Afghan Police Helmet.

[PaulR]

I just picked up this really cool helmet that I picked up from a friend today. How do I find the manufacture date on these?

There is a circular concussion mark on the shell, which removed paint both outside and inside of the helmet. There is no dent, so I have no idea what could have happened. Also, the chin strap has been cut off of both sides.

[PaulR]

Closeup of the Arabic

[Lapa]

Paul,

Soviet helmets were stamped on the inside, either with a punchmark (earlier) or ink stamp (later).

IMHO, the fact that the word "Police" is written using latin letters indicates that this helmet was repainted for use in the post-Soviet period.

Marc

[vikingraider1]

I used to have a few of these years ago which were brought back by a British soldier serving in Afghanistan. He said the place was littered with them and you could pick them up in markets etc. along with other Soivet ear stuff.

[PaulR]

I think that the new paint job is definitely during the time of the US Occupation, before we started issuing them Kevlar.

The base helmet itself is the question I am asking about. The liner feels kinda crispy, like cellophane, but not fragile or cracking. I will take it down again and look for a stamp.

I find the concussion mark (Circular area outside and inside the helmet, where paint was knocked off, without leaving a dent) and the fact that the chinstrap is cut off very interesting. Could the initial wearer survived an explosion and the helmet cut off during the rendering of medical care? Who knows, right?

Vikingrenadier, are you speaking of the basic Soviet Helmets or these that were modified for US Occupation use?

The only internal marking I saw was a stamping of the number nine inside of a circle, on the internal portion of the crown.

I found a stamp that is into the metal, on the lower brim. It says: 2-47417 I think that this is just a serial number though. About two inches away from that, there is a circle, also stamped into the metal.

Just found this photo using Google. Check out the man in the middle.

[vikingraider1]

I'm talking about the standard Soviet issue type, identical to yours with the same liner and olive green paint job too.

[PaulR]

I understand now. I am sure that these were everywhere after the Soviet pullout!

[Ser-g]

Hi Paul R,

When i was in Afghanistan for the force, i know the local police that we where training painted all available helmets white and wrote precisely that on it.
It was common practice from some smaller police forces to cut off the straps as they hated them dangling around.
In those locations they would never where those helmets but have them near in case it got serious.

As to the removed paint, Imagine wearing a helmet with no straps in serious situations. Then imagine a country where nearly everything is stone, sand or rock.

Hope this clears some things up for you,