WWII U.S. Westinghouse Paratrooper Helmet Liner Converted for "Objective, Burma!" (1945)

Description

This is an original and very interesting WWII U.S. M-1 helmet liner. It was produced in approximately mid-1942 by Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It features non-painted steel rectangular washers, a first pattern rayon suspension, a torn stationary leather chinstrap, but most interesting of all, remnants of paratrooper's A-yokes secured by split rivets, but no female sockets to accommodate the corresponding snaps on a paratrooper helmet shell's chinstrap. Westinghouse did not produce paratrooper liners until late-1943, well after the cessation of rayon suspensions, and this liner was not modified by a paratrooper rigger, so you may be asking what is it? This helmet liner is actually an original film prop from the 1945 Warner Bros. movie Objective, Burma! Production acquired a supply of surplus Westinghouse liners, all with rayon suspensions, and modified them to appear like paratrooper liners with the addition of A-yokes. This is one of only a handful known to exist to this day. It comes with its original neckband.

Provenance

Private Collection, Dallas, Texas

Condition Report

The rayon suspension is damaged, and the production applied A-yokes have been severed.