Description
Physical description
helmet
standard Mark I steel helmet with chain mail visor suspended from a wire rail fitted below the front brim. The chain mail is kept taut by two springs, one each side, which connect to two rings either side of the chinstrap mounts. Central to the chain mail is a hinged vertical rod that, when lowered, keeps the chain mail rigid, but when pushed forward forces the chain mail up and away from the wearer's eyes when not required.
Label
First World War period British Army steel helmet (with chain-mail visor) as worn by infantry and tank crews. Though the tank caused considerable surprise to German forces on its first appearance on the battlefield it was not long before effective anti-tank tactics were devised. Slow-moving tanks were no match for concentrated artillery fire, and even the impact of non-penetrating small arms fire could send lethal flakes of metal particles ('splash') randomly around the interior causing blinding and other debilitating wounds to the crew. Initially tank crews had worn a leather protective helmet, which was primarily designed to guard against injury within the vehicle as men collided against metal fittings as the tank lurched and jolted in motion. Unfortunately the shape of this helmet could, especially in battle conditions, easily be mistaken for that worn by the Germans, and there were numerous instances of evacuated tank crewmen being mistakenly fired upon by their own side. As a consequence the leather helmet was eventually withdrawn. Attempts were made to counter the effects of internal flying debris, and masks made of leather with a chain-mail curtain issued. Both masks and the leather helmet were used together, as was also, later, the Mark I 'tin hat.' The last development was the marriage of a chain mail 'Cruise' visor permanently attached to a standard steel helmet. Considering the sense of discomfort, confinement, and the restriction of vision within the noisy, fume-filled and dimly-lit tank interiors it is not known how popular, practical or successful such equipment was with tank crews.
The text below is taken from an Imperial War Museum display caption. the caption cites the acquisition number of a different example of a Brodie Helmet, MK I - UNI 459.
Label
The "Cruise" Chain Vizor.
For use with the British regulation Steel Helmet.
Designed by Captain Richard C. Cruise, R.A.M.C. (T); Surgeon-Occulist Extraordinary to the King, and manufactured in large numbers 1916-1917, to limit the amount of preventable blindness and injuries to the eyes caused by small particles of metal, stone, rock, brick, wood or sand. Eye injuries were particularly frequent in the mountain fighting oh the Italo-Austrian Front. The vizor of closely woven links was worn taut, touching the tip of the nose, and was adjusted by attaching a chain to a movable loop on the helmet chin-strap. The vizor could also be adjusted in such a way as to leave the aiming eye free. 12371