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Posted: 6/12/2007 6:41:57 PM EDT
| how would a steel pot helmet from nam hold up beside current technology if shot with same caliber rifles? |
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since you are interested in finding out do you have a test plan devised? How will you measure the efficacy of protective capability? have you ponied up to get the several examples of both types of helmet what are the threat scenarios? what are the representative threats? have you a means of supporting these helmets in a manner that accurately represents a worn object? (that is, does the test stand support without imparting any additional stability/structure to the tested object complex?) just to start |
Oh for fuck's sake dude....He's asking a simple question on an Internet forum. Give your opinion on the question or get the fuck out. No one needs a lesson on the scientific method. You should get a job on the production team of one of those panel shows on the military channel. You know, help 'em "keep it real". 
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No. You didn't.  This isn't like some other "tactical" forums out there. Coming at people like that is inverse to the reality of this forum. Now, how about we answer the OP? Without having sent samples of both helmets for controlled testing at the HOTEL (Hardcore Operator Tactical Equipment Laboratory), I would say that in my expert opinion: The MICH probably works better overall or they would have stuck to the old steel helmet. I don't need to shoot at them to reach that conclusion.  ETA: PirateEC is right, don't get shot in the head with a rifle (miracles not withstanding) in either. |
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the plain fact of the matter is - there are far too many variables to take into account when setting up a test like this, sure you can BubbaGump a steel pot at 100 yards and take grandads M1 and punch a hole through both sides... take a MICH and repeat, and you will likely see very similar results. They are not magic talismans, they can be defeated. on the whole, the mich / ACH is more likely to 'survive' oblique shots and a certain range of full-on shots than the M1 steel helmet. But consider the blunt forces incurred in a head/helmet shot, and how that will affect the user. In the context of the 'OP' yes you can expect penetration... more so with the steel helmet than with the MICH with certain calibers, and then there are some scenarios where its a given. |
The MICH/ACH with it's gel pads is probably much more comfortable and likely adds more shock protection than the suspension on a kpot or steel pot. It supposedly has better ballistic protection than the old kevlar but who knows. Anyone want to do a test with a few of them? 
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Do a Google search if you want clinical studies on the matter. There's lots of info on the subject. I even saw it covered on a History Channel show recently. The overall result of the comparisons I've read about between the old M1 steel pot helmet and a modern Kevlar helmet, is that the Kevlar helmet does give better protection against both fragmentation and bullets. That does not mean that a Kevlar helmet will stop a high velocity rifle bullet striking the helmet directly any better than the M1 does. But at even slightly oblique angles, the Kevlar helmet is superior against projectiles like bullets. Protection against fragmentation projectiles is superior to an even greater degree with the Kevlar helmet. The blunt trauma issue has been addressed to a degree with the introduction of helmet pads. The first attempts at this were started three years ago with non-regulation pads that were being sent to the Marines in Iraq through a program named Operation Helmet. The Army added padding to their new helmet (MICH), but the last I heard, the Marines have opted not to with their new Light Weight Helmet. Another interesting note on the subject: The Iraq war is yielding a higher percentage of brain injuries than any previous U.S. conflict. This could mean that what would have been deaths with the old M1 steel pots, are now brain injuries with the newer Kevlar helmets. I've not seen a definitive study on this subject, but there's probably one out there somewhere. |
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