‘An observation’, (not speculation)-
-there are two distinct helmet color types at Rabaul. One is light tan and the other is chocolate brown. Sometimes the tan ones have been over painted chocolate brown. They are seldom found together.
!!Speculation!! is the light tan was the pre-war very early war color. Rabaul was taken and very rapidly built up into the major base in the S. Pacific from Feb. 1942. So received lots of early stuff, where it was stored (tan ones?). Darker color was later introduced, some straight from the factory some older tans ones painted over. Stored ones, or those in use on remote islands etc stayed tan.
But Rabaul was cut off to all intents and purposes from late 1943 (after Torokina, Cape Gloucester etc). So what we have here was fossilized at that point in time. So no later lighter color type or ‘Stenciled’ helmets?
Sorry Nick can’t help a speculation. But I think archeological observation, as in the first paragraph have a need to be recorded.
-there are two distinct helmet color types at Rabaul. One is light tan and the other is chocolate brown. Sometimes the tan ones have been over painted chocolate brown. They are seldom found together.
!!Speculation!! is the light tan was the pre-war very early war color. Rabaul was taken and very rapidly built up into the major base in the S. Pacific from Feb. 1942. So received lots of early stuff, where it was stored (tan ones?). Darker color was later introduced, some straight from the factory some older tans ones painted over. Stored ones, or those in use on remote islands etc stayed tan.
But Rabaul was cut off to all intents and purposes from late 1943 (after Torokina, Cape Gloucester etc). So what we have here was fossilized at that point in time. So no later lighter color type or ‘Stenciled’ helmets?
Sorry Nick can’t help a speculation. But I think archeological observation, as in the first paragraph have a need to be recorded.
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