THE STEEL HELMET.

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 86, 9 October 1915, Page 12

THE STEEL HELMET.

Among the implements of ancient warfare which have recently made their reappearance must now be included the helmet which has been adopted by the French Army. It is made of heavy steel with a large rim, and it can be worn forward to protect the eyes, or at the back of the head in order to protect the base of the skull. It is far too heavy to use in the field, but for trench fighting and as a shield against shrapnel which strike from above the new helmet is said to be eminently satisfactory. Dr. Devraigne, writing in, the Lancet, says that he examined fifty-five cases of head injury, and that in fortytwo cases the wounded men had no helmets, and that thirteen wore helmets. The Lancet says : "These figures do not, of course, prove that the calotte is an absolute safeguard against fractures of tho skull by bullet wound or shell wound in the trenches, but, as a matter of fact, in the series of cases studied there was not a single fracture of the skull among the protected men, and Dr. Devraigne concludes that the value of the metallic headpiece has been absolutely demonstrated and that it should be much more generally employed."