Combat helmet


A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet, a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat.

History

Helmets are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment and are known to have been worn by the Akkadians/Sumerians in the 23rd century BC, Mycenaean Greeks since the 17th century BC, the Assyrians around 900 BC, ancient Greeks and Romans, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the end of the 17th century by many combatants. Their materials and construction became more advanced as weapons became more and more powerful. Initially constructed from leather and brass, and then bronze and iron during the Bronze and Iron Ages, they soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950 AD. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from cutting blows with swords, flying arrows, and low-velocity musketry.
Military use of helmets declined after 1670, and rifled firearms ended their use by foot soldiers after 1700 but the Napoleonic era saw ornate cavalry helmets reintroduced for cuirassiers and dragoons in some armies which continued to be used by French forces during World War I as late as 1915.
World War I and its increased use of artillery renewed the need for steel helmets, with the French Adrian helmet and the British Brodie helmet being the first modern steel helmets used on the battlefield, soon followed by the adoption of similar steel helmets, such as the Stahlhelm by the other warring nations. Such helmets offered protection for the head from shrapnel and fragments.
Today's militaries often use high quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as Kevlar and Twaron, which offer improved protection. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities, against threats such as concussive shock waves from explosions.
Many of today's combat helmets have been adapted for modern warfare requirements and upgraded with STANAG rails to act as a platform for mounting cameras, video cameras and VAS Shrouds for the mounting of night vision goggles and monocular night vision devices.
Beginning in the early 20th century, combat helmets have often been equipped with helmet covers to offer greater camouflage. There have been two main types of covers—mesh nets were earlier widely used, but most modern combat helmets use camouflage cloth covers instead.
By the late 20th century, starting in the 1970s and 1980s, new materials such as Kevlar and Twaron began replacing steel as the primary material for combat helmets, in an effort to improve weight, ballistics protection, and protection against head injuries caused by blasts. This practice still continues into the 21st century, with further advancement and refinements in the fibers used, design and shape of the helmet, and increased modularity. Early helmet systems of this new design are the American PASGT, the Spanish MARTE, the Italian SEPT-2 PLUS, and British Mk6.

List of military helmets

1980-present

1914-1980

ModelImageOriginsFirst issuedUsers-
Adrian helmet - Modèle 1915, - Modèle 19261915, 1926,,,, Japan, Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia,,,, Kingdom of Italy,,,,,,,,, -
Modèle 19511951,,,, ,,,, -
Modèle 19781978, -
Brodie helmet - MkI, - MkII, 1915, 1938,, ,,,, ,,,,,,,,,, -
Zuckerman helmet1940-
Helmet Steel Airborne Troop1941,, ,, -
RAC helmet1941UK, Canada, , Belgium-
Mk III Turtle helmet1944, -
Mk IV helmet1945, -
Mk V helmet1956-
Stahlhelm - M16, - M17, - M181916, 1917, 1918,,,,,,,, -
Stahlhelm M161916,,,, -
Stahlhelm M18 1918,, -
Stahlhelm M18 1918,, -
Stahlhelm M351935,,,, Chile,,,,,,, -
Stahlhelm M401940,,,,, -
Stahlhelm M421942,,,,,, -
Italian M16 Lippmann helmet1916, , -
M31 helmet1931, -
M33 helmet1934,,, -
Greek M1934/39 1939, -
M42 helmet1942,, -
M1917 helmet1917, -
M1 helmet1941,,,
,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,, 		-
Swiss M1918,
Swiss M1918/40		1918, -
Swiss M19711971-
Danish M1923 helmet1923-
Belgian M26/321926, -
Swedish M19261926, -
Swedish M19371937, -
Spanish M19211926 , -
Spanish M19261930 , -
Spanish M1934?, -
M1942 Modelo Z?, -
M1942/79 Modelo Z?-
Netherlands M23/27, Netherlands M341928, -
Hełm wz. 281928-
Hełm wz. 301930-
Hełm wz. 311931,, -
Hełm wz. 31/501945-
Hełm wz. 501950,,,, -
Hełm wz. 63 1963, -
Hełm wz. 641964-
Hełm wz. 651964-
Hełm wz. 671967,, -
Hełm wz. 701967-
Irish M19281928-
Norwegian M311931-
Type 90 1931,, -
Type 661966Variant of M1 Helmet used by some elements of the JSDF Ground Forces-
Czechoslovakian M32 helmet1932, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Slovak Republic, -
Czechoslovakian M53 helmet1953
Hungarian M351935-
Hungarian M381938, -
Hungarian M501950-
Hungarian M701970-
SSh-36
Soviet helmets during World War II		1936-
SSh-391939, -
SSh-401940,,,,,, -
SSh-601960, -
SSh-681968,, -
Bulgarian M36 helmet1936-
Portuguese M19401940-
M42 Duperite helmet 1942-
Mº 44 E.T.A. de Paracaidista used by Argentine Paratroopers1944-
M63 Staaldak1963Rhodesia, South Africa-

Medieval and early Modern

ModelOriginUsers
Armet15th centuryWestern Europeans.
Barbute15th centuryItalian states.
Bascinetc. 1300Europeans during the Hundred Years' War amid the kingdoms of France,, Burgundy and
Burgonetc. 1600Europeans, especially by militias of &
Capelinelate 16th centuryEuropeans during the 17th century, including the English Civil War in & Thirty Years' War across the
Cervellierelate 13th centuryChristian Europeans in Crusades during the 14th century
Close helmetlate 15th centuryWestern Europeans.
Dragoon helmetlate 18th century.
Enclosed helmetlate 12th centuryWestern Europeans.
Frog-mouth helmc. 1600Western Europeans.
Great helm1189Christian Europeans in Third Crusade; other Europeans until 1540
Hounskull14th centuryWestern Europeans.
Kabutoc. 1600Samurai especially during the 17th century of the Edo-period Tokugawa shogunate in Medieval.
Kettle hat12th centuryCommon all over medieval Europe.
Morion16th and early 17th centuriesEuropeans
Nasal helmetEarly Middle AgesByzantine Empire, later common all over Europe.
Pickelhaube1842especially by & and other Europeans until 1918; revived for 2006 FIFA World Cup in
Raupenhelmc. 1800-1870High crested leather helmet used primarily by and
Salletc. 1450used in Northern Europe & until the mid-16th century
Secrete17th centuryWestern Europeans
Spangenhelm5th centuryCentral Asia, Near East & Europe; espec. by Scythians, Sarmatians, Persians, & Germans until 1000
Tarletonc. 1770-1800Crested, peaked leather helmet used by cavalry and light infantry by, and in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Qing parade helmetafter 1655 till 1911China
Zischaggec. 1600-1780Originated in Ottoman Empire, used by the most of the Europe.

See also headgear listing within Components of medieval armour.

Ancient militaries

ModelOriginUsers
Attic helmetancient Greeks
Boar's tusk helmet17th century BCEMycenaean Greeks until 10th century BCE
Boeotian helmetancient Greek cavalry
Chalcidian helmetancient Greeks
Corinthian helmetancient Greeks
Disc and stud helmetc. 400 BCEancient Illyrians & Adriatic Veneti until 167 BCE
Galea ancient Romans
Horned helmetc. 1000 BCECeltic Europeans until 700 CE
Illyrian type helmetancient Greeks
Kegelhelmancient Greeks
Negau helmetancient Etruscans in Negau, Slovenia
Montefortino helmetancient Romans
Pilosancient Greeks
Pot helmetancient Illyrians
Phrygian/Thracian helmet5th century BCEancient Greeks in Thrace, Dacia, Italia & Hellenistic Europe until c. 200 CE

Padding

Cushioning is used to negate concussive injuries. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory published a study in 2011 that concluded that the addition of an eighth of an inch/3 millimetres of cushion decreased the impact force to the skull by 24%.