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US WWI "LIBERTY BELL" EXPERIMENTAL HELMET

This is a a variation of the "Liberty Bell" helmets produced for the US army in the later part of WWI. The exact number of helmets produced is not known but they were produced in relative quantity. The helmet was never adopted by the US armed forces. It never left the prototype/experimental stage.

There are no markings found in the helmet. The paint finish is very smooth.

The particular version shown here has several interesting aspects. Among them are:

The liner employed was the style commonly used during WWI.
The liner is attached to the body of the helmet via the use of springs.
The liner has a padded "crown" which is attached to the helmet with a rivet that can be seen on the top of the helmet.
The crown is secured to the frame of the liner using 4 brown snaps.
The ridges that are formed around the perimeter of the helmet are caused by defects in the manufacturing process. After having mastered the process the bumpiness was smoothed out.

A rubberized liner was placed around the circumference of the headliner. Below that there is felt like material also following the contour of the circle. Many of the helmets were equipped with a WWI chin strap. This particular sample has a non-opening strap made of the same type of canvis as the WWI chin strap.

The chin strap would attach to a fixed D-bail which was welded to the body of the experimental helmet.

This is a closer look at the spring suspension built into the helmet. The idea was that the coils would mitigate the bouncing of the helmet as the soldiers ran and would provide more protection when hit by an object.

The top of the helmet has a cross member to provide additional support. This is where the padding would be placed to make it more comfortable to wear. There are traces where the pad was affixed but it must have come off previously.

The Liberty Bell experimental helmet is one of the most commonly found examples among experimental helmets.

PRICING GUIDE INFORMATION
The following is an estimated value. It may vary in every state and every country. The year in which the estimated value was made is noted Provided courtesy of MilitaryItems.com. The source for military antiques and collectibles.

Value (2007)	$1,500.00
Availability (2007)	Very rare

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