Original Japanese WWII Imperial Japanese Army Tanker Helmet with Markings

Original Item: Only One Available. The following excerpt is from an article titled The Wonders of Tanker Helmets by Peter Suciu about Japanese Tanker Helmets in WW2:

Japan devised its own tanker helmet, which was very distinct from their traditional steel helmet designs. It’s been suggested that Japanese tanker helmets were actually based on flight helmets.

There are also three well-known variations of tanker helmets, including an early winter model that’s fur lined with dark brown leather, a summer weight composition fabric version, and a variant with snaps to secure goggle straps to the helmet. The summer weight version is the most common, made of waterproofed hemp with a leather liner that provides extra support in front and back. Interestingly, many seemingly un-issued Japanese tanker helmets have shown up in recent years. These aren’t believed to be fakes or copies, but were possibly from a forgotten cache uncovered in Kyoto in the 1970s or 1980s (depending on who you ask).

It’s generally agreed that Japanese companies awarded military contracts typically produced the quantity of items in the contract, regardless of how the war was going. Thus it is logical to believe that these “forgotten” items were merely contracted items but weren’t required by the military at the time.

It should also be noted that Axis tanker helmets typically weren’t designed for use with radios or other communication equipment. Until the war’s end the Japanese relied on signal flags to direct their armored units while the German and even Italians at times used throat mics and traditional earphones, but this wasn’t integrated into their headgear.

This is a very good example of the summer-weight variation of the WWII Imperial Japanese Army tanker helmet. The size is approximately 6 3/4, and it exhibits honest service wear consistent with field use.

This is the Type M32 protective tanker’s helmet, constructed with a brown cotton exterior and featuring the characteristic brown faux-leather star affixed to the front. The interior is lined in coarse linen and fitted with black faux-leather pads at the front and rear, along with a light brown leather suspension system. The liner bears a manufacturer’s mark, date stamp, and additional kanji characters; however, due to heavy wear, the date is no longer legible, and the exact year of manufacture cannot be determined.

The sides retain their original lined brown leather “Y” straps with dual ring buckles. The leather components show heavy overall crazing, and the exterior displays pronounced wear and staining from both use and storage. There is minor tearing to the exterior material, as illustrated.

Overall, this is a completely authentic and highly desirable example of a scarce Imperial Japanese Army tanker helmet.