouse. The leather head band and the cotton webbing was in horrid shape, as was the steel clips, which were really rusty, and I still got $50 for it.

 

[clovis97]

Can you give close up pics of the hardware that attaches the strap to the liner?

 

[clovis97]

One last post here:

There is a forum member named NOLAKen, or something like that. PM him and ask him to look at this thread. That guy is very knowledgeable about helmets, headgear, and anything to do with military history.

 

[jnkhntr]

Can you give close up pics of the hardware that attaches the chin strap to the liner?

Thanks for the info. Here is the picture of the chin strap.

 

[clovis97]

The strap looks to be correct for WWII era.

Does the liner have a marking on it, inside, under the webbing, in the crown era?

 

[clovis97]

What color is the webbing in the liner? On my screen, it looks green.

 

[jnkhntr]

What color is the webbing in the liner? On my screen, it looks green.

The
Color is khaki. The only marking is on the cloth that rests on the back of the head/neck. marked: W11009 OM1687 S.M.O. LARGE

 

[clovis97]

And there is no stamp impressed into the liner in the crown?

The Westinghouse liner I had did not have a crown stamp either, but a black rubber stamp on the right or left side that read '--stinghouse'. The imprint itself wasn't even fully legible!

Nonetheless, and again, I am NOT an expert, but I think your liner is appears to be a dead-on WWII liner.

 

[clovis97]

As a side note, I remember both WWI and WWII helmets were everywhere. It seemed that they were at every garage sale, and at every estate auction.

I was just a kid then, but all the adults I ever talked to said "Those helmets will never be worth anything. They made millions of them. If you are going to collect, get the German stuff, but wait until the price comes down. It is way too high right now."

At that time, US helmets from WWI were selling for $5 to $10, and WWII were $5 on the high side.

The coolest German helmet I've ever seen in person was a real Afrika Korps helmet with full liner and decal that a US soldier had mailed home, with the address written on the outside crown of the helmet, and it sold for a whopping $45, which was considered an outrageous price at that time. I literally begged my mom to let me buy that helmet...she thought I was a monster from Mars for even wanting it. That must have been about 1980 or so.

If I could go back in time...

 

[vpnavy]

What did you pay for it jnkhntr?

 

[jnkhntr]

What did you pay for it jnkhntr?

Thanks Clovis97 for all the great help. I still can't find any markings on the liner itself. I paid $2.00 dollars for it, so there is some profit to be made.

 

[reapp]

I've sold brown leather chinstraps in good condition for over $100 on ebay. Seems that most are dryrotted or broken, and the purist collectors have to have them. The one pictured would command a similar price.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

It does look to be a WW2 era liner, standard infantry type. Could be post war though up into the 1950's. The leather strap on yours isn't a chinstrap, it's actually the strap that goes over the front lip on the steel pot to hold the two together. The actual chinstrap is mounted to the steel pot itself. Look closely at the slide on the strap, and the rivets, and tell me if A) there is an anchor on the slider, and B) if the rivets are stamped "CARR" or "DOT"

A quick online search showed prices for these things are all over the place, I remember buying them out of a huge box at the army navy store, complete helmets for 20 bucks each. I wish I still had some.

 

[clovis97]

The leather strap on yours isn't a chinstrap, it's actually the strap that goes over the front lip on the steel pot to hold the two together. The actual chinstrap is mounted to the steel pot itself.

Okay...now I feel like a total idiot.

I actually knew that wasn't a chin strap...really, I did! I was sick yesterday with a bad cold, and I was beat tired when posting that.

(Note to self: Stay off the internet when you are sick. You might mislead people by posting the wrong info.)

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I just looked at the pic of your leather strap, the rivets appear to be stamped "UNITED CARR" Which should make it a WW2 liner.

Clovis, I should clarify, these straps were used as chinstraps when the liner was worn without the steel pot. Mainly for parade purposes, MP's and the like....

 

[jnkhntr]

. Look closely at the slide on the strap, and the rivets, and tell me if A) there is an anchor on the slider, and B) if the rivets are stamped "CARR" or "DOT"

All the rivets are marked "UNITED CARR." I'm not sure about the term "anchor" the slider is fixed in place with a marked rivet. Thanks so much for educating me on this.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

All the rivets are marked "UNITED CARR." I'm not sure about the term "anchor" the slider is fixed in place with a marked rivet. Thanks so much for educating me on this.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The
Color is khaki. The only marking is on the cloth that rests on the back of the head/neck. marked: W11009 OM1687 S.M.O. LARGE

This is also correct for a mid war WW 2 era liner. Later versions had OD green webbing

 

[jnkhntr]

View attachment 855331

Where your picture has the anchor, mine has this Pat 236 3872 Google patent search indicates this is 1944-45. Thanks again for all your help on this!