Original Item: Only One Available. This is without a doubt one of the finest, most attractive painted doughboy helmets we have ever seen! The amount of detail that was put into creating these images are borderline art museum worthy. Personally we believe that the best feature of the various painted images is of the black panther pouncing to attack a German soldier wearing a pickelhaube armed with a rifle.
The helmet came to us from the American Armoured Foundation, Inc. Tank and Ordnance Memorial Museum. The AAF Tank Museum was a living memorial dedicated to the Tank and Cavalry soldiers of the world. Before 1981 some of the artifacts that make up the AAF Tank Museum was a private collection belonging to Mr. William Gasser. Mr. Gasser felt that his collection would be beneficial in educating present and future generations to the sacrifices made and the technologies gained during war. Therefore, in 1981 the AAF Tank Museum was established as a non-profit charitable organization, and Mr. Gasser's donated his private collection to the Tank Museum. Mr. Gasser is still active as Volunteer Director and Curator of the Tank Museum and his knowledge of military history has been a great asset to the museum. Unfortunately after 20 years of operation it had to close its doors, which is when this uniform was acquired.
This is a very nice example of a U.S. M1917 "Doughboy" helmet, which features original period paint and an original liner with partial chinstrap. The side features the painted 1918 Unit Insignia of the U.S. Army Tank Corps emblem in the center. The Insignia maintains most of the original paint and remains bold and easy to see. It is a triangle with blue, yellow and red painted corners. Around the triangle is 301-SOMME OFFENSIVE. The opposite side of the helmet has a black silhouette of a Mark V tank with the slogan “Treat ‘Em Rough”, a slogan first coined by Philadelphia cartoonist and Tank Corps member, Joseph Cunningham.
This original triangular Armor insignia was designed in 1918 and was worn by the World War I Tank Corps and subsequent tank units of the Infantry. The colors of the shoulder patch were blue for Infantry, red for Artillery, and yellow for Cavalry-the three basic components of Armor. The insignia symbolized the union of the three forces. The basic design and combination of colors remain in today’s Armor insignia.
The shell is maker marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads ZC 281. The solid rivets and heat lot number indicate that this helmet shell was produced in the United States. The paint is in very good condition both inside and outside the helmet, with the expected wear from service. There is also a bit of ripping in the shell, indicating early U.S. production. Unfortunately it appears that the helmet fell victim to target practice after it was painted. There are at least 6 pock marks present on the top with only one that fully penetrated the shell’s dome.
The liner is also in quite nice shape, with a very good oil cloth liner, and the top felt pad is not present. The chinstrap remnants on the top is extremely delicate and dried out, no longer securing the liner to the shell. The liner was tied to the shell to keep it from being separated.
A great example of an authentic WWI "Doughboy" helmet from the U.S. Army III Corps,
ready to display!
301st Heavy Tank Battalion (United States)
The 301st Heavy Tank Battalion of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a Heavy Tank unit during World War I. Of the eight heavy battalions (the 301st to 308th) raised, only the 301st saw combat. The 301st was reorganized post-war into the 66th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks), later to become the 66th Armor Regiment, the oldest armored regiment in the United States Army.
The 301st, equipped with British Mark V heavy tanks, suffered large casualties in the Battle of St. Quentin Canal on 29 September as part of the British 4th Tank Brigade, under the control of the Australian Corps. Efforts were made to hide the Tanks moving up to the front lines by having Planes fly over German lines. The attack started at 5.50 a.m. in a thick mist. Some tanks were hit by shelling before the start line, while others were lost crossing an unreported British minefield. Of the 34 participating tanks, only 10 reached their objective. Of the crews of the 40 tanks of the 301st Battalion, 112 were casualties. The numbers broke down as three officers and 20 enlisted men were killed, seven officers and 55 enlisted men were severely wounded and eight officers and 15 enlisted men were slightly wounded, and one officer and six enlisted men missing.
The 301st then seized the village of Brancourt on 8 October, fought in the Battle of the Selle on October 17, 1918. During the fighting, the Tanks were required to cross the Selle River a tributary of the Somme. US planners were able to use low-flying aeroplane reconnaissance to select good shallow crossings and 19 tanks out of the 20 operating successfully crossed the stream.
Their fourth and final battle was the night attack on 22–23 October in the vicinity of the Sambre Canal. Nine Tanks from the 301st were assigned to the 1st British Division on German lines near Bazuel, south-east of Le Cateau. At H-hour, all nine Tanks moved forward rapidly, taking out German strong points. They moved so fast that their supporting infantry had trouble keeping up with them. All Tanks reached their objectives with only five casualties when one of the Tank crews was gassed but was successfully treated.
