WWI M1917 Helmet ("ZC240") USMC, A.E.F. Mint NOS Unissued!

Description: WWI M1917 Helmet ("ZC 240"). Complete Liner ("R.H. LONG 8-18"), Tag & C/S. Army, USMC. Mint NOS Unissued!!! WWI USMC Army M1917 Helmet (‘ZC 240’), complete with a 100% intact black Rubberized/Oilcloth Liner ("R.H. LONG 8-18"), Leather Chinstrap, and paper Adjustment Tag!! + Absolutely untouched, unmolested, "museum-grade" example of a M1917 Helmet! + Impossible to "upgrade" this example; the PAINT, OILCLOTH LINER, LEATHER CHINSTRAP and ADJUSTMENT TAG are in PERFECT "factory-fresh" condition! + Made in 1918 by one of fourteen known manufacturers of the AMERICAN version of the M1917 Helmet. The actual manufacturer of the Helmet is signified by the second letter, 'C,' which denotes the Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1,150,775 units produced). The Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co. produced almost 3x's as many helmets as the nearest competitor! The Liner from R.H. LONG & CO. of Framingham (Boston-area), Massachusetts is dated August 1918 ("8-18"). This Helmet was stamped, painted, fitted with its liner and entered the Army and/or the Marine Corps Quartermaster supply pipeline in August of 1918, the start of the Battle of Amiens (the Third Battle of Picardy) and the Allied Offensive, later known as the "Hundred Days Offensive," which led to ultimate defeat of the Central Powers: + WWI shell is crisply, legibly stamped with the heat/ batch/ lot alpha numeric data:ZC 240 + The RUBBERIZED/OILCLOTH LINER is boldly stamped on the the underside in black ink in san serif font inside a rectangle:R. H. LONG8-18 + There is a secondary production number stamped on the LINER as well82 + These were supplied to both the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, and the Navy. (Aboard ships of war, helmets were part of "ship's stores" for use by landing parties.) This M1917 Helmet remained in the USMC's and the Army's stateside supply system until the right before WWII (during the years 1932-1936) , at which time the Rubberized/Oilcloth Liner and Leather C/S were replace with a newly designed steel-spring-frame-and-leather LINER and a mustard-khaki Web C/S with a cast brass Buckle Assembly. + NOTE: This steel shell is not one of British "Brodie" MKI or M1917 manganese shells that we acquired from Britain in 1917.+ As mentioned above, this is NOT the "Brodie" MKI shell which was made of the lighter British 21 Gauge Steel, but the heavier American M1917 model made of heavier 19 GAUGE non-magnetic Manganese Steel). + The Chinstrap Bails (or Loops) are NOT the lighter wire British "Brodie" bails, but the heavier 12 Gauge Iron Wire used by American contractors. Also the bails are attached with steel Harness Rivets and NOT British "Split" Rivet + NOTE: The WWI-era American-made shells rolled and stamped during late-1917 and 1918 did NOT have simply the one or two-digits numbers, but had the following "Heat/Lot/Batch/Cast Code" Letters. The first letter (i.e. 'Z') indicates the SUPPLIER of the steel. The second letter (i.e. 'C') indicates the COMPANY that pressed and made the helmet. UC, YJ, XH, ZA (Crosby Co.), ZB (Worcester Pressed Steel Co.), ZC (Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co.), ZD, ZE, ZF, ZG, ZG, ZH, ZJ (Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co.), and ZN. + This is the model helmet worn by USMC, Army, and Navy of the A.E.F. in France and the Siberian Expedition as well troops during the interwar years. Aboard USN warships the M1917 Helmet was left in in the flat O.D., or painted "battleship gray"). It was worn stateside during the first months of the war as well with the modified Liner and Chinstrap introduced in the mid-1930s. + This particular Helmet was never modified, but remains in untouched condition, since 1918!!!***** PARTICULARS OF CONDITION: + ZERO dents or rust!! + ZERO paint loss to the crown. Several "rub" marks on the steel rim Edging. + ZERO cracks or "flaking" of the black rubberized/oilcloth liner. Clean! + ZERO names, serial number, or markings anywhere! + The PERFECT, original, depot-applied, rough-textured flat "SAWDUST" EXTERIOR PAINT is in pristine condition, showing only the slightest superficial scuff of careful storage and handling in a Quartermaster Depot and and subsequently on a veteran's closet shelf! + ZERO 'fissures,' crazing, stains, or "dry rot" to the leather CHINSTRAP. It is complete, supple, and strong. + ZERO corrosion to the C/S rivets, the brass loops of the copper rivet and washer holding the gauze-backed paper ADJUSTMENT INSTRUCTION TAG. + The INTERIOR PAINT is PERFECT! + The "Heat/Batch/Lot/Cast Code" number, "ZC 240", stamped on the underside of the rim is clearly visible upon careful inspection beneath the O.D. paint. + The steel TRIM on the Brim is secured at the seam with a single punch mark on the overlapping ends. + The STRING NET, the black RUBBERIZED/OILCLOTH LINER with LEATHER BACKING, the STRING NET, the gray wool felt CROWN PAD, are entirely INTACT and undamaged. + The original gray WOOL-FELT BAND is still present and 99.9% free of deterioration. + The white PAPER/CLOTH INSTRUCTION TAG for adjustment is in PERFECT condition and reads: TIGHTEN CORD AND ADJUST THE NET TO FIT THE HEAD + ZERO corrosion to the bright CAST STEEL CHINSTRAP BUCKLE. ***** Background of the Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co. "How a Philadelphia firm used steel to transform the world of transit" The Budd Company built groundbreaking trains, planes, and automobiles. by Avi Wolfman-Arent, Oct. 11, 2023 (BILLYPENN at WHYY) Pittsburgh may be the Steel City. But it was a Philadelphia firm — the Budd Company — that used steel to transform the world of transit. Budd’s exports and ideas weren’t restricted to one mode of transportation. Trains, planes, automobiles — Budd had its hands in all of them. 1916, the Budd Company was just beginning to blossom. The company’s namesake was Edward Gowen Budd, a native of Smyrna, Delaware, who’d worked his way up the ladder during that city’s industrial heyday. Described in his Inquirer obituary as a “smalltown boy,” Budd started his career as a machine shop apprentice. Unlike some other industrial titans, Budd was himself a draftsman and engineer. Before founding his own company, he helped develop new steel pulley systems. In fact, steel was the key to Budd’s rise. He realized, correctly, that steel-bodied vessels were the future of transit. In 1912, he founded the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company. Soon after, Budd developed the first all-steel automobile body — a genuine breakthrough. Early automobile bodies “were composites of wood, steel, and leather,” as described in this Hidden City piece. It was difficult to stamp steel into shapes that could conform to the unusual curves of a car. Until Budd came along. The Dodge brothers were early adopters of Budd’s all-steel car bodies. From there, the idea spread. And the Budd Company, armed with crucial patents, became an industrial behemoth. Headlined by a massive facility in Hunting Park, Budd eventually employed over 20,000 people. Budd’s bet on steel continued to pay off through the early 20th century. n 1932, Budd introduced the first stainless steel airplane. And although the plane business didn’t take off for Budd, its all-steel prototype still sits outside the Franklin Institute. (Yes, it’s THAT plane.) Budd was more successful in the train business. Its streamlined, stainless steel “Zephyr” trains were a financial and cultural coup. Crowds gathered in towns across America just to see the “Burlington Zephyr.” It even spawned a Hollywood film in 1934, the very year it debuted. After World War II, Budd introduced a passenger train called the Rail Diesel Car (also known as the Buddliner). The RDCs were another hit for the company. They popped up on intercity and commuter rail lines all over the Northeast. The RDC’s reach went far — versions of these trains have reportedly rolled across tracks in Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, and Canada . In Budd’s hometown of Philadelphia, its most recognizable product was probably the train cars it produced for the Market-Frankford El. Known affectionately as “Almond Joys” — because of their pop-up ventilation fans — these stainless steel cars ran on the MFL from the 1960s through the 1990s. ***** R.H. LONG & Co. In 1901, Richard H. Long of Weymouth bought a four-story empty factory building on the corner of Waverley and Mellen streets because he needed more space to accommodate his shoe manufacturing business.That space sufficed for eight years when Long built an even bigger factory on the north side of the railroad tracks near Fountain Street. This was just the beginning of R.H. Long’s career in Framingham. During World War I, Long retooled his factories to manufacture leather products for the army. To accommodate the extra workers needed, he bought the Kendall Hotel. He was involved in philanthropic works and Massachusetts Democratic Party politics. He established the Boston Telegraph newspaper, which he used to win the Democratic nomination for governor in 1918. Calvin Coolidge carried the day but Long moved right onto to his next enterprise. He was meant to manufacture automobiles! First, he bought the Bela Body Company and moved it to Framingham. They manufactured car bodies for the Franklin Motor Company. Later that factory would become part of the Dennison complex. The building on Fountain Street was retooled again; this time for automobile production. The Bay State Automobile was born there in 1922. Approximately 3,000 cars, give or take 500 were produced between 1922 and 1926. There were two models, a six and an eight cylinder in a variety of body styles. Prices ranged from $1,800 to $2,500. But the automobile industry required deep pockets and in 1924, to stay afloat, Long began sharing his plant with the Luxor Cab Manufacturing Company. That company bought out Long’s operation in 1925. Within another two years, they too were forced to close. By 1927, the irrepressible Mr. Long had reorganized his remaining shoe business on Mellen Street as the R.H. Long Motor Sales Company with a franchise to sell Cadillacs and Pontiacs. This business remained in Framingham for decades. Only in recent years did the dealership relocate to Southboro. Political career In 1896, Long supported William Jennings Bryan for President. He briefly left the Democratic Party in 1912 to challenge John W. Weeks for the Republican nomination in Massachusetts's 13th Congressional district. The following year, however, Long was once again a Democrat and he ran for the party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, but lost to Edward P. Barry. In 1916, Long was a leader in Woodrow Wilson's campaign for president. In 1918 Long ran for Governor of Massachusetts. He defeated William A Gaston and Barry in a close 3-way Democratic primary, but lost the general election to Republican Calvin Coolidge 51% to 47%. He ran again in 1919 and easily won the Democratic primary, but once again lost the general election to Coolidge, this time 61% to 37%. Long's huge defeat was largely attributed to his support for the Boston Police Department officers who took part in the Boston Police Strike. On July 20, 1920, Long announced plans to run for governor for a third time He narrowly lost the Democratic nomination to John Jackson Walsh. By 1920, Long no longer supported the Wilson administration, stating that it was "demoralizing the Democratic Party". On October 25, 1920, he endorsed Republican Warren G. Harding for President, stating that he believed the Democratic Party "would be better off under Harding than under Cox." Long was a delegate to the 1928 Democratic National Convention. He was pledged to Al Smith, but did not support him due to Smith's stance in favor of modifying the 18th Amendment Long was the only member of the Massachusetts delegation who voted against Smith. ***** ++ This recognizable "tin hat-shaped" Helmet Shell was what was worn in the trenches of the Western Front as well as during the Siberian Intervention of 1918-1919 to rescue the Czechoslovak Legion in Vladivostok (at which time the Helmet was painted snow-camouflage white) in the midst of the Russian civil war in support of the 'White Russian' forces. ++ This was the Helmet shell worn by the "China Marines" of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment (who had been biding their time aboard the USS Chaumont in the Shanghai estuary) when they marched ashore on Shanghai's waterfront Bund in 1927 in response to the plea for protection issued by Stirling Fessenden, the American chairman of Shanghai's International Settlement's Municipal Council. Chang Kai Shek's Nationalist Army forces in their Northern Expedition were attacking warlords, communists in Northern China, but also European, Japanese, and American citizens. ++ Photographs exist of U.S. Marines wearing this M1917 shell (with both the Matte Sawdust finish as well as the glossy finish) with the Leather Chinstrap during clashes with Japanese at Soochow Creek and the Sinza Bridge as late as 1937. ++ This is also the Helmet shell worn by the American Regular Army garrison (Infantry, 26th Cavalry, Coast/Harbor Defense of Subic and Manila Bay, etc.) and the Philippine Scouts of the Philippine Department in the 1920s and 1930s before the introduction of this modified M1917A1 "Kelly" Helmet with the improved Liner and Web Chinstrap. *****Background from Mark A Reynosa's exceptionally well-researched, U.S. Combat Helmets of the 20th CenturyThe United States entered into World War I in April 1917, at this time the United States Army did not have a helmet for its troops. The adoption of a helmet by the French, British and German armies convinced the United States Army that a helmet was needed as a standard piece of equipment. In June 1917, the United States Army selected the standard British helmet design for its use. This was the British Mk. I steel helmet. There were three main reasons for the selection of the British Mk. I helmet design: "the immediate availability of 400,000 ready-made helmets from England, the simplicity of manufacture from hard metal, and the superior ballistic properties." When the British Mk. I was selected by the United States Army, its United States production version was designated and standardized as the Helmet, M-1917. Until United States production of the M-1917 could begin, the United States Army purchased the 400,000 available British Mk. I helmets in England and issued them to the American Expeditionary Forces already in Europe. Production was begun on the M-1917 helmets in the fall of 1917. By the end of November 1917, large quantities of M-1917 helmets became available for the United States Army. The M-1917 helmet was very similar to the British Mk. I helmet. The helmet was basically an inverted bowl stamped out of a single piece of manganese alloy, which was made up of 13 percent manganese and was .036" thick. This differed from the British helmet, as the Mk. I helmet was made up of 12 percent manganese. Thus ballistically, the M-1917 helmet increased protection for the wearer by 10 percent over the British Mk. I helmet, and could withstand a .45 caliber pistol bullet traveling at 600 feet per second fired at a distance of 10 feet. A rim was spot welded to the edge of the steel bowl, with the ends butted, as opposed to lapped, which was done on the British Mk. I helmet. Riveted to the steel bowl were two flexible guiding loops for the chin strap. Here again, the U.S. M-1917 helmet differed from the British Mk. I helmet. On the U.S. helmet the loops were secured by solid machined rivets, whereas the British Mk. I helmet used split rivets. An adjustable leather chin strap was riveted to the steel bowl and consisted of two halves, each joined together by metal loops which were secured to the ends of the leather halves by steel split rivets. Also riveted to the steel bowl was the helmet lining. The lining was also similar to that of the British Mk. I helmet and consisted of a number of items described below: The lining was woven of cotton twine in meshes three-eighths of an inch square. This web, fitting tightly upon the wearer's head, evenly distributed the weight of the two-pound helmet, and in the same way distributed the force of any blow upon the helmet. The netting, together with the small pieces of rubber around the edge of the lining, kept the helmet away from the head, so that even a relatively large dent could not reach the wearer's skull.The linings of the U.S. M-1917 helmet were produced by 10 shoe manufacturing companies. The lining, as mentioned above, consisted of cotton twine mesh surrounded by a circular piece of leather that held tubular pieces of rubber, and the mesh was covered by a piece of black oil cloth. Sandwiched between the lining and the steel bowl was also piece of felt. The steel for the M-1917 helmet was rolled by the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company. The steel was then pressed and stamped into its bowl shape by seven companies, which were: Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Sparks, Withington Company, Jackson, Michigan; Crosby Company, Buffalo, New York; Bossett Corporation, Utica, New York; Columbian Enameling & Stamping Company, Terre Haute, Indiana; Worchester Pressed Steel Company, Worchester, Massachusetts; and Benjamin Electric Company, Des Plaines, Illinois. The steel was stamped with an austenite heat number and shipment number, which were used to identify the quality of steel and shipment lots. The metal helmets and woven linings were delivered to the plant of the Ford Motor Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were they were painted and assembled. To make the outside surface of the helmet anti-glare, the helmets were first painted, then fine sawdust was blown on the wet paint, and finally the helmet was painted again. To increase protective properties the helmets were painted in an olive drab shade. During the fall of 1917 production was begun on the M-1917 helmets. By the end of November 1917, the first deliveries of large quantities of M-1917 helmets were being made to the United States Army. On 17 February 1918, approximately 700,000 M-1917 helmets had been produced. As United States involvement in World War I increased, the U.S. Army placed additional orders for the M-1917 helmet. By July 1918 orders for the M-1917 helmet reached 3,000,000, in August 6,000,000, and in September 7,000,000. In November 1918, when hostilities ended and American production was ordered to cease, U.S. Manufacturers had produced a total of 2,707,237 M-1917 helmets. Production figures for the pressed and stamped steel helmets during World War I, were as follows:Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co. 1,150,775 Sparks, Withington Co. 473,469 Crosby Co. 469,968 Bossett Corporation 116,735 Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co. 268,850 Worchester Pressed Steel Co 193,840 Benjamin Electric Co. 33,600 ***** Donovan Webster, from the SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, May 16, 2017 How the Military Helmet Evolved From a Hazard to a Bullet Shield No area of military technology might be more indicative of how change has come to war than the American military helmet. “In 1917,” Blazich says, “when America entered World War I, we used a variation of the British helmet of the time, called the Brodie Helmet, or Mark 1 helmet.” The American helmet was called the M1917. Effectively an overturned metal dish weighing about 1.3 pounds, with a basic liner to keep a soldier’s scalp from chafing against the helmet’s manganese-steel alloy shell, plus a solid chinstrap that cinched tight, it was a primitive tool at best. As a protective device, Blazich says, it didn’t do much more than keep explosion-driven rocks off the tops of soldier’s heads while they were in the trenches of France. “Though it could also be protective against shrapnel, which was also a big concern in that war,” Blazich adds. Yet with no real face and side-skull coverage, it left troops wide open to facial and cranial injury, and lasting disfigurement from shell fragmentation was an enormous problem in World War I. The Brodie Helmet also had other inherent dangers. The chinstrap, which once tightened down, was hard to release: so if a Doughboy’s helmet got trapped or lodged between objects the situation could prove fatal, as the soldier would have a difficult time getting the helmet off and would therefore be trapped and immobile on the field of battle. Still, despite the M1917’s liabilities, innovation remained slow. In 1936, a slightly more protective version was rolled out, called the M1917A1, or “Kelly” helmet. It had a more comfortable helmet liner and an improved canvas chinstrap. The intent of these changes was to improve the helmet’s overall balance and performance. But it still didn’t provide the kind of protection from side assault that the War Department desired. ***** Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare by Bashford Dean PH.D., Curator of Armour, Metropolitan Museum of Art U.S.A. and formerly Chairman of the Committee on Helmets and Armor, Engineering Division of the National Research Council U.S.A., page 130, "The manufacturer was required to demonstrate that his product was proof to shrapnel ball, forty-one to a pound with a striking velocity of 700 foot seconds. This test was given to ten helmets in the first thousand, three helmets in the second and third thousand, and two helmets in each succeeding thousand. No requirement was given as to the depth of indentation or the deformation allowed, the decision in this regard having apparently been left to the discretion of the inspecting officer. All helmets, however, were to bear the initial of the manufacturer and the heat number of the steel..." So, just what are these heat numbers and how do they work? The internet has the following entry under 'Heat Numbers': A 'heat number' is an identification number that is stamped on a material plate after it is removed from the ladle and rolled at a steel mill. Industry quality standards require materials to be tested at the manufacturer and the results of these tests be submitted through a report, also called a Mill Sheet, Mill Certificate or Mill Test Certificate (MTC). The only way to trace a steel plate back to its Mill Sheet is the Heat Number. A heat number is similar to a lot number, which is used to identify production runs of any other product for quality control purposes. The same article also carries a photograph of a modern day heat number in situ on a steel plate - a long and fairly complex string of information which clearly means something to those inside the industry, but as far as I can tell, this number will be imprinted onto the initial rolling of the sheet of steel concerned. ***** NOTE: Any overage in postage will be refunded.

Price: 475 USD

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-12-04T14:11:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 17.85 USD