Original Item: Only One Available. The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by John Leopold Brodie. A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the US. Colloquially, it was called the shrapnel helmet, battle bowler, Tommy helmet, tin hat, and in the United States the doughboy helmet. It was also known as the dishpan hat, tin pan hat, washbasin and Kelly helmet. The German Army called it the Salatschüssel (salad bowl). The term Brodie is often misused. It is correctly applied only to the original 1915 Brodie's Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern.

Initially the United States purchased 400,000 British Mark I helmets to equip the American Expeditionary Forces in 1917, and those units which were to integrate with French formations were provided with Adrian helmets. The first US-made copies of the Mark I were supplied before the end of 1917 and some 2,700,000 had been made by the end of the war. The M1917 differed little from the British original; different rivets were used to secure the liner, the wire loop onto which the chinstrap was fixed was thicker and the rubber "doughnut" pad was not adopted. However, the US manufacturers were able to produce a shell with better ballistic protection than the original.

This is an excellent example of a U.S. M1917 "Doughboy" helmet, which features original period textured OD Green paint which was then painted over with white. The shell is maker marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads ZA 219. 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.

The liner is present, though it has suffered somewhat to age. The felt top pad is somewhat worn due to age and use, however the original tag is still present. The oil cloth is in similar condition, and the underlying netting is a bit deteriorated. The chin strap is present, though it is worn and cracked.

The best feature of this helmet is definitely the white paint with a red “VFD” tape decal on the front. We believe this to have been used by a Volunteer Fire Department some time after the war. Millions of these helmets were produced with a high volume of helmets having never been issued out to the troops fighting in France. As with most over produced military items, these were sold off as surplus and repurposed for use elsewhere and in this case it was for a fire department.

This is a great example of an authentic WWI “Doughboy” helmet that started its life for military use and ended its service on the homefront.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.