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WWII U.S. PARATROOPER/TANK HELMET General George S. Patton / John T. Riddell
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2003 celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Riddell Company, a brand whose high-quality helmets are nearly synonymous with the National Football League. While Riddell's partnership with the NFL is well known, the Company has a little-known history and partnership with another professional organization... the U.S. military. In fact, as important as Riddell has been to the NFL, that importance pales in comparison to the life-saving expertise provided the military by John T. Riddell.
The story begins in the 1930's when the U.S. Army started to work on a replacement for the M-1917 helmet of World War I. The "Doughboy" helmet was outdated and provided poor protection. One of the ideas put forth in the 1930's was a two-part helmet; the outer shell being steel and inner shell containing a suspension system. In the mid-1930's, for numerous reasons, the testing and development of new helmets was shelved and a simple upgrade to the poorly designed WWI helmet was accepted.
In 1940, with war clouds looming on the horizon, the Assistant Secretary of War directed renewed efforts be put forth to develop a new combat helmet for the American military. Major Harold G. Sydenham of the U.S. Army's Infantry Board Test Section based at Fort Benning, Georgia was assigned the task. Sydenham reviewed the 1930's test data and convinced the Infantry Board to revive and re-test the idea of the two-piece combat helmet. Sydenham had a vision of the helmet and turned first to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with his steel shell design. At the museum, artisans from the Arms and Armor Department helped him craft his prototype. After design and testing, the steel protective shell was ultimately accepted for service. The next stage of the helmet development, the design of the liner and suspension, was then considered. The M1 combat helmet was about to become a reality.
As luck would have it, Sydenham wasn't the only person interested in combat helmets at Fort Benning. General George S. Patton Jr., the already legendary tank commander, was also stationed there. Patton had himself been involved in the acquisition of helmets for his brand of warfare, armored combat. Patton, a football player in his younger days, understood the value of head protection and took a keen interest in finding better headgear to protect his forces from the dense steel and sharp edges found inside tanks and armored personnel carriers. In the mid-1930's, Patton and several other high-ranking Army officers apparently corresponded with John T. Riddell and other headgear companies. They requested samples of various helmets for testing to see if the helmets could provide needed protection for tank crews. It appears clear that Riddell responded to Patton's request for helmet samples and apparently Patton liked what he saw. In 1939 or 1940, Patton actually designed a tank uniform. The uniform sported a dark green jacket and pants with gold buttons topped off by a gold football helmet...almost undoubtedly provided by Riddell, whose company was the only manufacturer of plastic helmets at the time. Patton used Riddell's helmet not only for his uniform design, but also during combat exercises and training in Louisiana. Several photographs of the day document Patton wearing Riddell's hard plastic helmets. Prior to and at the start of WWII, football helmets, including Riddell's, were given serious consideration as tank helmets but were in the end rejected, due to an inability to incorporate required military communications gear.
In the continuing saga to develop the M1 helmet, it appears Patton may have played a key role. It seems clear that Patton and Sydenham were acquaintances. A letter from Patton to Sydenham refers to the former as "My Dear Sydenham," making it clear they were quite possibly friends. In any case, it seems likely that during Major Sydenham's testing and trials for the new combat helmet, Patton may have provided the needed facilitation to put Sydenham and Riddell in touch with each other.
Riddell was a Chicago businessman and owner of The John Riddell Company, manufacturer of sports equipment. Being a businessman, Riddell must have viewed working with the military as an excellent opportunity to diversify his business. It is known from period documentation that Riddell (again, quite possibly through Patton) did contact Sydenham, but not about the M1 helmet... rather, about introducing the football helmet as piece of protective equipment for parachute troops training at Fort Benning. One can surmise that Sydenham and Riddell must have spoken for some time about protective helmet and suspension systems, comparing notes, talking "what if" scenarios and building a rapport. Clearly, it seems that Sydenham's project to develop a new, improved combat helmet entered the conversation, including his efforts to find a suitable suspension. Riddell, of course, had worked with helmet suspensions and patented a design which was in use in his football helmets. Clearly the two men realized they might be able to assist each other.
Sometime in 1940, Riddell dispatched his son to Fort Benning to assist Major Sydenham in the development of the new combat helmet, then known as the TS-3, (Test Section model 3). Specifically, the junior Riddell was at Fort Benning to help design the helmet liner to fit inside the steel shell and hold the suspension. As is recounted in the 1944 Chicago Quartermaster Historical Study, "The History of the Helmet Liner," in an interview with John Riddell, he related that the original version of the M1 helmet liner was made from "Vinylite," a plastic which could be molded in hot water. The liner model was actually made in Major Sydenham's kitchen sink by John Riddell Jr. The liner was made to fit into the steel M1 helmet shell designed by Sydenham. The basic shape created that day at Fort Benning would remain in service with the U.S. military into the 1980's. With the design for the steel shell and the liner essentially completed, it was time for the suspension. Based on recommendations by Major Sydenham, the War Department secured permission to utilize the plastic helmet liner and suspension designed by Riddell on a license basis, paying Riddell a percentage on the first 2,000,000 helmet liners manufactured. That agreement proved to be a bargain for the U.S. Army; by the end of WWII, more than 50 million M1 helmet liners had been manufactured.
John Riddell's contribution and design expertise solved one of the major problems of the M1 combat helmet program. Post-WWI studies showed that many soldiers did not wear their helmets, because they were uncomfortable and ill fitting. Riddell's liner suspension was functional and stable. It provided the platform for arguably one of the best combat helmet designs of the 20th century. A now-declassified report called "Project ALCLAD" published by the Army in 1950, reviewed the effectiveness of the M1 helmet in combat during WWII. The report estimated that the M1 helmet alone decreased total battle casualties by eight percent. In terms of absolute numbers, the M1 helmet, supported by Riddell's suspension saved an estimated 76,000 men, half of whom would have been killed had they not been wearing the M1 helmet.
Reliability and practicality of the design are evident when one considers that the M1 helmet suspension designed by Riddell was adopted in 1941; and essentially, that same design can be found in the PASGT or "Kevlar" helmet system worn by America's modern combat soldiers. With 38,000 "saves" in WWII, one could wonder how many more lives were saved in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, and now, Iraq, due to the effectiveness of the design. General Patton, in a letter to his friend Major Sydenham designer of the M1 helmet, put it best regarding the M1 helmet liner suspension. He wrote by hand at the bottom of a letter dated May 1942: "We now have 5000 of the new infantry helmets. The liner is the best one that we have tried."
With 38,000+ lives saved and an endorsement from General George Patton himself, John Riddell, his son, and the people who today make up the modern Riddell Company should be rightfully proud of their contributions to the real "America's Team"-- her armed forces.
Item description courtesy of Chris Armold and his article entitled "Saved by Riddell."
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