Original WWII U.S. 103rd Infantry Division Painted Rear Seam Swivel Bale M1 Helmet with Seaman Paper Company Liner - Occupation Painted

Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is a lovely U.S. 103rd Infantry Division-painted M1 helmet with a rear seam and swivel bales, making it a very late war example. This example is in very good condition considering signs of honest wear from use, and decades of storage wear. There is no heat lot stamp that we could find, nor could we determine the helmet’s maker. The chinstrap is missing from both the liner and shell. 

From the late war construction, we believe this helmet to have been painted for the 103rd Infantry Division during Occupation. The divisional insignia painted on both sides of the helmet depicts a Cactus standing in a red-bordered circle on a purple ground with a yellow background. The purple ground is an interesting design choice as the normal color for this was blue. The paint is heavily worn overall but appears genuine to the period. 

The U.S. WWII M-1 helmet was only produced from 1941 to 1945. The first production batch resulted with over 323,510 M-1 helmets before the start of the American involvement in the war. The Ordnance Department selected McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit Michigan to produce the steel M1 helmet bodies. These bodies were made from a single piece of Hadfield Manganese steel that was produced by the Carnegie-Illinois & Sharon Steel Corporations. Each completed raw M-1 helmet shell weighed 2.25 lbs each.

The shell’s chinstrap is entirely absent, but the swivel bales are intact. The rear seam of the stainless steel rim denotes very late war manufacture. 

The liner is correct high pressure WWII issue and stamped with a S in an oval for the SEAMAN PAPER COMPANY. Manufactured in Chicago, Illinois this "high pressure" manufactured M-1 helmet liner is identified by an embossed "S" in the crown. Seaman Paper Company started delivery to the US Army in September 1942. They produced approximately between 2,000,000 - 4,000,000 M-1 helmet liners and discontinued production around August 17, 1945 when the war ended.

This true US WWII M-1 helmet liner can be identified through the frontal eyelet hole. Other correct WW2 features include cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth suspension liner. This HBT suspension is held tightly within the M-1 helmet liner by rivets and a series of triangular "A" washers, though there are some areas of tearing a detach. The three upper suspension bands are joined together with the correct OD green string. This way the wearer could adjust the fit. The leather sweatband is entirely absent, as is the chinstrap.

A great occupation-painted 103rd ID helmet, ready for further research and display.