Brodie helmet

M1917 helmet worn by members of the U.S. 5th Marine Regiment.

The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in 1915 by Englishman John Leopold Brodie. In modified form it became the Helmet, steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U.S. Colloquially, it was called the shrapnel helmet, Tommy helmet, Tin Hat, and in the United States the doughboy helmet. Worn by Australians during WW2 and sometimes known as 'Panic Hat'. It was also known as the dishpan hat, tin pan hat, washbasin, battle bowler (when worn by officers), and Kelly helmet. The US version, the M1917, was copied from the British Mk 1 steel helmet of 1916. The German Army called it the Salatschüssel (salad bowl).^[1]

Designation

The term Brodie is often mis-used. It is correctly applied only to the original 1915 Brodie's Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern,^[2] designed by John Brodie for the War Office. The Brodie helmet was modified to become the Helmet, Steel, Mk.I, in 1916.

Background

The Illustrated War News—17 November 1915
The caption reads:
Head-wounds have been more than usually numerous during the war, owing to the trench-fighting, and more than usually severe, owing to the extensive use of shrapnel. But the danger, although it cannot be avoided, can be minimised. Our Army has now followed the French by adopting steel helmets, calculated to stop shell-splinters and shrapnel. Even in cases of extreme risk, not only has death been avoided, but injuries have been confined to bruises or superficial wounds. Cases have occurred in which the wearers have been hit, but saved by these helmets from what without them would have meant certain death. The fur coats, as they did last year, mean mitigation of the rigours of winter. The French helmets are known as "Adrians," after their inventor. (Photo by Illustrations Harrow).

At the outbreak of World War I, none of the combatants provided steel helmets to their troops. Soldiers of most nations went into battle wearing cloth, felt, or leather headgear that offered no protection from modern weapons.

The huge number of lethal head wounds that modern artillery weapons inflicted upon the French Army led them to introduce the first modern steel helmets in the summer of 1915.^[3][4] The first French helmets were bowl-shaped steel "skullcaps" worn under the cloth caps. These rudimentary helmets were soon replaced by the Model 1915 Adrian helmet, designed by August-Louis Adrian.^[5] The idea was later adopted by most other combatant nations.

Origins

At about the same time, the British War Office had seen a similar need for steel helmets. The War Office Invention Department was ordered to evaluate the French design. They decided that it was not strong enough and too complex to be swiftly manufactured. British industry was not geared up to an all-out effort of war production in the early days of World War I, which also led to the shell shortage of 1915.

A design patented in 1915 by John L. Brodie of London offered advantages over the French design. It was constructed in one piece that could be pressed from a single thick sheet of steel, giving it added strength.

Brodie's design resembled the medieval infantry kettle hat or chapel-de-fer, unlike the German Stahlhelm, which resembled the medieval sallet.^[6] The Brodie had a shallow circular crown with a wide brim around the edge, a leather liner and a leather chinstrap. The helmet's "soup bowl" shape was designed to protect the wearer's head and shoulders from shrapnel shell projectiles bursting from above the trenches. The design allowed the use of relatively thick steel that could be formed in a single pressing while maintaining the helmet's thickness. This made it more resistant to projectiles but it offered less protection to the lower head and neck than other helmets.

The original design (Type A) was made of mild steel with a brim 1.5–2 inches (38–51 mm) wide. The Type A was in production for just a few weeks before the specification was changed and the Type B was introduced in October 1915. The specification was altered at the suggestion of Sir Robert Hadfield to a harder steel with 12% manganese content, which became known as "Hadfield steel", which was virtually impervious to shrapnel hitting from above.^[7] Ballistically this increased protection for the wearer by 10 per cent. It could withstand a .45 caliber pistol bullet traveling at 600 feet (180 m) per second fired at a distance of 10 feet (3.0 m).^[8] It also had a narrower brim and a more domed crown.

The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment showing off their new Brodie helmets (1916).

The original paint scheme, suggested by Brodie, was a mottled light green, blue, and orange camouflage but they were also painted in green or blue-grey.^[9] That same month the first delivery of the helmets was made to British Army troops. Initially, there were far from enough helmets to equip every man, so they were designated as "trench stores", to be kept in the front line and used by each unit that occupied the sector. It was not until the summer of 1916, when the first one million helmets had been produced, that they could be generally issued.^[10]

The Brodie helmet reduced casualties but was criticized by General Herbert Plumer on the grounds that it was too shallow and too light-reflective, its rim was too sharp, and its lining was too slippery. These criticisms were addressed in the Mark I model helmet of 1916, which had a separate folded rim, a two-part liner and matte khaki paint finished with sand, sawdust, or crushed cork to give a dull, non-reflective appearance.^[9] In 1917, the liner was modified to include a rubber cushion to make it more comfortable, although this was not adopted for the M1917. Towards the end of the war, helmets were often painted with unit insignia. These are often called "parade helmets" by collectors.

The weight of a Mark I helmet was approximately 1.3 pounds (0.59 kg).

Service

It was first used in battle in April 1916 at the Battle of St Eloi. Troops from other countries also used the Brodie helmet, including the United States Armed Forces, when they began to deploy in France late in 1917. The United States government initially purchased some 400,000 helmets from Britain. From January 1918 the U.S. Army began to use helmets manufactured in the U.S. and these helmets were designated M1917.^[1] The steel helmet was known to the troops as a "tin hat", or, for the officers, a "battle bowler" (from bowler hat).

By the end of the war some 7.5 million Brodie helmets had been produced, including 1.5 million M1917 helmets, for use by American forces.

Current safety concerns

In May 2014, the UK's Health and Safety Executive, in consultation with the Imperial War Museum, advised that World War I-era helmets were not safe to handle, owing to the likelihood of them containing asbestos. It advised that schools should not allow pupils to handle such artefacts, but should instead ensure that the objects were either safely disposed of, have the asbestos removed from the object or safely display the object.^[11]

Post World War I

U.S. Army Infantryman in 1942 wearing Brodie helmet

From 1936, the Mark I Brodie helmet was fitted with an improved liner and an elasticated (actually, sprung) webbing chin strap. This final variant served until late 1940, when it was superseded by the slightly modified Mk II, which served the British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II. Several Commonwealth nations, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, produced local versions of the MK II, which can be distinguished from those made in Britain. During this period, the helmet was also used by the police, the fire brigade and ARP wardens in Britain. The helmets for the ARP wardens came in two principal variants, black with a white "W" for wardens and white with a black "W" for Chief Wardens, however numerous different patterns were used.^[12] A civilian pattern was also available for private purchase, known as the Zuckerman helmet, which was a little deeper but made from ordinary mild steel.

In 1944, the British replaced it with a significantly modified design, known as the Mk III "Turtle" helmet.

The U.S. Army used the basic Brodie-patterned M1917 helmet until 1942 with some modifications, which included a totally new liner and canvas chin strap. It was finally superseded by the M1 Helmet in 1942.

The helmet was the inspiration for the name of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (or the MOTH), a brotherhood of ex-front-line soldiers founded in 1927 by Charles Evenden.

Present day

Brodie helmets are still being used, most notably until recently, by the Israeli civil defence forces.

Some live-action role players use Brodie helmets as substitute Medieval chapel de fer. The Brodie helmet resembles its Medieval original enough to be an acceptable substitute.

See also

• Tommy Atkins
• Doughboy
• Kettle hat
• Zuckerman helmet

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brodie helmets.

• "стальной шлем" [Steel helmet]. helm.at.ua (in Russian). 2015. 
• "Angleterre". World War Helmets: Référence de casques de 1915 à nos jours... (in French). 2015.