Mk2 Tommy Helmet

Wear a cap comforter under it, its what lads in the war did. You can also wear an fs cap underneath at a pinch.

Yes, the British helmets have nothing to 'hug' the head. Loking down or dropping prone qucikly can easily have it off your head. Tightening your chin strap can help, but isn't a complete fix be a long way.

Thanks

Shall have to add that to the list of things to get

I got an MK2 Tommy helmet from SoF recently. Well after putting it on it's very loose, if I shake my head it'll move and come of with a quick nod
It's a 58 and the liner says 57 - 58 which is the size of my head.

Same head size, same problem. Cap comforter then makes it sit very high on my head. But I guess that's why they are always worn at jaunty angle in the photos.

I got an MK2 Tommy helmet from SoF recently. Well after putting it on it's very loose, if I shake my head it'll move and come of with a quick nod
It's a 58 and the liner says 57 - 58 which is the size of my head.

Same head size, same problem. Cap comforter then makes it sit very high on my head. But I guess that's why they are always worn at jaunty angle in the photos.

No. They are worn at jaunty angles because jaunty angles are brilliant. There is no need to infect jaunty angles with your practicalityisms.

No. They are worn at jaunty angles because jaunty angles are brilliant. There is no need to infect jaunty angles with your practicalityisms.

There is much truth in this.

I had cause and effect round the wrong way they were of course specifically designed with the aim of making the wearer look brilliant ... probably.

also, the sizing written on the SoF liners bears no resemblance to the size it actually is. I'e got one the same, and it's massive, so i padded it out along the inside of the headband.

On of the problems with the MKII is that it was designed for a totally different form of warfare from what it was actually used for.

It was designed to give protection from shell burst and debris falling from *above* while you were in a trench and only the top of the head would be exposed (hence the wide brim), and for the wearer to be largely static.

Obviously when it was used for a mobile, mechanised war it was shown to be massively inferior to german, russian and us designs - hence the introduction of the MKIII in 44.

weirdly the british government knew for *years* that adopting a different design would have prevented about 15 per cent more of casualties from head wounds but wouldnt adopt the german design for reasons of national pride and it not being *british* and wouldnt adopt the US design as you couldnt use UK signals headphones with it very well.

So it took ages for them to put the MKIII into production.

'tommy helmets' are also ridiculously easy to make compared to the german stalhelm which required electric presses and used a weird steel mix iirc

I find that wearing the strap tightly round the back of the head is the best way of keeping it in place. It's still not perfect, but not too bad.

Is it a British helmet you've got or a Belgian lookalike? The Belgian liners seem much shallower than their British counterparts, making them even more difficult to keep on your head.

I have also adopted the 'strap on the back of the head' approach.

On of the problems with the MKII is that it was designed for a totally different form of warfare from what it was actually used for.

Wasn't the Brodie modelled on medieval helmets? So yes, designed for use against arrows, swords and spears....

Cheers
Martin

i think the brodie/medival thing is pure coincidence.

The design of the brodie was governed by by a requirement to stop head injuries form overhead shrapnel bursts and also for a design that was very easy to produce.

I think coindidentally the medieval helmet that looks similar was designed to deflect blows from above... but more someone trying to club you over the head.

Either way neither was designed to stop a projectile coming at you horizontally which the US, German and Russian ones were.

I concur with what Gadge said, I've got a SOF MK.II, yes it is a bit loose, mines a size 62 liner, which is the same as my head size and I'm happy with it, yes it is loose, but I just tighten the chin strap, I use my WW2 gear for normal skirmishing and I have no intention of going back to modern equipment, all I can say is experiment and see what works best with keeping it on your head.