Helmet Nets of the 101st Airborne in WWII 

Another killer video, great work!

They gave Matt Damon a khaki helmet net so he would stand out when not in central frame during action scenes There are a lot of errors in _Saving Private Ryan_ a familiar eye will catch Excellent presentation, as always

When I was younger watching World War II movies, I remember thinking how awesome those 1/4" helmet nets looked, and I wondered why the Army stopped using them. I was a Reenactor with the 501st PIR many years ago, and quickly put the 1/4" net on my helmet. On my first tactical event, I was sneaking through some underbrush when suddenly a branch went underneath the netting as I was moving forward. It snapped my head and neck back violently. I stopped in my tracks to regain my balance and to make sure I was alright. After that, I had a better idea of why I would quit using this netting.

So im in the 82nd currently. It's pretty cool seeing old photos of the division. makes you realize what youre apart of.

I served in the 101st in the late 70s and early 80s but I only learned a few years ago that my unit (2/327th) actually had to land in Higgins boats at Normandy due to a shortage of glider tow planes.

Very similar situation with the british airborne. Everything from no helmet net at all through helmet net no scrim to only a few strands of scrim right up to blokes wearing something akin to a small Bush on there head. It's a fascinating subject for those of us who are geeky enough to be interested in what is and isn't accurate.

For anyone wondering, the "small hole" helmet nets were also the single most common helmet net in the 28th ID, from the few surviving photos you can find that are verifiably the 28th

stand by the door 1944 is the best app iv ever seen

Superb work for re-enactors, sir!

Great video complete with a well detailed breakdown for Normandy, Holland, and Bastogne. I have originals of each style including the brown helmet net which is harder to find. I’ve always wondered if any the parachute regiments wore the two tone OD and brown British helmet net. Airborne!

I really love these videos. Keep it up!

Fascinating video. Thank you.

When I was younger I was very curious about the various usage of helmet nets(or lackthereof) across different units in photos and wondered who decided what type of net they used and why certain units like the 101st started off wearing them then ditched them as the war went on. I could never find any good information about it online and one time asked a guy about it at a museum and he kind of gave me this look like “who the hell cares about that” and from that point on I just decided I was never going to get an answer and moved on. Flash forward over 10 years later and your video popped up in my recommendeds. I’m happy to finally get some information about this, even though I had long forgotten it was a thing I wanted to know about.

Good of you to tell people to be skeptical & look for themselves 👏

Grate video I have all of these helmet nest that I got in a box at a antique store

about 3 decades ago, i did reenacting in california. we had a big (6 or 7 unit) reenactment at Fort Ord on the their MOUT site. it was a Market Garden reenactment. because a LOT of us were active duty Air Force and couldnt afford much more than the late OD green (1944-ish?) fatigue and field jacket let alone a Jump Suit (and paratroop helmet liners with chin cups were not very prevalent either), we did the 327th GIR. i dont remember which battalion (2nd??? had the 6 oclock tick mark) i think we had the 1/2-3/4" netting. i dont know if the 327th would even have had netting. have you got any insight on that?

Nice video and thanks for putting that info out there

Why did they use helmet nets at all? Was it simply to put scrim in for camouflage?

what was the intended function of the inner helmets strap? I always used it as a neck strap to prevent the helmet to move forward when hitting the ground. But I seldom see it used like that.

Can you do a video on the painted camouflage on M1942s and how they were done? I’m joining a unit that will be portraying the 509th PIB during WW2 and that specific unit had camo M1942s.

@2:25 depends on availability at the time I guess. Nothing really related but I was in the legion paras and we used strips of inner tubes from jeeps to hold helmet covers in place, but for one reason there wasn't any available, so guys in 2nd company got hold of door trimmings which are strips of u shaped metal covered in plastic that the guys folded on to the helmet rim and pressing it in with pliers. On the parade ground it could be an eclectic mix of helmet covers. (yes we jumped with steel helmets, even though we deployed with kevlar).

Excellent narrative.

Great job!

I think I saw the netting even nowadays very briefly during my time in the 101. Like on one or two guys. Most of the time, we used camo net and cable ties or tucked under the cat eye band.

I have two example photos of 101st airborne soldiers heading to Normandy using khaki camo nets. I tried posting the links to the photos but RU-vid has hidden the comments. :(

A family I met thru my girlfriend had a family member in the airborne post ww2. They had a picture of him with his group. They had it digitally redone and framed. I took one look and proclaimed , that's Spiers! He was the co of the group. The young man who had the picture made stood their mouth agape. He said I never knew that.

How do you find photos of specific units in the 101st Airborne Division during WW2? Im having some trouble finding photos of the 502nd PIR.

Realy Man you are a true speaking man. Good info. My wifes Grand Dad was a full bird Cornl Tank Comander He would only talk to me about he went through. RIP Three Star General Papaw Smith. Burried Him on his 101st birthday Love MMLZZZ

Sometimes one can have no real interest in a subject but the presenter's investment, expertise and clarity overrides this. This is one such case - a model presentation of a very niche subject.

Is there any documentation of foliage being put in the helmet net? My post Vietnam era M1 helmet cover had slots in it that we would insert foliage to break up the shape of the helmet; and when we were issued the K-pot, its helmet cover similarly had slots built in. Were they not using the helmet net for this same purpose?

Quick question. The famous photo of Major Winters standing under that arch like structure in what I believe is a market garden operation uniform is there scrim on his helmet. I could never tell if so gotta be very minimal does anyone know what I’m talking about????

Great video

It's possible they put Matt Damon in the lighter net so the audience could more easily keep track of him during the battle scene that he's in.

Question: I've always assumed the helmet nets were meant to be used with vegetation as camouflage. Is that true or was the net itself the camouflage? I know the cloth camouflage helmet covers also have small slits in the material in order to attach pieces of vegetation for additional concealment.

i think the reason mats character had that particular color net was just so you could always tell what one was him because it stood out and that's why you should not take war movie as accurate because sometime movies do things that would not be accurate to make a character stand out so you do not lose them in the action

very good

So, little problem here. 1) B&W film isn't the unsaturation (monochroming) of color like you just did. 2) Instead B&W film chemically interpreters the color to shades of grey. 3) color filters will alter that grey scale, so if you had for instance a yellow filter it would increase contrast, if you were using orange filter, it would soften skintone and darken some reds.

I have one question! In Band of Brothers there is a scene were a Easy soldier has a helmet with scrim AND a wood plank taped to his right side of the helmet. Its in the First Episode at the end where they get into the plane, and im wondering why were they using planks for their helmets during D-Day?!? I know that some soldiers used First Aid kits on the front of the helmet and scrim too but wood planks is something diff.

The other feature of these WW2 helmet nets was that the top ripped open because many GIs sat on their helmets. Do you see that much in reenactments?

Just a quick reminder that the net is only a base. From c1942 when Lord Lovat made his estate and staff available to UK Special Forces and SOE, ghillie suits started to appear on snipers, consisting of a net base, scrim, and local vegetation. The watchwords for things to avoid were Shape, Shine, Silhouette, Shadow, and things like the net broke the rules on shape. But, starting on a twig foundation, you could break up the helmet shape, as well. That in turn meant the mesh had to be large enough to take the trigs, and a quarter-inch isn't. Colour's also a giveaway.

My first Question would have been: What is it for?. So I was out after one minute

Was wearing those nets in 1996 in the para's, no idea what they do these days.

(Army Infantry veteran, Ranger tab, Airborne wings, commissioned in 1976 while still using the WWII helmet but with a cover, and band around it.) The color of the helmet, or the camouflage-cover we put on it, is almost useless; same for cloth woven into a net-cover. The distinctive shape of the helmet is what will get you shot; you have to break up the outline. Look at early war Japanese, and early war North Vietnamese using brush, not only on their pith helmets, but on their backs. When they lie down to fire, they 'disappear'. But the truth is, after a while no one does it anymore; a running bush still gets shot at. . We didn't even bother to use it in Ranger School. Except our faces, and even then no patterns; you lighten up dark areas (around eyes, under neck) and darken things which stick out (forehead, nose, cheekbones, chin, ears). The stuff wears off your hands and smears on things; I recommend fingerless wool or synthetic-material gloves (not cotton, absorbs and holds moisture but can't hold warmth when wet). In Korea, I used fingerless gloves inside a trigger-finger mitten (keep your trigger-finger in with the rest to warm up). My left hand had a regular glove, right hand fingerless; sometimes you have to pull your hand out of the mitten to manipulate equipment or dials, and flesh touching freezing metal isn't good. Camouflaging your position - and that includes behind you so you don't silhouette - and being VERY still & silent, is more important than personal camouflage.

Great video ! Don’t forget the wearing of « medium mesh » brown helmet net during Normandy campaign for paratroopers and many others units ! Really like your job !

Very interesting, even at 3am!

After noticing that the beach obstacles were facing the wrong way, I lost all faith in the accuracy of Private Ryan. You can see them placed correctly in The Longest Day.

Intresting!

Theres historical photos I’ve seen of standard infantry using a tighter woven net cover maybe homemade with burlap sacks

I do 100th Infantry battalion and from Italy to France we switch from the 2” net to the shrimp nets.

As the allies pushed further across Europe and into Germany itself the feeling of victory was more prevalent, and the need for recognition of fellow armies was necessary. Unit recognition was paramount over concealment and the orders from SHEAF dictating this from campaign to campaign.

What is the purpose of the helmet net?

Cool video 😊about us AIRBORNE warrior's! Keep the gd work up an running from a oldswet my self an ex'service AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER from the U.K. an British PARA that's atm on the 80th anniversary of D-DAY JUMP an so on. Green on mucker lots of memories from a oldswet my self an ex'service AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER from the U.K. 😊

One of the reasons why Matt Damon's character might have worn the lighter helmet net was the producer-director's attempt to make him stand out as a disliked character in the movie. Damon did not have to go through the "boot camp" phase that the other actors had to participate in. He was not allowed to socialize with the other actors. Also, it may have been that the uniform research was not meticulous enough or the equipment availability was not there.

Matt Damon’s color could have need Director’s artistic license so that he stands out.

Okay

551st PIB GOYAs! Grew up hearing the stories of their attack on Rochelinval before they were disbanded from my grandfather. Also, their dog Furlough!

The khaki net would more easily give your position away IMO

Ryan most likely had the tan net on for character recognition purposes only

Ackshoolee

Liked and sub'd

That stuff gets bleached out in the sun tho so if youre doing a late war impression the lighter color wouldnt be wrong

not much of a site if everything is sold out

Stand in the Door - book about the 1st US paratroopers to jump into combat, 509th PIB - the Gingerbread Men.

never understood why the army didn't use a helmet cover like the marines did. since paint wears off on helmets, you see photos of GIs with shiny reflective helmets. you can see that a mile away.

I hate click bait! All those about to watch - they did where these there is no huge controversy save yourself 12mins.

The pisspot helmet as we called them in Belgium.

Dude, no-way would I have followed orders into Omaha Beach… Starters: Boats Doors should’ve opened at left-front/right-front providing a shield, further, these doors should’ve been lined with steel-sheets like a ream of paper, dropped-down for individual transportable shields, individual scuba gear for ten minutes underwater breathing, the squad assembled into a shielded-phalanx underwater, advancing into the beach behind a steel-shield, in waves of pre-assembled men, shields w/shooting-ports… etcetera.., Yeah, I woulda fragged my lieutenant immediately and had a pow-wie with the boys concerning our Plan B… 🎻🎭🤺

I hate to be that armchair historian, but we all know we live in a simulation, and the earlier updates to the matrix just couldn't handle the resolution of the 3/4 inch nets.

Did the soldiers ever weave foliage into the helmet net once they were on the ground?

No.

It's just ,fishing net from used ,an as sain gets bleached out it turns white ,tan Kacie ,the black isn't real black it tared to add strengths , They had millions of fathoms of sain ,an that's what they used ww2 ,where everthing * was rathioned ,or scares so

So you're saying there's a chance.....🥜

What? Matt Damon's net looks pretty OD.

Plenty of examples of gear in history that some lab rat thought was a good idea that gets chucked shortly after first use.

Paratroopers did not wear helmets. They, like Marines, had bulletproof skulls.

Wear what you want 😂😂😂

God Saving Private Ryan is so stupid. I personally blame Stephen Spielberg for misleading us. Especially those pathfinder guys with the giant nets and the gd main character Ryan being completely f’ed up. I can’t believe these myths were allowed to spread this far.

OMG really nets....My life has been wasted by this video.....

The many mistakes disrespecting all nations in private ryan makes it quite a shit film unfortunately.

Wow...Seriously??? A dude mad at how dudes are pretending??? Let the basement dwellers dwell, mom will run out of tendies soon with todays prices.