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A combat helmet is a helmet
Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. The oldest use of helmets was by Ancient Greek soldiers, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from sword blows and arrows....
 designed specifically for use during combat
Combat

Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violence conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.The term "combat" typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to any violent conflict....
. Helmets are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment designed to protect the wearer's body or clothing from injury by electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in sports, martial arts, combat, etc....
, and are known to have been worn by the Assyrians
Assyrians

Assyrians or Assyrian people may refer to :*the Ancient Assyrians*the modern Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac peopleSee also*Assyrian ...
 around 900BC, followed by the ancient Greeks and Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
, throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants.






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Casque Spectra 2
A combat helmet is a helmet
Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. The oldest use of helmets was by Ancient Greek soldiers, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from sword blows and arrows....
 designed specifically for use during combat
Combat

Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violence conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.The term "combat" typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to any violent conflict....
. Helmets are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment designed to protect the wearer's body or clothing from injury by electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in sports, martial arts, combat, etc....
, and are known to have been worn by the Assyrians
Assyrians

Assyrians or Assyrian people may refer to :*the Ancient Assyrians*the modern Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac peopleSee also*Assyrian ...
 around 900BC, followed by the ancient Greeks and Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
, throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants. Their materials and construction became more advanced as weapons became more and more powerful. Initially constructed from leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
 and brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
, and then bronze
Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other chemical element such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon....
 and iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
 during the Bronze
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
 and Iron
Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
 Ages, they soon came to be made entirely from forged steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 in many societies after about 950AD. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from cutting blows with sword
Sword

A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. The word sword comes from the Old English language wikt:sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sver? Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Dutch langua...
s, flying arrow
Arrow

An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow . It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures....
s, and low-velocity musket
Musket

A musket is a Muzzle -loaded, smoothbore long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder.Usually, the musket is thought to be the weapon that replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle....
ry.

Military use of helmets declined after 1670, and rifled firearms ended their use by foot soldiers after 1700. By the 18th century, cavalry units often wore steel body cuirasses, and frequently metal skull protectors under their hats, called "secrets". The Prussian spiked helmet, or Pickelhaube
Pickelhaube

The Pickelhaube was a spiked helmet worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by German military, firefighters, and police. It is most closely associated with the Prussian army....
, offered almost no protection from the increased use of heavy artillery during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, and in 1916 was replaced by the German steel helmet, or Stahlhelm
Stahlhelm

Stahlhelm is German language for "steel helmet". The German Army began to replace the traditional leather Pickelhaube with the Stahlhelm during the World War I in 1916....
, and afterwards it was worn merely for tradition.

The Napoleonic era saw ornate cavalry helmets reintroduced for cuirassier
Cuirassier

Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights....
s and dragoon
Dragoon

A dragoon is a soldier intended primarily to fight on foot but trained also in horse riding and cavalry combat, especially during the late 17th and early 18th centuries when dragoon regiments were established in most European armies....
s in some armies; they continued to be used by French forces during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 as late as 1915, when they were replaced by the new French Adrian helmet
Adrian helmet

The M15 Adrian helmet was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. The first standard helmet of the French Army, it was designed when millions of France troops were engaged in trench warfare and head wounds became a significant proportion of battlefield casualties....
. It was soon followed by the adoption of similar steel helmets by the other warring nations.
M1917helmet
World War I and its increased use of heavy artillery had renewed the need for steel helmets, which were quickly introduced by all the combatant nations for their foot soldiers. In the 20th century, such helmets offered protection for the head from shrapnel and spent, or glancing, bullets.

Today's militaries often use high-quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as Kevlar
Kevlar

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a light, strong aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora.Developed at DuPont in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek it was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires....
 and Aramid
Aramid

Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic rated bulletproof vest cloth, and as an asbestos substitute....
, which have excellent bullet and fragmentation stopping power. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities, though many do not. Non-ballistic injuries may be caused by many things, including (but not limited to) concussive shockwaves
Shock wave

A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field....
 from explosion
Explosion

An explosion is a sudden increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases....
s, physical attacks, motor vehicle accidents, or falls.

Types


Current

M1helmetshell
Helm Dsc02149
* SPECTRA helmet
SPECTRA helmet

The SPECTRA helmet or CGF Gallet Combat Helmet TC "Denmark" is the ballistic helmet currently in use in the Danish military, French military as well as in the armies of several other countries....
  - used by the French Army
French Army

The French Army, officially the Arm?e de Terre , is the Army component of the Military of France and its largest. As of 2007, the army employs 134,000 regular soldiers, 15,500 reservists, and 25,750 civilians....
, Danish Army, United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 peacekeeping forces
  • MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet
    MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet

    The Modular Integrated Communications Helmet , also known as the Advanced Combat Helmet , was developed by the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center to be the next generation of protective combat helmets for use by the United States Army....
      - developed for use by the United States Army
    United States Army

    The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
  • Lightweight Helmet
    Lightweight Helmet

    The lightweight helmet is the United States Marine Corps replacement for the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops combat helmet. As it is nearly identical to untrained eyes in shape to the PASGT, it is still called the "Fritz helmet" or "K-pot"....
      - used by United States Marine Corps
    United States Marine Corps

    The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
  • Mk. 6 Helmet
    Mk. 6 Helmet

    The Mk 6 helmet or Kevlar Helmet Mark 6, and its replacement, the Mark 6A is the standard combat helmet of the British military. The Mk6 replaced the Mk III helmet in service in 1987, it is designed to accept modern ear protection, Bowman , and Gas mask....
      - used by British Armed Forces
    British Armed Forces

    The armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or His/Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, encompasses a Royal Navy, an British Army, and an Royal Air Force....
     (British Army
    British Army

    The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
    )
  • Enhanced Combat Helmet
    Enhanced Combat Helmet

    The Enhanced Combat Helmet is the standard combat helmet of the Australian Defence Force, introduced in 2004 to replace the PASGT helmet. A modified version of the Israel RBH303 helmet, it selected in a competition between four finalist designs....
     -
  • CG634
    CG634

    The CG634 is the Canadian Forces' main helmet for use in combat situations. Before, the Canadian Military was using the American M1 Helmet, which was made of steel....
     - Used by Canadian Armed Forces since 1998.
  • PASGT - Used by the US Air Force
  • GOLFO Military of Chile
    Military of Chile

    Chile's armed forces are subject to civilian control of the military exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. Military service of 12 to 24 months is mandatory for all male citizens upon turning 18....
     
  • QGF03 PLA
    People's Liberation Army

    The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 ? celebrated annually as "PLA Day" ? as the military arm of the Communist Party of China....
     
  • QGF02 PLA
    People's Liberation Army

    The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 ? celebrated annually as "PLA Day" ? as the military arm of the Communist Party of China....
     
  • SSh68 Steel helmet Russian Army Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
  • 6B7-1L Kevlar helmet Russian army and Naval Infantry Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
  • STSh-81 Titanium helmet Russian Special Forces Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
  • Kolpak 2 Kevlar helmet Russian army
  • OR 201 Kevlar helmet Israel Defense Forces
    Israel Defense Forces

    The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew Acronym and initialism Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the GOC Army Headquarters, Israeli Air Force and Israeli navy....
  • Gefechtshelm Schuberth B826 used by the Bundeswehr
    Bundeswehr

    The Bundeswehr is the name of the unified armed forces of the Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The States of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, since the Constitution determines that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility of the Federal government....
    , Swiss Army, Dutch Army and other countries
  • MARTE
  • Type 88 Helmet used by the JSDF
  • M80 Helmet
    Iraqi M80 Helmet

    The Iraqi M80 Helmet is a military helmet made of compressed canvas used by The Iraqi Armed Forces from the early 1980s onwards. They were used in the Iran-Iraq War, The Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq/Operation Iraqi Freedom....
      Plastic and cloth helmet, limited use
  • M87 Kevlar helmet South African Army
    South African Army

    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by popular militias and small irregular military commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaner historical distrust of large standing armies....
  • Hjälm 90 used by the Swedish Armed Forces
    Swedish Armed Forces

    The Swedish Armed Forces , is a Government agencies in Sweden responsible for the operation of the armed forces of Sweden. The primary peace time task of the agency is to train and deploy military forces abroad, while maintaining the long-term ability to defend the country in the event of war....


Modern, no longer in use

  • PASGT helmet
    Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops

    Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, sometimes abbreviated to PASGT, is a combat helmet and ballistic vest used by the American military from the late 1980s until 2003, when the system was succeeded by the Lightweight Helmet, MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet and Interceptor body armor....
      - Army
    United States Army

    The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
     and Navy
    United States Navy

    The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
    ,


World War I through Vietnam

  • Adrian helmet
    Adrian helmet

    The M15 Adrian helmet was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. The first standard helmet of the French Army, it was designed when millions of France troops were engaged in trench warfare and head wounds became a significant proportion of battlefield casualties....
     
  • Brodie helmet
    Brodie helmet

    The Brodie helmet, called Helmet, steel, Mark I helmet in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U.S. was a steel combat helmet designed and patented in 1915 by the Briton John L....
     , ,
  • Mk III Turtle helmet
    Mk III Turtle helmet

    The Mk III Helmet was a steel military helmet developed for the British Army in 1944. First worn in combat by UK and Canada troops on D-Day, the Mk III was used alongside the Brodie helmet for the remainder of the Second World War....
     ,
  • Bulgarian M36 Helmet
    Bulgarian M36 Helmet

    The Bulgarian M36 helmet was the basic helmet of the Bulgarian Army prior to the outbreak of World War II and during the Military history of Bulgaria during World War II....
      Bulgaria
    Bulgaria

    The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
  • M1 helmet
    M1 Helmet

    The M1 helmet is a combat helmet that was used by the United States military from World War II until it was succeeded by the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops#Helmet beginning in 1985....
      - Army
    United States Army

    The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
    , Marine Corps
    United States Marine Corps

    The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
    ;
  • Soviet helmets during World War II
    Soviet helmets during World War II

    Over the course of World War II the Soviet Union employed three main Combat helmet designs; the M-36, the SSh-39, and the SSh-40, each being designated with the year in which they were introduced....
      Soviet Union
    Soviet Union

    The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
  • Stahlhelm
    Stahlhelm

    Stahlhelm is German language for "steel helmet". The German Army began to replace the traditional leather Pickelhaube with the Stahlhelm during the World War I in 1916....
      Chile
    Military of Chile

    Chile's armed forces are subject to civilian control of the military exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. Military service of 12 to 24 months is mandatory for all male citizens upon turning 18....
  • Helm wz. 31
    Helm wz. 31

    File:Warsaw Uprising - Small PASTa - Flamethrower 2.jpg.The helm wz. 31 was the basic combat helmet of the Polish Army before the outbreak of World War II and during the Invasion of Poland ....
      Poland
    Poland

    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....

Mediaeval and early modern period military

  • Burgonet
    Burgonet

    The Burgonet helmet was a late medi?val/early modern world combat helmet. It was the successor of the sallet.It came into popularity towards the end of the 16th century....
  • Capeline
    Capeline

    Capeline is the name given to two distinct types of medieval helmetThe first was a steel skullcap usually worn by archers that continued to be worn into the 17th century by musketeers....
    , a steel skullcap worn by archers
  • Great helm
    Great helm

    The great helm or heaume, also called pot helm and barrel helm, of the High Middle Ages arose in the late twelfth century in the context of the crusades and remained in use until the fourteenth century....
  • Kabuto
    Kabuto

    Kabuto is a helmet used with traditional Japanese armour as worn by samurai. It features a strong bowl, the "hachi", which protects the crown of the head, a suspended series of articulated plates to protect the neck, and often a crest of the clan ....
     (Samurai helmet)
  • Pickelhaube
    Pickelhaube

    The Pickelhaube was a spiked helmet worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by German military, firefighters, and police. It is most closely associated with the Prussian army....
  • Spangenhelm
    Spangenhelm

    The Spangenhelm was a popular Medieval warfare combat helmet design of the Early Middle Ages. The name is of German language origin. Spangen refers to the metal strips that form the framework for the helmet and could be translated as clips, and -helm simply means helmet....


Ancient military

  • Attic helmet
    Attic helmet

    The Attic helmet was a type of helmet that was originated in Classical Greece and was widely used in Italy and the Hellenistic world until well into the Roman Empire....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Boeotian helmet
    Boeotian helmet

    The Boeotian helmet was a type of helmet that was used in Classical Greece and originated in Boeotia. The use of the helmet was not as widespread as other helmets of the same period such as the Corinthian helmet or Phrygian cap, and as such it is not as familiar today....
     - ancient Greek cavalry helmet
  • Chalcidian helmet
    Chalcidian helmet

    A Chalcidian helmet was a helmet made of bronze and worn by ancient warriors of the Hellenic world, especially popular in Greece in the fourth and fifth centuries BC....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Corinthian helmet
    Corinthian helmet

    Originated in ancient Greece and taking its name from the area of Corinth, the Corinthian helmet was a type of bronze helmet which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck, with slits for the eyes and mouth....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Disc and stud helmet
    Disc and stud helmet

    Disc and stud helmet was a helmet of Illyrian origin worn by the real Illyrians and the Veneti. It was favored especially by the Iapodes.It had two varieties one with a wicker base and one with chain mail sewn together....
     - Ancient Illyrian military helmet
  • Galea (helmet) - ancient Roman military helmet
  • Horned helmet
    Horned helmet

    European Bronze Age and Iron Age helmets with horns are known from a few depictions, and even fewer actual finds. Such helmets mounted with Horn or replicas of them were probably used for religious ceremony or ritual purposes....
  • Illyrian type helmet
    Illyrian type helmet

    The "Illyrian" type helmet originated in ancient Greece from the Peloponnese in around the 7th century BC. It was a type of bronze helmet which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck, and was open faced in all of its varieties....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Kegelhelm
    Kegelhelm

    The Kegelhelm or Kegel type is a type of helmet that originated in ancient Greece and the progenitor of many Greek helmets especially that of the "Illyrian" type helmet.It was open faced was made of five piece and a high-crest holder.It did not outlast the eighth century BC.The helmet is conical thus the Kegel naming....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Negau helmet
    Negau helmet

    File:Elmo Negau.jpgNegau helmet refers to one of 28 bronze helmets dating to ca. 200 BC, found in 1811 in a cache in Zenjak, near Negau, now Negova, Slovenia....
     - ancient Etruscan helmets unearthed in Negau, Slovenia
  • Pilos
    Pilos

    The pilos was a common conical travelling hat in Ancient Greece and Macedonia. The pilos is the brimless version of the petasos. It could be made of felt or leather....
     - ancient Greek military helmet
  • Pot helmet
    Pot helmet

    The Pot helmet was a helmet worn by Illyrians, Veneti, Celts and many of the Ancient peoples of Italy. It was in use from the 6th century BC. The helmet sometimes had a plume but not always....
     - Ancient Illyrian military helmet
  • Thracian helmet - ancient Thracian military helmet


Various periods

  • Kettle hat
    Kettle hat

    A kettle hat is a type of helmet made of steel in the shape of a hat. There are many design variations. The only common element is a wide brim that afforded extra protection to the wearer....