M-2 D-Bale Helmet
The M-2 or D-Bale helmet is probably one of the rarest types of American helmets used during WW2.
The M-2 was introduced in 1942, the wider D-loop allowed the chin strap to move more freely making it better to use with a chin cup. The D-loops were soon found to be very delicate and it was very common for the loops to snap and break off.
Here we have one such example where both loops have been repaired in the field using the brazing method to not only stick the bales back onto the helmet shell, but to re-enforce the bales to stop them snapping. The chin straps have then been sewn back onto the helmet using an industrial sewing machine.
The M-2 and the fixed bale M1-C where both replaced in the later part of 1944 by the flexi bale M1-C.
Only fixed bale airborne helmets were used for the jump into Normandy.