French F1 Helmet (French: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie.)

Hi Guys.
Here's a recent purchase, I'm very pleased with this one, so here she is for you to look at.
This F1 Helmet has an original French 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment cover(3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie), held on with the obligatory car door sealer and inner tube
(the black electrical tape is just to hold it all in place I think, as I've never seen this feature before).Interestingly the shell is the second series M82, whereas the liner cradle is the first series M78.
I can't find any other markings as I'm very reluctant to strip this one down Overall a very nice piece, I hope you agree.

Very nice ! Looks quite comfortable too for its' day.

Dave

Yup, very nice indeed. Don't see the green covers much.

Bury_Dave wrote:Very nice ! Looks quite comfortable too for its' day.

Dave

Thanks for looking and for the comments Dave, I can confirm these are very comfy lids, well stable in use.

filupe wrote:Yup, very nice indeed. Don't see the green covers much.

Thanks filupe, when I saw this one on ebay, I had to have it, glad I got it, thanks for looking Mate.

Hi Gary very nice I like the combination of the 2nd pattern shell and 1st pattern liner
I must get an origonal chinstrap for my F1 pot.
Dave I concur with Gary other than the Rabinex made Irish P85, only cos the 85 is a bit lighter the F1 is one of the most comfy helnet I have worn once corectly adjusted,with the multiable adjustments available on lte F1's liner make it a real one size fits all.

loski wrote:Hi Gary very nice I like the combination of the 2nd pattern shell and 1st pattern liner
I must get an origonal chinstrap for my F1 pot.
Dave I concur with Gary other than the Rabinex made Irish P85, only cos the 85 is a bit lighter the F1 is one of the most comfy helnet I have worn once corectly adjusted,with the multiable adjustments available on lte F1's liner make it a real one size fits all.

Thanks Graham, there is quite a bit going on with this lid, it goes without saying I'm chuffed with this purchase.I have yet to find a source for French chinstraps too.

Not sure if it is socially acceptable to admit I have tried on all my lids at some time or other ( In the privacy of my home you understand ) but these F1 lids are very comfy, can't remember if it was on this forum or another, but I seem to recall being involved in a poll on what lids were the most comfy. F1's rated high if I remember!!!

Thanks for looking and for your comments

Hi Garry
You could try Ebay France for F1 chinstraps I have seen them on there but have always had more important things to spend money on or that was what the wife said LOL

Being an airsofter aswell as colector I have worn all of my helmets at various times and my top 3 for comfort and fit are
Irish P85
French FI
British para currant

and the worst was the bloody awful Mk5 (with the elsticated chinstrap that allowed the tin pisser to bounce upand down on your head when you ran that bloody rivet hurt), that was issued when I joined the army in the 80s some of us managed obtain MkIII para helmets which were a shed load better but if you were caught with one by some ruperts you could have it taken I kept the recipt for mine from Henry Du Boras in a poly bag tucked in the lining.

I managed to get an F1 chinstrap from Ebay France and to be honest would have been just as cheap to buy one of the many complete F1 helmets on Ebay UK(and when it arrived it was in terrible condition!!!!).

Gulf That is the problem with ebay you pays your money you takes your chances but its a bummer when it happens

loski wrote:and the worst was the bloody awful Mk5 (with the elsticated chinstrap that allowed the tin pisser to bounce upand down on your head when you ran that bloody rivet hurt), that was issued when I joined the army in the 80s

You got that feckin' right ! Especially when some card removed the X-shaped sponge and you donned said helmet with the male part of a lift-the-dot boring into your head !

Thankfully I only used it for a brief while.

With the cut off of cam netting and hessian scrim attached you looked like you had half the world's seaweed on your head. Mind, it didn't half break your outline up.

Alas, with our current overt wars being in the desert, scrimming up is now so last century dahling

Dave

yeh dave i rember ny section full screw handing us some hessian sand bags and a bag of old DPM rags and tellings us to scrim our Mk5s it took about a week before he was happy with the results and by that time the scrim hag doubled the weight of the pisser lol, but you are right a well scrimmed helmet does break up the shape ahh those were the days

Yeah, Guys I am relating to the MK5, crap design and loose when moving,but I guess I was lucky I was issued a MK6, which the old sweats told me at the time was a vast improvement over the old piss pot, I never got on with the MK6 personally,still have it tucked away for the kids inheritance,I always felt like my head was in a vice especially when I hot and sweaty...still halcyon days!!

Rich, I bought a F1 from France and apart from the SLLLLOOOWWWW delivery, it was a bargain, as Graham said "pays your money you takes your chances but its a bummer when it happens".

Amazing in a few short years how lid development has come along in leaps and bounds, I guess , still feel the old F1 is well comfy

I needed a chinstrap for a 1st type F1 so found one on Ebay France-cost from memory £16 including postage-piece of crap fit for the bin.

A few weeks after on Ebay UK bought a complete early F1 for £12 postage

Now again from memory have 4 F1s so 2 will deffo need to go as much as i love them,only need 1 of each type.

Gulf91 wrote:I needed a chinstrap for a 1st type F1 so found one on Ebay France-cost from memory £16 including postage-piece of crap fit for the bin.

A few weeks after on Ebay UK bought a complete early F1 for £12 postage

Now again from memory have 4 F1s so 2 will deffo need to go as much as i love them,only need 1 of each type.

I have been lucky so far with buying kit from France, I too have probably too many F1's , but such is this addiction

Easy Gee wrote:

Gulf91 wrote:I needed a chinstrap for a 1st type F1 so found one on Ebay France-cost from memory £16 including postage-piece of crap fit for the bin.

A few weeks after on Ebay UK bought a complete early F1 for £12 postage

Now again from memory have 4 F1s so 2 will deffo need to go as much as i love them,only need 1 of each type.

I have been lucky so far with buying kit from France, I too have probably too many F1's , but such is this addiction

As have I, all i have bought from ebay France has been cheap and in good order only mix up I have had was a pair of rangers got 1 size 11 and 1 size 12 but the seller sent me the size 12 and the cash to send back the 11 job a goodun.

loski wrote:

Easy Gee wrote:

Gulf91 wrote:I needed a chinstrap for a 1st type F1 so found one on Ebay France-cost from memory £16 including postage-piece of crap fit for the bin.

A few weeks after on Ebay UK bought a complete early F1 for £12 postage

Now again from memory have 4 F1s so 2 will deffo need to go as much as i love them,only need 1 of each type.

I have been lucky so far with buying kit from France, I too have probably too many F1's , but such is this addiction

As have I, all i have bought from ebay France has been cheap and in good order only mix up I have had was a pair of rangers got 1 size 11 and 1 size 12 but the seller sent me the size 12 and the cash to send back the 11 job a goodun.

All good Graham, the only down side I have found is the postage is a bit hit and miss, like you France ebay has been a winner!!

really nice lid gary im liking it lots ,can i ask if this lid saw action in the first gulf war

jaycee wrote:really nice lid gary im liking it lots ,can i ask if this lid saw action in the first gulf war

Thank you very much James, I don't think the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment saw any action in the Gulf war, they are based in French Guiana , and carry out commando jungle training primarily. I have been searching the web for the 3rd legion troops wearing these lids,and still searching.


Interestingly I have ref pictures of these F1 lids with,OD covers ,car inner tubing set up etc ,used in Kolwezi 1978 ,but these troops were 2nd Foreign Legion Parachute Reg ( 2Rep).

Thanks for looking and your question mate.

Well they certainly wouldn't be using them in the jungle ! Imagine wearing that thing - or any helmet for that matter - in that kind of heat and humidity

Perhaps that's why it's in such good nick. Issued but not worn too much ?

Still nice regardless

Dave

Bury_Dave wrote:Well they certainly wouldn't be using them in the jungle ! Imagine wearing that thing - or any helmet for that matter - in that kind of heat and humidity

Perhaps that's why it's in such good nick. Issued but not worn too much ?

Still nice regardless

Dave

Totally agree Dave, not suitable for Jungle usage, but The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment's primary role to guard the Guiana Space Centre. CNES and the European Space Agency, launch their programmes from there, so a pretty important role, especially in light of world wide terror organisations, trying to strike back at the west.Southern France recently had a very unfortunate episode with terrorism linked psychopaths!!!!!!

Very true and I'm sure if a shooting war broke out in a jungle climate, lids would be required wearing. Just that as most jungle training is peacetime and the risk of heat stroke is higher than being shot in the head, they are not used for training. Or even carried just to rot of the back of the bergan.

Troops on all sides wore their respective tin lids in the Far East in WW2.....

Dave

Bury_Dave wrote:Very true and I'm sure if a shooting war broke out in a jungle climate, lids would be required wearing. Just that as most jungle training is peacetime and the risk of heat stroke is higher than being shot in the head, they are not used for training. Or even carried just to rot of the back of the bergan.

Troops on all sides wore their respective tin lids in the Far East in WW2.....

Dave

Absolutely Dave,good practice and common sense really, personally I wouldn't want to rely on a Tin lid stopping 7.62 rounds though!!!!
And yeah, seen period pics, of troops in the Jungle wearing Mk2 Lids, probably good for keeping the rain off your bonce, again no good against frag or rounds

the only reason i asked about the gulf war is becauce of this picture they look remarkably similar to your lid ,what do you think gary a close match cheers james

Come off it now guys,stop all this as i NEED one of those covers myself

Sort of on the same subject,well F1s anyway.

Everyone has seen and probably has one of those SALADE covers in their collections but i have just been told by someone that there were indeed 3 slightly different versions issued-anyone got any info regarding this as being the obsessive that i am ,will now have to dig mine out and check the dammn things!!!!!(also,the Aussies issued/used a very similar type with their M1s for Vietnam and after).