WWII US M1917A1 "KELLY" HELMET ORIGINAL

Pre-WWII U.S. M-1917A1 “Kelly” Helmet seen at Pearl Harbour, Wake Island, Corregidor and Bataan etc.

They were also used by the U.S. Marine Corps in the early Island Campaigns of 1942.

Complete with liner and chinstrap (early war od 3 US chin straps are very valuable themselves).

Looks to have small to medium size leather liner.

Lot number on the shell 16A.

The first American steel helmet was adopted during World War I as the M1917 "Doughboy" helmet.

The M1917A1, adopted in 1939, had only minor changes and was visually almost identical.  It was basically a M1917 helmet shell, as used during WWI, with an improved liner and chin strap assembly.

The M1917A1 helmet was a transitional helmet and was used during the early years of WWII prior to the introduction of the more common M1 Helmet or M-1 “steel pot”.