2nd Armoured Division - "Hell on Wheel" M1938 Helmet

The Division:

The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on 15 July 1940. It was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. in charge of training.

Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, which put Patton, now a brigadier general, in command of the division. The division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war.

The 2nd Armored was organized as a "heavy" armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tank and two light tank battalions of three companies each. Along with the 3rd Armored Division, it retained its organization throughout World War II–the 14 other U.S. armored divisions were reorganized as "light" armored divisions, having three tank battalions, each consisting of three medium tank companies and one light tank company. Both types had an infantry component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an "armored infantry regiment" organization.

The Model 1938:

In 1938, the US Ordnance Board initiated design work on a new and improved tank helmet. The Board tested the two existing military varieties, alongside several commercially made models. The Ordnance Board decided that the Cavalry helmet provided the best design foundation, and successfully engaged the Rawlings Manufacturing Company to optimize the design. Rawlings was an obvious choice, since they were one of the main manufacturers of USA football helmets at that time.

A design team at Rawlings headed up this project and in May 1941 they filed a patent for what was simply called a "Tank Helmet." Much later, this style of tank helmet was designated "M-1938" (or Model - 1938), for the year of the initiation of the project.

Second Armoured Division M-1938

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