Sunday, February 15, 2015

Turkey M1 parade helmet


I can't pass up shiny objects!



so you can imagine how happy I was to find this dazzler from Turkey. 

I was letting my fingers do the shopping on ebay when I came across this Turkish air force general's parade helmet.  I'm always looking for something different (as well as affordable)
and I didn't have a Turkish helmet, until now.  At a very reasonable price and shipping charge, this arrived from Turkey two weeks after my winning bid.




Google "Turkish honor guard" and you'll find lots of pictures of these lids from all branches of the Turkish military.  They are all highly polished plastic M1-style liners in the color of the arm of service.  and they all have the most wonderful metal badges left, right, and front.  What a piece of confection!


A near-identical copy of the United States M1 liner, this clone is manufactured in an unbreakable flexible plastic.









Immediately familiar is the Riddell suspension system of the American M1 copied here with only minor changes...


most notably the buckles for adjusting the fit.

Otherwise components are identical, including the clips for attaching the sweatband...


and characteristic "A" washers...



affixed to the shell with flat, polished rivets.



The nylon chinstrap is adjusted by a slider buckle.


The webbing has clear maker's markings...


and more information is molded in to the bottom of the visor.

The various badges are really beautiful.


This is the general officer's insignia affixed to the front. 
The crest is backed by red velvet  - Ooh la!


The shield of the Air Force is mounted on the left-hand side of the helmet.



Each branch of service has it's own distinctive shield.
(photo courtesy Mark Skrzynski)



The national shield is enameled metal with a screw back.


It is devoid of any manufacturer's marks.


All shields are secured with a simple square nut.



The chinstrap is mounted with furniture identical to that of the American Hawley fiber liner.



Air mailed all the way from Turkey and now a showpiece of my modest collection.









Turkish delight indeed!