Hi all,
I am interested in getting hold of a US WWII Infantry helmet with liner and was wondering how easy are they to get and what would be the normal price to pay for them?
TIA

Andrew,

WW II US M-1 helmets are available but you should do some research first as the popularity of same has increased exponentially in the last few years which has spawned a huge flood of reproductions. From a dealer or collector a genuine WW II M-1 without insignia will go for around $200.00 - with a unit insignia be prepared to drop as much as $1,000 for a helmet from a popular or desirable unit. If that seems high just be glad you dont collect Third Reich equivilants as the same helmet from WW II Germany could set you back $8,500(or more). Here's a link to a helmet just recently sold by an associate. http://web.iwebcenters.com/grenadiermilitaryantiques/item60824.ctlg

Cody

Thanks for that Cody,
I would really love one but those prices are way beyond my budget.
With repros what is a good price to pay?
TIA

Andrew,

With shipping a repro will cost about 2/3rd's what a real one would. If you're OK with a repro here's an outfit that will fix you up... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=reproduction+m1+helmet

Cody

Hi , US M1 Helmets are readily available in the UK and at The War and Peace Show two weeks ago they could be bought for £20-00 each , Liners sold seperate were £ 10-00 but are repro . hope it helps cheers ian

Thanks for that Ian I will keep it in mind

Hey Andy,

If you look at Ebay you can find some real cheap.

I have a local militaria dealer here who has originals for about $100 and up.

Thanks Anders,
Only problem with E-bay is that its in USD.
We must get some good deals down here. I saw a US m1 infantry helmet with officers stripe go for $150 NZD which is about $75 USD and it was original too. But US helmets don't come up much for sale down here

You have to be careful with M1's. If you want a WW II helmet there are a number of different liners, a couple chinstrap bale variations and of course the style was used through and after Viet Nam until issue of the kevlar. Original WW II M1's should have the seam at the front but that is not the only determiner of authenticity.

Cody

Cody is spot on there!

My M1 is front seam, swivel bale type, but the sewn on chin strap and the buckles are clearly from the Korean war. Maybe it is a WWII late was that was adopted, it had LT bars on the front that are scraped off as well as a vertical line also scraped off in the back.

My liner is just a junkie I got with the shell. I only needed the helmet for reference when sculpting/ carving an M1 helmet.

But now I want more!! And above all, the real deal, although I am not able to shell out the real money for the real nice stuff just yet.

Good thing I am more into the worn and combat looking stuff then the new prestine stuff that seams to be higher.

Hey Andy,

I found this WWII helmet at a real nice price. It isnt perfect but it has a nice shell!

http://www.advanceguardmilitaria.com/(33cwwc45gkpngfyurpqlc53a)/itemDetail.aspx?item=V24804&ID=2

Thanks Anders,
I too would rather have a worn helmet than a real new one to me they don't look authenic thought they of course are.
How close is that place to you Anders? I notice it is in Missouri and so are you.

In italy us army elmets of ww2 era are quite cheap.. you can buy one with 50 $ . for the german the price gow up a lot , at list 75-100 $

Hey Andy,

Didnt realize they were in Mo, Im not quite sure where it is, it seams like its north east of here probably 3-4 hours by car.

Oh ok Anders,
They have some real nice stuff there. I probaly won't be getting anything to soon but it is nice to have some options

It depends. Do you want a WWII helmet, or just a generic M-1? Nowadays, you can pick up a completre "generic" M-1 for about thirty bucks, BUT if you want a WWII issue, be prepared to spend serious money!

AW,
I would like a WWII M-1 helmet but I will have to wait lol

how exactley do you recognize a genuine WWII example?

Hey Elad,

WWII pieces have a seam on the rim, on the front of the helmet. On later examples have said seeem on the rear of the helmet. Also, early WWII examples have straight un-movable bails (what the chinstrap is attatched to). Some also have swivel bails, mainly for later in the war.




My friend just got a WWII shell that needs a repaint (bad redone paintjob) for $15.00. If you are prepared to repaint, and can get a new liner (fairly cheap) you can get yourself a nice example!

Andy, heres a nice site for your search for an M-1.

www.wwiihelmets.com

Thanks for the link AW there are some nice Helmets on that site