Late war IJN helmet with painted anchor

[NARVIK1940]

Picked this one up today. A late war IJN helmet with painted anchor. The anchor is unusual in that it appears to have been painted white and then yellow, in a two tone fashion. The front liner button has a splash of white on it. Looks almost like the anchor was painted with the liner out and then the rivet was put on over the anchor. Or maybe the anchor was painted above and below the button and just a dash of white was put on the button itself? Clearly period done. There is also some touch up paint on the rivets and liner buttons all around the helmet. The neat thing is the liner, which is made of shark skin. It is in excellent condition. Also, the chin straps appear to be made of some kind of synthetic material, such as rayon. This is the first time I have seen that. Translation of the kanji is appreciated!


Thanks for looking!

Late IJN 1.jpg

Late IJN 2.jpg

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010782[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010783[/ATTACH]

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010784[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010785[/ATTACH]

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010786[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010787[/ATTACH]

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010788[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010789[/ATTACH]

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010790[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010791[/ATTACH]

[NARVIK1940]

[ATTACH]3010792[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3010793[/ATTACH]

[GHP]

機一
Aircraft #1

(右一)
(Right 1)





[upside down]

平野
Hirano


--Guy

[NARVIK1940]

Thanks! What does Hirano mean?

[Jareth]

Could be owners last name or commanding officers last name/ unit name. I saw this one on eBay & my call was that the white was an out line around anchor. Your photos still make me think this. Liner is a typical rough out suede. The late material is often anywhere from a blue gray to white. We think it gets this color from the tanning process or the type of hide used. Otherwise nice helmet with character

[NARVIK1940]

Late war IJN helmet with painted anchor

Interesting to see that it was associated with an airfield. As I recall, Jareth's camo Navy also has a similar association, correct?

I thought I has heard that these grey liners were shark skin, but what you say makes sense. This is the second helmet I've owned with such a grey liner. I agree that it is a white outline on the anchor. Is this rare?

Also, are these rayon chinstraps also typical for late war lids?

[NARVIK1940]

I looked up the character for Hirano and it translates to "plain".

[GeorgeP]

機一
Aircraft #1

That makes perfect sense, and fits right in with the included number, but I wonder if it could possibly be an abbreviation for a machine gun or machine cannon unit, particularly with the circled direction designation included.

Tom

[NARVIK1940]

Does 機 mean aircraft, or more broadly, "machine"?

[Striking 9th]

Interesting that it has the key ring style chinstrap keepers. They are original to the helmet it would appear. Really late features all around for this type for it to have those keepers. Is the rear ring the key ring style?