US Camouflaged Helmet Cover : South Vietnam

Places	Asia: Vietnam, Bien Hoa Province, Bien Hoa Asia: Vietnam, South Vietnam North & Central America: United States of America Oceania: Australia
Accession Number	REL32709
Collection type	Heraldry
Object type	Uniform
Physical description	Cotton
Maker	US Department of Defence US Department of Defence US Department of Defence
Place made	United States of America
Date made	c 1965
Conflict	Vietnam, 1962-1975

Description

A United States forces standard issue reversible fabric helmet cover to fit US M1 steel helmet. One side of the helmet cover has a brown 'autumn' coloured pattern while the other is in a green 'spring' or summer pattern. Over the entire helmet cover there are many 25mm wide horizontal slits in the for the placement of foliage for camouflage. On the inside of one of the cover flaps is stamped in black ink 'COVER, HELMET, CAMOUFLAGE / DSA-1-7005 / 8415-261-6833'. Next to this is also stamped in faded black ink the number '11'.

History / Summary

During the Vietnam conflict the standard helmet issued to both American and Australian troops was the Second World War vintage United States pattern M1 helmet, with minor modifications. For American troops, a cloth helmet cover was designed with a disruptive camouflage pattern. The cover was reversible with leaf patterns in green or brown for autumn or winter operations. The helmet cover also contained small horizontal slots for inserting natural foliage.