Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a U.S. M1917 "Doughboy" helmet with original liner, and compete chinstrap. It also features a great original period textured OD Green paint on the top side, and is marked on the front to the 29th Infantry Division - Blue and Gray.
The shell is maker marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads ZA 81. The solid rivets and heat lot number indicate that this helmet shell was produced in the United States. The paint is in very good condition both inside and outside the helmet, though there is an area of missing paint and oxidation on the right exterior. The liner is also in quite nice shape, with a very good oil cloth liner, and intact felt top pad. It is marked size 7 1/4 on the support strap in the middle, and still has most of the original top label. The chin strap is intact and functional, with no tears that we can see, though there definitely are some worn spots, and the leather is stiff.
The best feature of this helmet is definitely the original 29th Infantry Division - Blue and Gray Division emblem in the center of the front of the helmet. The design is a circular "Yin Yang" design, with one side blue and the other gray, for the Union and Confederate sides in the Civil war. The paint and patina definitely match the rest of the helmet, and we have no doubts that it is authentic. The insignia has deteriorated somewhat, as the paint has checked and flaked off in places.
A great example of an authentic WWI "Doughboy" helmet from the 29th Infantry Division, ready to display!
The 29th Infantry Division - Blue and Gray
The 29th Infantry Division (29th ID), also known as the "Blue and Gray", is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During WW1 the division departed for the Western Front in June 1918 to join the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The division's advance detachment reached Brest, France on 8 June. In late September, the 29th received orders to join the U.S. First Army's Meuse-Argonne Offensive as part of the French XVII Corps. During its 21 days in combat, the 29th Division advanced seven kilometers, captured 2,148 prisoners, and knocked out over 250 machine guns or artillery pieces. Thirty percent of the division became casualties— 170 officers and 5,691 enlisted men were killed or wounded. Shortly thereafter the Armistice with Germany was signed on November 11, 1918, ending hostilities between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. The division returned to the United States in May 1919.
History of the M1917 Helmet
The M1917 was the US Army's first modern combat helmet, used from 1917 and during the 1920s, before being replaced by the M1917A1. The M1917A1 helmet was an updated version of the M1917 and initially used refurbished WW1 shells.
The M1917 is a near identical version of the British Mk.I steel helmet, and it is important to note that when the US joined the Great War in 1917 they were initially issued with a supply of around 400,000 British made Mk.Is, before production began state side. The M1917 differed slightly in its lining detail, and exhibited US manufacture markings.
M1917 helmet liners typically show a paper label at the crown and the dome rivet head. The liner is set up as on the British versions, with an oilcloth band and net configuration, attached to a leather strap, riveted to the shell. The chinstrap is leather with steel buckle.
