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Hey all! Was wondering if you guys could help me with a puzzle...I bought a helmet at my local Surplus shop a few weeks ago (mainly because it looked different and old and was fairly cheap) and i'm trying to identify where/when/what it was used for?
It's a very lightweight design, which leads me to suspect it's more likely an aircrew helmet than an AFV crew one. As you can see in the pics below it's old (possible 1960s/1970s issue?) and a bit battered, but still has the electronics and the mic, tho the cables have been cut, probably when it was first decomissioned. The rubber surround has been partially torn off at some point, tho when and why this was done is unknown. The earcups are of differing ages (one probably wore out before the other or was damaged in some way) and connected to the helmet press-studs (one top one bottom). They look to have been covered by some sort of soft, suede-like material, not rubber. Behind the earcups there are two pieces of cylindrical material (folded flat when I bought it) that I belive contained some kind of padding, although in the tests I performed (with varying thicknesses of socks!) it would have been bloody uncomfortable to wear for any length of time-I could barely manage 5 minutes! Putting it on and taking it off becomes quite painful when the earcups have been padded, especially on the right hand (newer) one. There is NO chinstrap, nor any attachments/mounts FOR a chinstrap, so the only way (it seems) to keep it on your head is by the pressure of the earcups on your ears
The head-webbing is all intact and looks to be original, with the straps adjusted by small metal buckles. I belive the forehead pad is the original leather, very soft and comfortable against the skin. Between the forehead pad and the helmet itself is a piece of material that looks to once have been elasticated, tho what purpose it served is unknown. At the rear of the helmet is a flap of rubber that may have aided in donning/removing it, but thats only a guess (you can pull the sides apart to aid in that).
Front view showing electronics box, mic and boom, rear neck strap, earcups with padding behind them.
Left-hand view, showing the shape of the helmet, electronics box, mic, boom and cables (ignore the red tape, I needed a way to keep them secure). You can just see (below the 'leccy box) one end of where the rubber surround was torn off. The markings on the box say "ASTROCOM" and "SA-1552/6"
Inner view (front of helmet to left of picture), showing unknown ex-elasticated loop, forehead strap and leather pad, head-webbing, earcups and their attachment straps and the rear neck strap. You can see the push-to-talk switch on the bottom of the 'leccy box, and where the rubber surround has been removed. Note the lack of chinstrap mounts/attachments!
Right-hand view showing cable retainer and the other end of the remaining rubber surround.
Right-hand earcup with earpiece (assumed original) and 'padding holder' (flattened)
Same view but showing the depth of the padding holder
View towards top of helmet (back of helmet at top of pic) showing earcup attachment straps and padding holders.
Left-hand earcup (the oldest and most comfortable!) showing staining. I doubt the stain at the bottom right of the earcup (actually the top) is blood as that would surely have been disposed of?
Right-hand earcup (the 'newer' and slightly uncomfortable one!)
I'll post the other pics in a sec
It's a very lightweight design, which leads me to suspect it's more likely an aircrew helmet than an AFV crew one. As you can see in the pics below it's old (possible 1960s/1970s issue?) and a bit battered, but still has the electronics and the mic, tho the cables have been cut, probably when it was first decomissioned. The rubber surround has been partially torn off at some point, tho when and why this was done is unknown. The earcups are of differing ages (one probably wore out before the other or was damaged in some way) and connected to the helmet press-studs (one top one bottom). They look to have been covered by some sort of soft, suede-like material, not rubber. Behind the earcups there are two pieces of cylindrical material (folded flat when I bought it) that I belive contained some kind of padding, although in the tests I performed (with varying thicknesses of socks!) it would have been bloody uncomfortable to wear for any length of time-I could barely manage 5 minutes! Putting it on and taking it off becomes quite painful when the earcups have been padded, especially on the right hand (newer) one. There is NO chinstrap, nor any attachments/mounts FOR a chinstrap, so the only way (it seems) to keep it on your head is by the pressure of the earcups on your ears
The head-webbing is all intact and looks to be original, with the straps adjusted by small metal buckles. I belive the forehead pad is the original leather, very soft and comfortable against the skin. Between the forehead pad and the helmet itself is a piece of material that looks to once have been elasticated, tho what purpose it served is unknown. At the rear of the helmet is a flap of rubber that may have aided in donning/removing it, but thats only a guess (you can pull the sides apart to aid in that). Front view showing electronics box, mic and boom, rear neck strap, earcups with padding behind them.
Left-hand view, showing the shape of the helmet, electronics box, mic, boom and cables (ignore the red tape, I needed a way to keep them secure). You can just see (below the 'leccy box) one end of where the rubber surround was torn off. The markings on the box say "ASTROCOM" and "SA-1552/6"
Inner view (front of helmet to left of picture), showing unknown ex-elasticated loop, forehead strap and leather pad, head-webbing, earcups and their attachment straps and the rear neck strap. You can see the push-to-talk switch on the bottom of the 'leccy box, and where the rubber surround has been removed. Note the lack of chinstrap mounts/attachments!
Right-hand view showing cable retainer and the other end of the remaining rubber surround.
Right-hand earcup with earpiece (assumed original) and 'padding holder' (flattened)
Same view but showing the depth of the padding holder
View towards top of helmet (back of helmet at top of pic) showing earcup attachment straps and padding holders.
Left-hand earcup (the oldest and most comfortable!) showing staining. I doubt the stain at the bottom right of the earcup (actually the top) is blood as that would surely have been disposed of?
Right-hand earcup (the 'newer' and slightly uncomfortable one!)
I'll post the other pics in a sec
