US jet age flight helmets

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Type H-3, United States Navy

General Textile Mills, Inc.
United States Navy Type H-3 protective flying helmet. In April 1951, the H-3 became the standard issue flying helmet for the service. The helmet was an update of the Type H-2 and featured a "breakaway" protective shell to enable rapid removal from an injured aviator.
yellow fiberglass outer shell; cotton canvas and leather padded lining; leather and cotton canvas chin strap with steel buckle adjustment, chamois chin pad; black rubber edging; leather tabs with two steel snaps for oxygen mask attachment; boom microphone; rubber insulate patch chords with bayonet connection for both headphones and boom microphone; decal of gold naval aviator wings applied to front of helmet.

 

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Type H-2, United States Navy

United States Navy Type H-2 protective flying helmet. The H-2 was developed in the late 1940s as an update to replace the Type H-1. The helmet included an impact resistant outer shell and an integrated leather padded liner and radio headphones and boom microphone. The helmet was considered obsolete by the middle of the 1950s
General Textile Mills, Inc.
white fiberglass outer shell; leather padded lining; cotton canvas chin strap with chamois chin pad; black rubber edging; leather tabs with three steel snaps for oxygen mask attachment; boom microphone; rubber insulate patch chords with bayonet connection for both headphones and boom microphone.

 

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Type APH-6/D, United States Navy

Gentex Corporation
United States NavyType APH-6D helmet; VF-84 Fighting 84th "Jolly Rogers" Skull and Cross Bones insignia on left and right side
At the end of the 50's the APH series helmets introduced a new generation of flight helmets characterized by the external visor covered with a protective shield. Improvement of the communication system, internal liner and oxygen mask retainers was also made and in some versions the dual dark and transparent visors system was installed. These types of helmets were the US Navy and USMC standard jet aircraft headgears during the 60's and throughout the 70's. In this period the first developmet of a flight helmet incorporating the Visual Target Aquisition System (VTAS I) was also made. Furthermore during the late 60's, flight tests have been performed to verify the suitability of a full face "Clam Shell" helmet designed to eliminate the oxygen mask and to give better protection during ejection.

 

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Type P-1A, United States Air Force

General Textile Mills, Inc.
This was the first type of hard helmet mass produced for standard issue to the United States Air Force jet crewmen to provide buffeting and crash protection. The original P-1 was introduced in March 1948. The P-1A, was identical except for a neck strap which was added to prevent the helmet from tilting up durin maneuvers. With the addition of a sun visor an improved earphones in 1952, the helmet was designated as the Type P-3. The Type A-13A oxygen mask was used with this helmet.

 

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Type H-4, United States Navy

General Textile Mills, Inc.
Yype H-4 protective flying helmet issued to United States Naval and Marine aviators in the mid-1950s. The Type H-4 was a refined update of the Type H-3 with a different shape in the design of the reinforcing ridges and the addition of a cloth inner liner with earphones.

 

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This helmet was made by Stefan A. Cavallo, a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at Langley Field, Virginia.

In April of 1942, Cavallo graduated from New York University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was scheduled service as pilot with the Army Air Corps but before the war, he had applied for a position with the NACA. When the war broke out the NACA offered him a position as an engineer in the Flight Section at Langley Field, Virginia. For his first six months at Langley, he evaluated engineering data from the flight test program to improve aircraft design. With previous flying experience gained through the pre-war Civilian Pilot Training Program, Cavallo transitioned into the NACA’s Pilots Office.

The flight testing at Langley that Cavallo experienced was diverse and the pilots evaluated a wide range of aircraft types from the Consolidated PBY-5A flying boat to one of the first American jet aircraft, the Lockheed XP-80. Most of Cavallo’s work on these aircraft first determined then helped improve their stability and control of the handling qualities. In all, he was involved with testing nearly 75 different aircraft.

While at Langley Cavallo recognized the need for skull protection because of all the buffeting he encountered inside aircraft cockpits during flight testing. Cavallo designed and made this helmet to safeguard himself him during these flight tests. The helmet is probably the first helmet to incorporate skull protection, optic shielding, voice communications, and an oxygen system. This helmet is constructed from a modified fiberglass coal miner's helmet and portions of a standard issue Type AN-H-15 summer flying helmet. A Type A-13A oxygen mask and Polaroid goggles were worn with this helmet during Cavallo’s many flights in 1944-1946. Although it was not adopted for issue, it may have influenced the design of other hard helmets developed for jet pilots by the military services after World War II. The helmet was painted white and had Cavallo’s name stenciled on the front brow. He included five gold stars to represent each borough of his home town, New York City. These stars according to Cavallo, surprised the military ground crew personnel he encountered when landing at numerous Army Air Force bases during the war.

 

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Type HGU-20/P, United States Navy

Robert Shaw Controls Co.
The HGU-20/P Robert Shaw Controls Co. helmet differs from other protective flying helmets in that it is a closed type with a built-in oxygen system. It was intended to eliminate the need for an oxygen mask and to provide improved helmet retention under windblast. The helmet entered fleet testing in 1965 as was popular with attack squadron aircrews. However, it was withdrawn from service in 1971 because it restricted the pilot's vision in combat

 

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Mark IV, U.S.N.

B.F. Goodrich company
This is the helmet from Mark IV full pressure suit was developed for the US Navy by the B.F. Goodrich Company in the 1950s. The U.S. Air Force also authorized production of the Mark IV for squadrons stationed in colder areas. It was tested to altitudes of 139,000 ft. and demonstrated its ability to overcome the problems associated with safety during emergency ejection, immobility and manual pressurization. It was a very successful design, and was modified later to become the spacesuit worn by the Mercury astronauts.

 

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Type MA-2, United States Air Force

The MA-2 Pressure Helmet was a standard type of high-altitude helmet worn above 50,000 feet and was used for many years with a variety of partial pressure suits. It was basically a soft helmet with a bladder to provide pressure, a detachable outer shell of rigid molded plastic to provide protection and retain the prssure within the defined area, and a transparent faceplate. This example was the spare helmet that belonged to Francis Gary Powers at the time of ill-fated reconnaissance flight in a Lockheed U-2B over the Soviet Union in 1960. The U.S. Air Force insignia normally worn on the front of the helmet was painted over and replaced with Powers' identification number "29".

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Awesome pics!

THX for sharing