Helmet

A woman wearing a cycling helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., English policeman's helmet) without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from blunt object and sword blows and arrows in combat. Soldiers still wear helmets, now often made from lightweight plastics materials, to protect the head from bullets and shell fragments.

In civilian life, helmets are used for recreational activities and sports (e.g., jockeys in horse racing, American football, ice hockey, cricket, and rock climbing); dangerous work activities (e.g., construction, mining, riot police); and transportation (e.g., Motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets). Since the 1990s, most helmets are made from resin or plastic, which may be reinforced with fibers such as aramids.

Contents

History of military helmets

Types of Ancient Greek helmets, Antikensammlung in Altes Museum, Berlin
A Brodie helmet used by British Commonwealth officers in both World Wars and by US forces mainly in the First.

Helmets are known to have been worn by Ancient Greeks and Romans, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from blows, swords, arrows, (low-velocity) musket fire and similar risks. Some helmets had a sort of extension made of leather strips called pteruges to protect the neck, particularly common in the Middle East.

Helmets were first made of boar's tusk and leather, then bronze and iron during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950A.D. Military use of helmets declined after 1670, and rifled firearms ended their use by foot soldiers after 1700. By the 18th century cavalry units, who protected their bodies with steel cuirasses, frequently wore metal skull protectors under their hats, called "secrets".

The Napoleonic era saw ornate cavalry helmets reintroduced for cuirassiers and dragoons in some armies; they continued to be used by French forces during World War I as late as 1915, when they were replaced by the new French Adrian helmet. Ornate helmets were soon replaced by functional steel helmets by warring nations.

The Prussian Pickelhaube spiked helmet offered almost no protection from the heavy artillery used during World War I, and in 1916 was replaced by the German steel helmet, or Stahlhelm. World War I and its increased use of heavy artillery had renewed the need for steel helmets, which were quickly introduced by all the combatant nations for their foot soldiers. In the 20th century steel helmets offered protection for the head from shrapnel and spent, or glancing, bullets.

Today's armed services often use high-quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as Kevlar, which have excellent bullet and fragment stopping power. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities to protect the wearer from non-ballistic injuries, such as concussive shock waves from explosions, motor vehicle incidents, and falls. Military helmets can be worn with radio earmuffs, and other equipment such as night vision goggles can be added. Military helmets are often worn with a removable cotton-polyester helmet cover, which allows the user to change the pattern of the camouflage (e.g., from dark green forest camouflage to tan-coloured desert camouflage).

Design

A protective helmet worn during rock climbing

All protective helmets attempt to protect the user's head by absorbing mechanical energy and protecting against penetration. Their structure and protective capacity are altered in high-energy impacts. Beside their energy-absorption capability, their volume and weight are also important issues, since higher volume and weight increase the injury risk for the user's head and neck. Anatomical helmets adapted to the inner head structure were invented by neurosurgeons at the end of the 20th century.

Helmets used for different purposes have different designs. For example, a bicycle helmet must protect against blunt impact forces from the wearer's head striking the road. A helmet designed for rock climbing must protect against heavy impact, and against objects such as small rocks and climbing equipment falling from above. Practical concerns also dictate helmet design: a bicycling helmet should be aerodynamic in shape and well ventilated, while a rock climbing helmet must be lightweight and small so that it does not interfere with climbing.

Some helmets have other protective elements attached to them, such as a face visors or goggles or a face cage, and ear plugs and other forms of protective headgear, and a communications system. Sports helmets may have an integrated metal face protector (face cage).

Materials

Types of synthetic fiber used to make some helmets:

In former times lightweight non-metallic protective materials and strong transparent materials for visors were not available. In Greece in ancient times helmets were sometimes strengthened by covering the surface with boars' tusks (= their canine teeth) laid flat.

In Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries gamekeepers, for head protection in fights against poachers, sometimes wore helmets (perhaps more describable as thick bump caps) made of straw bound together with cut bramble.[1]

Types of helmet

Military

See Combat helmet for a list of helmets worn in (ancient and modern) battle combat

Motorcycle and bicycle helmets

A motocross helmet showing the elongated sun visor and chin bar

Sports

Cricket batsmen wearing helmets.

Work

Protective and emergency services

Other helmets

Images

Jousting helm c. 1498, study by Albrecht Durer

Pith helmet

Vietnam War Era Marine Squadron VMA-311 Flight Helmet

PASGT helmet

Hockey Helmet - Goalie

baseball batting helmet

full face and open face motorcycle helmet

Leather Firefighting Helmet

Lifeboatman's helmet, Southport, England.

Heraldry

Shield
Field
Supporter
Supporter
Motto (Scotland)
Crest
Torse
Mantling
Helm
Coronet
Compartment
Order
Ordinaries
Common
charges
Motto
Outline of coat of arms
Achievement elements

As the coat of arms was originally designed to distinguish combatants on the battlefield or in a tournament, even while covered in armour, it is not surprising that heraldic elements were often also used for the decoration of knightly helmets, while it was also possible to use different elements than on the shield, but equally standardized.

Furthermore, it became common to use a helmet (or some other headgear, e.g. a crown or coronet) as part of the coat of arms, above the shield, a practice maintained long after helmets themselves ceased to be used. In some systems, the rank of the bearer was reflected in the model of the emblematic helmet, e.g. the metal and the number of bars in the visor, as in France. The rank can be denoted by a coronet or wreath placed on the helmet (often instead of directly above the shield).

The heraldic convention in the United Kingdom is as follows:

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Long Affray, by Harry Hopkins, publ. 1985 Secker & Warburg, London, ISBN 0-436-20102-X
  2. ↑ http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=0-wuAAAAEBAJ&dq=4317239

External links