1919 Pattern "Helmet, Tank"Larry Munnikhuysen

THE first helmet officially accepted by the U.S. Army forlink crews was called simply the "Helmet, Tank" (FIG

Early tank manuals call it such, yet this helmet is usually< incorrectly) called either the World War One tank helmet or±;- Chaffee helmet by both museums and collectors. Thisarticle will hopefully shed some new light on both the history_r.d construction of this rare helmet.

History

The 1919 pattern "Helmet, Tank"1 owes its existence tofamous American tanker, George S. Patton, Jr. Prior to

taking command of, and opening, the American Expedition-ary Force [AEF] Light Tank Center and School in December1917, Patton was an observer at the French Tank Schooland later the British Tank Center. Patton made observationsat these schools along with recommendations for his ownLight Tank School and kept these in a simple spiral note pad.Written on a page from this 1917 note pad is a list of itemsand intended recommendations, under item number 13 is thenotation "Helmet or head guard."2 This is the first instanceof an official recommendation for an American tank helmet(FIG 2). Patton followed up this notation in an official reportto the Chief of the Tank Services on 12 December 1917 inwhich he noted:

12. Leather helmets like those worn by football players or aviators,but without ear pieces, must be provided for the crews to prevent theirbeing knocked unconscious when going over rough ground.3

Although Patton would certainly have been aware of theBritish 1916 pattern leather tank helmet (FIG 3) and the spe-cial tank helmet which French tankers routinely made fromtheir Model 1915 Adrian helmet (FIG 4) he appears to havewanted a helmet of his own design. Indeed, when he senthis assistant, Capt. Elgin Braine back to the United States inearly 1918 to expedite shipments of tanks and equipment toFrance, one of the items he was to expedite was an improvedleather helmet4 The leather helmet Patton sought to haveimproved was probably the helmet which is today referred toby collectors as the "AEF Tank Helmet" (FIG 5). Althoughno examples of this helmet are known to still exist there is aseries of photographs showing them being worn by members

LARRY MUNNIKHUYSEN has been a member of the Companysince 1997. He is a graduate of Christopher Newport University witha BA in history and has done graduate level work in American his-tory at Virginia Commonwealth University. A veteran of the UnitedStates Air Force, he is one of the founders and current president of theGreater Tidewater Chapter of the Company. Larry ix also a mcrnhf-rof the board of directors of the Virginia War Museum, which is theofficial repository of the Company uniform collection.

FIG 1A. Front view of the 1919 pattern "Helmet, Tank."FIG 1B. Clofifi up xhnwinr/ arrangement of interior hesdlinor

flap. FIG 1C. Interior, showing gray felt lining. All, courtesy ofthe Dave Powers Collection.

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FIG 2. Page of recommendations from Patton's 1917 notebook. Item 13 recommends a helmet or head guard. Courtesyof the Library of Congress.

of several of Patton's light tank battalions in 1918. Given thatthe AEF tank helmets were noted by Patton as early as January1918 and are only seen being used by members of his lighttank battalions, it is probable that the AEF helmets were madein France specifically for Patton's light tank crews.

A report from Lt. Col. James A. Drain of the OrdnanceCorps dated 22 August 1918 states:

5. Considered with Col. Welbum, Col. Clopton, and representatives ofOrdnance Department, with Braine, various forms of Interphone System,head pieces, helmets, and gas-masks. These have now been sent to Col.Clopton for field trial and report.5

The helmet referred to in the Drain report is the "Experi-mental Type 13 Tank Operator's Helmet" (FIG 6), which hadbeen developed by Maj. Bashford Dean and the New YorkMetropolitan Museum's Armor Workshop. Dean states:

An effort was made (1918, Summer) to protect (he tank operator frominjuries in the head caused cither by heavy bumps or by lead spla*li whichfinds its way into the tank from disintegrating rifle balls. To this end. ahelmet, in an experimental lot of thirty, was produced by the EquipmentSection of the Ordnance Department under the advice of the officers of

FIG 3. British leather tank helmet of 1916. Courtesy of theDavid Aeon Collection.

the Tank Unit, Engineering Division."6

Whether the Experimental Type 13 helmet was ever usedin France is open to conjecture. Bashford Dean stated after thewar that, "No official reports have as yet been received as tothe practical value of this model; the writer learns, however,that it was used in the tanks during the last push and that it waswell spoken of."7 This author can safely state that in all of theofficial after action reports of all the light tank battalions inthe Meuse-Argonne offensive, there is not one mention of anycrew wearing the Experimental Type 13 helmet. Of course,the Experimental Type 13 might still have been worn by somecrews of the AEF heavy tank units but just not mentioned inofficial reports.

Thus, with the possible exception of the Experimental Type13 helmet, the only tank helmet used by American forces inWorld War I was the locally produced "AEF Tank Helmet."This appears to be confirmed by a postwar report entitled"Personal Experience Report" written by Captain. Braine on22 December 1918 in which he summarizes:

I[n] connection with this work 1 also followed up the Signal Corpswith reference to the wireless apparatus, interphones, splash-proof faceguards, steel helmets, and had experiments tried with triplex glass foreye slits, which proved successful. There were, five or six interphone

FIG 4. French Mle. 1915 artillery helmet modified for use bytank crew. Courtesy of the Sebastien Greffe Collection.

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whom I took this matter up, and any number of:urers on face guards, leather helmets, steel helmets,ssible to get anyone to make a decision on any of

nistice in November 1918, the AEF Tankxi; its personnel and equipment shippedtales where it was absorbed into the Army.od 1919 through 1920 saw various service/orking to integrate the lessons learned inand much smaller peacetime Army. Onethat a helmet was indeed needed for tank14 October 1919, the Sub-Committee onice Technical Board under Colonel L. B."leather helmet gotten up by the man in? Shop at Rock Island Arsenal, tested byfound satisfactory. The Sub-Committeeds its adoption for issue to the Service."9

)bably the one that Patton had requestedsited no one could make a decision on.3r the new tank helmet as ordered by theted:: football helmet, without eaipicces; i.e., a leatherIt lining, not to exceed a total thickness of 1A inch,ie of four sections, with an opening between thelions, and provided around the lower edge with ani will enable the wearer to fit the helmet accurately

ilso recommended that no further workng a steel helmet for tank crews and thatensure that the approved leather helmettuned by the proper Supply Departmentich 6-ton tank and eleven for each Mark

Major Bashford Dean and hTechnical Committee atworkshop of the Metropolitof Art in New York City, 191of the National Archives.

Fig, 176 Fig.

Fig, 1768 Fig. J/6C

Fig. 176, Experimental helmet model No. 13 for American tank operator,!without detachable padded-silk curtain and visor, guarding against It

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VIII tank, with a reasonable reserve supply."11 Thus was bomthe 1919 pattern "Helmet, Tank," from the designs formulatedduring World War I, but not used during World War I. In 1920the United States Congress decided that the Army didnot needa separate Tank Corps and abolished it, assigning all tanks tothe Infantry Branch. The 1919 pattern helmet would enjoy along life with the infantry tankers being used successfully, ifnot glamorously, from its birth in 1919 until 1940.12

The Chaffee Helmet

The 1919 pattern "Helmet, Tank" has long been called theChaffee helmet by collectors. It was said that a famous pictureof Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, the father of the ArmoredForce, wearing this helmet was the source of the title. Tankcrew helmets were all referred to as "Helmet, Tank" by theArmy until 196113 so the need for some type of differentiationwas needed, at least by collectors. Unfortunately, the name"Chaffee" is probably not one to which this helmet is entitled.The only photograph known to exist of Major General Chaffeewearing a tank helmet is one that appeared in the 7 July 1941issue of Life Magazine,14 an issue devoted to America's pre-war defenses. This color photograph (FIG 7) shows Chaffee,then head of the newly formed Armor Branch of the Army,wearing the 1938 pattern tank helmet, not the 1919 patterntank helmet. Major General Chaffee died of cancer severalmonths after this photograph was taken. Chaffee had been acavalry officer throughout his career and was the motivatingforce behind the development of the experimental MechanizedCavalry in the late 1930s, a formation that would become thenucleus of the new Armored Force in 1940. The 1919 pattern"Helmet, Tank" was used almost exclusively by the InfantryBranch which was the only branch of the pre-World War nArmy authorized to have tanks. The Cavalry Branch was forcedto call their experimental armored vehicles "combat cars" and"scout cars" and developed their own unique protective helmetfor use by the mechanized cavalry troops, a helmet (FIG 8)which is today called the "Cavalry Style" tank helmet. If Chaf-fee had ever worn a tank helmet prior to the Life photographit would have been the "Cavalry Style" not the 1919 patternhelmet used by the infantry tankers.

Construction

As stated earlier, the original leather helmet prototype,approved by the Sub-Committee on Tanks in 1919, was con-structed by the Saddle Shop at the Rock Island Arsenal. Theactual production models of this helmet, however, appear tohave been made at the Jeffersonville Quartermaster DepotThe Report of the Chief of Ordnance dated 1920 which wasa detailed report of all Ordnance Corps and arsenal activi-ties from June 1919 to July 1920 states: "Leather and textilemanufacturing equipment which was installed at Rock IslandArsenal has been transferred to the Quartermaster Corps andforwarded to the Jeffersonville Depot."15 While it is certainlypossible that helmets were made at Rook Islnnd Arsenal priorto the removal of the leather working equipment, it wouldseem more likely that the site of their production was Jef-

FIG 7. Major General Adna R. Chaffee; Chief U.S.A. ArmoredForce, 1941. Courtesy of Lite Magazine.

fersonville Depot.The author has been fortunate to be able to examine several

1919 pattern helmets from private collections and museumsand all those examined appear to follow the same basicconstruction technique and pattern. The author believes it isprobable that quantities of this helmet were produced at severaldifferent times given the longevity of the helmet's use. Some1919 pattern helmets that were examined have what appear tobe government inspector's initials die stamped on one of theinterior headliner flaps, but most do not, a good indication ofseparate production lots or times. The author has derived thedrawings in FIG 9A & B and all the accompanying measure-ments from the 1919 pattern helmet in his personal collectionthat is representative of the others he has examined.

The helmet is constructed using five separate pieces ofleather, an adjustment strap with buckle, and a 3/s-inch thickgray felt lining. The body of the helmet is a cross-shapedpiece of H-inch thick, russet colored, saddle leather measur-ing roughly six inches by seven inches. Four holes 5/is-inchoutside diameter [OD] are positioned centrally on the crossto act as ventilation holes on the top of the helmet. Each ofthe four arms of the cross are perforated by three 5/i 6-inch ODholes except for one of the 6-inch sides which has only two5/i6-inch OD holes (this is to indicate the front of the helmet).The bottom hole in each quadrant acts as the passage for theleather thongs that attach the headliner flaps, the other holesact as ventilation. On the bottom of each arm are two sets oftwo parallel slits which form the loops through which passthe adjustment strap. The four arms, when folded down form

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ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL

2'2-4»9C Jolf ;6, 153=Helaset i'or tank ??rs?n-<:l

a bowl that is the body of the helmet. Glued on the interiorside of the helmet body is a 3/s inch thick lining of gray feltconforming to the overall size of the helmet body. The grayfelt consists of a circular central portion that fits into the topof the helmet body. Sewn to that is a long rectangular piecewhich conforms to the circumference of the helmet body. Allholes in the helmet body pass through the felt lining. Attached

FIG 8 (left). The "Cavalry Style" tank helmet. Courtesy of theRock Island Arsenal Museum.

to each of the four "sides" of the helmet body are four '/is-inchthick flaps of leather, the flaps for the front and rear of thehelmet are five inches wide and the two flaps for the remainingsides are ̂ -inches wide. There are two Vie-inch OD holes,arranged vertically, and situated at the midpoint of each flap.These four headliner flaps are machine-stitched with waxedcotton thread to the base of the helmet body then folded underto the inside of the helmet body thus forming a leather headband or liner. Passing through the two vertical holes in thecenter of each liner flap, passing through the felt lining andthe two lower holes of the helmet body, on each of the helmetsides, is a leather thong six inches long, 3/ie-inch wide, andVi6-inch thick which is knotted together on the helmet exteriorthus drawing the helmet side, felt lining, and liner flap taut.The lower exterior circumference of the helmet is encircledby an adjustment strap that passes under and through the twosets of vertical slits on each of the helmet sides. The adjust-ment strap is made of a '/s-inch thick strip of leather the sameas the helmet body. It is twenty-nine inches long and %-inchwide. On one end is a brass adjustment buckle, painted black,a standard Army issue equipment buckle of the Model 1910series of equipment.

It would appear that the designers of the 1919 pattern"Helmet, Tank" intended that the "side" of the helmet havingonly one ventilation hole, as opposed to two, would be the

• 6 -

•&•

HEAD LINER FLAP, PATTERN

1919 PATTERN,'HELMET, TANK'

HELMET BODY

V8" THICK LEATHER

FIG 9A. Construction details and measurements for the 1919 Pattern "Helmet, Tank."

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L

^>5/16" DIA. VENT HOLES

FLAP SEWN TOHELMET AS SHOWN

TOP VIEW

FRONT VIEW

HELMET 1/8" THICKLEATHER

HEADLINES FLAP1/16" THICK LEATHER

GREY FELT LINER3/8" THICK

KNOTTED LEATHER THONGS

SIDE VIEW ADJUSTMENT STRAP 1/8" THICKBY 3/U" x 29" LEATHER WITH ABLACK PAINTED BRASS BUCKLE

1919 PATTERN. 'HELMET, TANK'

FIG 9B. Construction details and measurements for the 1919 Pattern "Helmet, Tank."

front portion of the helmet. Why one "side" of the helmetneeded to be designated as the front is open to conjecture,but it probably was intended to instill a uniformity of wearwith the adjustment buckle being in the same position for allwearers whenever in formation. The intended position of theadjustment buckle is unknown. A study of period photographsstrongly suggests that wearers tended to put any "side" to thefront and the adjustment buckle was worn wherever the sol-dier felt like it. The 1919 pattern "Helmet, Tank" has earnedthe distinction of being one of the Army's most unattractivepieces of headgear, yet it has also the distinction of being oneof the most long lived pieces of headware, lasting a full twentyyears. The 1919 pattern helmet is today one of the rarest ofall American tanker helmets.

Notes

1. Prior to 1961 the U.S. Army nomenclature system termed all combatvehicle helmets simply "Helmet, Tank." In the late 1930s and early1940s there were sometimes as many as three different combat vehiclehelmet types in issue at the same time, causing major inventory head-aches. The Army finally resorted to differentiating the various types of

tank helmets by calling them "Helmet, Tank" followed by the OrdnanceDepartment drawing number. This author has chosen to use the date c:official Army pattern acceptance, 1919, as the way to distinguish thi>helmet from other tank helmets in use during the same time period. Theterm "1919 pattern" is not an official Army designation.

2. "Leaves from Old Notebook, Tanks & Tactics, France 1917-1918 "FattenPapers, Box 54, Folder 2, MS Div., Library of Congress, Washington.D.C.

3. Capt. George S. Patton, Jr., 'To: The Chief of the Tank Service," 12 De-cember 1917, p.16. Patlon Papers, Box 54, Folder 2, MS Div., LOG.

4. Martin Blumenson, The Patton Papers 1885-1940 (Boston: Houghtor,Mifflin Co., 1972), 479-480.

5. Lt. Col. James A. Drain., "To: C.O.O. through C.T.C.", 22 August 19!$,p.], The Rockenbach Papers, Box 3, Folder 3, Archives Section, VirginiaMilitary Institute Library. Lexington, Virginia.

6. Brashford Dean, Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare (Xe'.=.York: Carl J. Pugliese, 1977), 226.

7. Ibid., 228.8. Capt. Elgin Braine, "To: Commanding Officer, 302nd Center, Taak

Corps, U.S.A.," 22 December 1918. p. 9, Patton Papers, Box 55, Folder4, MS Div., LOG.

9. Col. L.B. Moody, "To: Sub-Committee on Tanks, Chairman, OrdnanceTechnical Board," 14 October 1919, reprinted in The Doughboy, 23, no.2 (Fall 2000): 4.

10. Ibid., 5.

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