This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2015) |
The Mk III Helmet is a steel military combat helmet that was first developed for the British Army in 1941 by the Medical Research Council. They were issued to troops in April 1944 and then worn in combat for the first time by British and Canadian troops on D-Day. Mk III and Mk IV helmets were used alongside the Brodie helmet for the remainder of the Second World War. It is sometimes referred to as the "turtle" helmet by collectors, because of its vague resemblance to a turtle shell, as well as the 1944 pattern helmet.
The Mark III helmet was designed to provide better protection for the side of the head than its predecessor. It was a deeper helmet with a smaller brim and provided 38% more protection than the Mark II, particularly at the sides (total area of head protection was increased by 12%, horizontal protection was increased by 15% and from items falling from overhead by 11%). The Mark III helmet was issued primarily to assault troops for the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and a large number of helmets from British stocks were issued to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in addition to British units. Small numbers also went to the 2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions. All Mark III helmets in Canadian stores were returned to the UK shortly after the end of World War II.
The Mk III gradually replaced the Brodie helmet from 1944 onwards. The Mk III was itself replaced after the war by the Mark IV helmet, which it closely resembled. The differences were that the rivets attaching the chinstrap to the helmet were placed much lower down on the shell and the use of a "lift-the-dot" fastener for the liner. These modifications allowed the Mk IV to be utilised for carrying water. In 1959 a new, more padded, liner was introduced into service but the steel helmet body was unchanged. Hence, the title of the helmet (at least in British army stores catalogues) remained the MK IV. In 1985 the nylon fibre Mark 6 helmet was introduced into service to replace the MK IV, although it was some years before the issue was universal.
Although designed in 1941, due to production issues, the helmet was not manufactured until late 1943. It was produced by three manufacturers in the UK:
Code | Maker | Location |
---|---|---|
BMB | Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd | Dagenham |
F&L | Fisher & Ludlow Ltd | Castle Bromwich |
ROCO | Rubery Owen Co. Ltd | Leeds |
Helmet manufacture commenced in November 1943 until early 1945 when production shifted to the MK IV helmets. [1] Mk III helmets were initially painted with textured khaki green colour, later replaced by a textured dark brown.
The Belgians produced the MkIII helmet post war, Most known examples are dated 1951 and the liner bears a manufacturers name of Sartel , date and size in metric girth printed in white ink. There is no embossing on the crossed straps.
The Belgian-produced helmet has no stainless steel parts. The chin strap clips and the rim that are normally Stainless steel on a British helmet are a carbon steel on the Belgian version.
The Belgian helmets do not have any manufacturer's stamp or date on the shell.
The Belgian helmet is a few millimeters longer, front to back, than its British Counterpart. The liner uses brown, not black leather in its construction.
The Helmet has the same country flag decal on the left hand side as the MkII and the M51 (US M1 Euro-clone) helmets that the Belgians also made.
It is possible to find a war-time dated Mk III that was later fitted with the 'lift the dot' liner. These refurbishments generally took place in the 1950s.
The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by Latvian inventor John Leopold Brodie. A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the US. Colloquially, it was called the shrapnel helmet, battle bowler, Tommy helmet, tin hat, and in the United States the doughboy helmet. It was also known as the dishpan hat, tin pan hat, washbasin and Kelly helmet. The German Army called it the Salatschüssel. The term Brodie is often misused. It is correctly applied only to the original 1915 Brodie's Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern.
The Stahlhelm is a German military steel combat helmet intended to provide protection against shrapnels and fragments or shards of grenades. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet and more specifically to the distinctive German military design.
The M1 helmet is a combat helmet that was used by the U.S. military from World War II until 1985, when it was succeeded by the PASGT helmet. The M1 helmet has become an icon of the US military, with its design inspiring other militaries around the world.
The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, with a calibre of 3.45 inches (87.6 mm), was a piece of field artillery used by British and Commonwealth forces in the Second World War. It was often described as being durable, easy to operate and versatile. It was the major British field gun and howitzer during the War.
The Ordnance QF 18-pounder, or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War-era. It formed the backbone of the Royal Field Artillery during the war, and was produced in large numbers. It was used by British Forces in all the main theatres, and by British troops in Russia in 1919. Its calibre (84 mm) and shell weight were greater than those of the equivalent field guns in French (75 mm) and German (77 mm) service. It was generally horse drawn until mechanisation in the 1930s.
The Adrian helmet was an influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I. Its original version, the M15, was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.
Imperial Japanese Army uniforms tended to reflect the uniforms of those countries who were the principal advisors to the Imperial Japanese Army at the time.
The Mk 6 helmet is a type of combat helmet that was the standard of the British Armed Forces as well as another supplied helmet of the UN during peacekeeping operations. The Mk 6 replaced the Mk IV helmet in army service and the RAC helmet in naval service. The jump in MK numbers is thought due to the confusion surrounding the MK IV helmet using the MK V lining, introduced in 1959.
The British Army used a variety of standardized battle uniforms and weapons during World War I. According to the British official historian Brigadier James E. Edmonds writing in 1925, "The British Army of 1914 was the best trained best equipped and best organized British Army ever sent to war". The value of drab clothing was quickly recognised by the British Army, who introduced Khaki drill for Indian and colonial warfare from the mid-19th century on. As part of a series of reforms following the Second Boer War, a darker khaki serge was adopted in 1902, for service dress in Britain itself. The British military authorities showed more foresight than their French counterparts, who retained highly visible blue coats and red trousers for active service until the final units received a new uniform over a year into World War I. The soldier was issued with the 1908 Pattern Webbing for carrying personal equipment, and he was armed with the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifle.
1937 Pattern Web Equipment was an item of military load-carrying equipment. It replaced the 1908 Pattern and 1925 Pattern—on which it was based—and was standard issue for British and Commonwealth troops from its introduction in 1937, throughout World War II, and in the post-war period until it was superseded by 1958 Pattern Web Equipment. It remained in limited use with Territorial Army and other second-line troops until the mid to late 1970s. Official use of the webbing in Community Cadet Forces and the Combined Cadet Force persisted into the 1980s.
The M/1923 helmet was a combat helmet issued to Danish troops during the interwar period and saw service in the Second World War. It was the first helmet to be issued to the Royal Danish Army and Navy. The helmet was produced locally by the company A/S Glud & Marstrands Fabrikker.
The OR-201, also designated Kasda OR-201 Model 76 or M-76 for short, is a combat helmet of Israeli origin. Developed in the 1970s, the OR-201 was one of the world's first ballistic helmets. It was subsequently exported on a large scale and has been used by many militaries worldwide.
The Helmet Steel Airborne Troops (HSAT) is a paratrooper helmet of British origin worn by paratroopers and members of airlanding units. It was introduced in the Second World War by the British Army and was also used by other Commonwealth armies. It continued to be used in the postwar era until the early 1980s. It was in the process of being replaced, with parachute battalions being issued as priority, when the Falklands War occurred. As with the similarly shaped RAC helmet and despatch rider motorcycle helmet, it was initially manufactured by Briggs Motor Bodies at Dagenham.
The Royal Armoured Corps helmet is a combat helmet of British origin worn by Armoured Troops. As with the similarly shaped HSAT, it was initially manufactured by Briggs Motor Bodies at Dagenham. It was introduced in WW2 and was issued to commonwealth countries in the post-1945 era up to the Falklands War. The RAC helmets came with the same suspension and liner from the Brodie helmets and later the elasticated suspension and liner from the MkIII helmet. Many were converted to use as a Paratrooper Helmet.
The M76 Paratrooper helmet is a combat helmet of British origin issued to paratroopers and airborne forces of the British Army.
The M33 Helmet is a steel combat helmet designed in the 1930s in Italy, and was the standard combat helmet of the Regio Esercito up to World War II, and of the Esercito Italiano well into the Cold War.
Mk IV helmet is a combat helmet that was used by the British Army in the 1950s to 1980s.
The M1971 helmet is a military steel combat helmet used by Switzerland from its formal introduction in 1971 until its gradual replacement by the Schuberth B826.
The M34 is a steel combat helmet used by the Netherlands from its introduction in 1934 replacing the previous M23/27, to the invasion by Nazi Germany in 1940. From which it was replaced by the M53 helmet, a local copy of the American M1 helmet. A tropical variant of this helmet was produced for use by the Dutch East India Army in present-day Indonesia known as the KNIL model.