Helmets of the ETO

This book on the M-1 helmet, illustrated with more than 700 color photos, is a complete study of the manufacturer variants, as well as an extensive pictorial portfolio of singular helmets with provenance, coming `out of the woodwork' and preserved by private collectors and museums.

The technical evolution of the M-1 and its paratrooper conversions is summarized in accurate drawings and tables, which will guide the reader and enable him to date exactly any wartime liner and shell assembly.

A selection of more than 120 helmets brings to life the European Theatre of Operations (ETO), from Normandy to Germany. Selected for their painted unit, rank or specialty insignia, their camouflage or customization, or even the damage they carry, these helmets are all shown in detail. Whether they belonged to infantrymen, parachutists, medics, sailors or tank crews, numerous pictures reveal their uniqueness, while diagrams summarize their technical characteristics and captions tell their story. These helmets are material witnesses to the conflict which ravaged Western Europe. They tell the story of such men as a 101st Airborne trooper on D-Day, a French soldier who escaped the bullets of a German machine gun, or a Big Red One infantry officer on Omaha Beach. This book is thus also a tribute to the men and women who took part in the Second World War.