British WWII Para Helmet

[Gary Jucha]

Leather Chin Strap

Jack,
An explanation I heard concerning the ditching of the leather chin strap was that the end that threaded through the double ring loop tended to fray or swell when wet, and was more or less impossible to thread. (Also wet hands trying to thread the wet leather was difficult).

Regards

Gary J.

Hi Jim,

I think they converted the earlier leather chin strap to the later web chin strap because it was a lot more practical. Leather can crack, shrink and break very easily whereas webbing material is much tougher and more flexible.

Thanks from Jack.