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Army buffs.....Why was there netting on US WWII helmets?


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My dad's helmet came with broken chin strap and no netting...was in the European Campaign!

https://www.quora.com/Why-was-there-netting-on-US-WWII-helmets

Chin Strap..my dad told me that if you had them on and was hit with artillery they say would take your head off!

https://www.quora.com/Why-in-WWII-were-the-soldiers-not-wearing-their-chin-straps-on-their-helmets-and-many-times-took-their-helmets-off-whereas-todays-GIs-always-have-their-chinstraps-buckled-and-keep-their-helmets-on-most-of-the-time

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Camouflage.

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Good read Dude this is what makes the website just another cool layer to being part of XI. If you posted this on FB some would think that all you are is some war monger instead of someone who likes learning about and from History.

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Can I take a stab in the dark? My pea-sized brain is thinking along the order of the old saying, If you give a man a fish you feed him one meal but if you teach him to fish he will always have food. Maybe they wanted to net some goldfishes or something! lol

 

Edited by BigPapaDean
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Yeah its obviously for catching fish, prolly goldfish as BigPapa said.

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The net is so you can add branches / leaves for additional camo

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no was for smokes and medical supplies 

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Good read, Thxs.

 

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The M1 helmet replaced the previous style American helmet around 1941. There were several variations of it over time until it was replaced by Kevlar helmets around 1985 (I think). There were various molds used for the helmet, various liners and various chinstraps over time. Regardless, the helmet netting was used for a multitude of purposes, including local, natural camo material (live branches with leaves, dead branches, grass, etc) and holding equipment. Its use depended upon your assignment (MOS, generally speaking), location of deployment and specific ground duty (combat/recon, etc).

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As a collector of militaria (but I'm no expert), this is one example I own of a later model M1 helmet (dated between the Korea and Vietnam wars, I believe). They all consisted of a helmet, liner and chinstrap (which was attached directly to the metal helmet). The chinstrap swivel holds the helmet to the liner via fold-over friction (basically). The chinstrap and its connection device evolved over time, so that's another way to date the helmet. Also, look to see if the helmet has a folded-over lip around the helmet rim/edge ... earlier versions did not, I believe. I'm not so sure if netting was standard issue with a helmet to all soldiers during WWII. You'd have to research that separately (I haven't). Helmet nets were used extensively during WWII, Korea, Vietnam and shortly thereafter until the helmet change in the 1980's.

An interesting note about the M1 helmets is that soldiers would commonly place or inscribe their name, initials or unit symbols on the liners or inside of the helmet. In these photos of my example, the unit symbols and name have worn and faded from the liner, but they were once there for identification. 

Sorry for not being able to provide a specific answer ... just some guidance for further research.

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Edited by EastCoast50
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