Japanese Army Helmet -
This is a WWII Japanese Army helmet. In very good condition.
Japanese helmets are hard to find because most of them were destroyed after the war. Some
of them were thrown into the ocean while others were melted in order to reuse the steel.
Most of the helmets available today in the United States were brought back by GI's as war
souvenirs.
This helmet is painted red. The color indicates that the soldier was ready to do a suicide attack.
Complete with the liner and the metal star attached to the front. Japanese military helmets are
becoming very desiable in the military antiques market.
The design of the helmet consists of a metal shell. A five point metal star is secured to the
front. This was the symbol for the Japanese Imperial Army. The shell was evenly shaped. there
was no significant visor or neckguard available.
The rim of the helmet was the exposed type. It was rounded off enough to eliminate any rough
edges that could cut the soldier.
Two different types of rivets are visible from the outside. One type is large and round. The second
type of rivet has the following characteristics; it is of domed shaped, small size and comes in pairs,
one above the other.
The rivets are employed to hold the liner in place.
This page is a recognition and identification guide for Japanese WWII field gear.
Multiple detailed photos of a specific sample are provided. Descriptions point
out specific points that should be noted.
One of the most commonly asked questions is "How much is my Japanese gear worth?".
A price guide is included here to address this question. The value of the WWII gear is
reviewed over a period of several years. A trend can be observed. The present worth
of the items in the collector's market is illustrated.
This service is provided free of charge to the visitor/enthusiast courtesy of
MilitaryItems.com,
a company dedicated
to the preservation of military history and to providing quality military antiques and
collectibles to museums, institutions and the general public.
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The liner is of leather construction. The design consists of four fingers pointing towards the
crown where they are tied together by a piece of cloth that runs through loops found at the tip
of the fingers. The back of each finger has a cotton pad. This provided extra cushion to the
head of the soldier.
The chin strap is very basic. It consists of a piece of cloth. This system was reminiscent
of the type used in Samurai helmets.
The pads are made of a burlap type material. A black ink stamp can be found in
one of them.
Many WWII Japanese field gear items are currently
reproduced.
It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because
the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with
the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this item.
Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of
the collectible.
If you have an interest is seeing other WWII Japanese items, you can do so by going
to our WWII Japanese Collectibles
identification guide, where we discussed items from different groups and organizations.
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