Description
Physical description
Helmet: leather-covered steel helmet with chamois-lined interior; there are cut-outs to the ears and a wide chinstrap is attached to helmet at the front and the back edges of the cut-outs. This strap is fastened at the left with a metal pronged buckle, and to the right, by a metal pop-stud fastener.
History note
Second World War period USAAF crewman's protective helmet. The helmet was intended to fit on top of a conventional flying helmet and would permit the wearer to have full use of his ear telephones. The helmet is made of a series of unjoined overlapping strips of Hadfield manganese steel strips, running front to rear, and sandwiched between an outer layer of brown leather and an interior covering of chamois, forming a protective skull-cap. Weighing 2lbs, it required no separate liner as conventional fabric and leather flying helmets proved to have adequate padding for comfort.
Initially known as the 'Grow' helmet (from a design credited to US Eighth Air Force surgeon, Colonel Malcolm Grow) it was tested on operational service and 19,000 units were ordered in England to be made by the Wilkinson Sword Company in mid-1943. Production was slow; therefore an urgent request was forwarded to the US Army Ordnance Department to begin manufacturing in the USA. Pending further tests it was found that this helmet was deemed more suitable for use by crewmen in certain turrets, its protective qualities not as successful as the earlier M3 helmet. A further 2,500 examples were examined for practical testing (known as the T3) and on successful trials was redesignated the M4 helmet. Although designated as a standard item from December 1943, it did not fully replace the earlier M3 but supplemented it. Other modifications were made later and the helmet was eventually made obsolete by arrival of the M5 in 1945.