Historic helmets were just as stable as today’s

Helmets

Historical helmets in the pressure test. (Photo: Op ‘t Eynde et al./PLOS ONE, CC-by-sa 4.0)

Since the First World War, soldiers have been protecting their heads with helmets – and those were surprisingly effective even then, as a study now reveals. Accordingly, the helmets developed at that time already provided protection against shock waves that was as good as that of their modern counterparts. The historic Adrian helmet of the French army even proved to be more resistant than a modern high-tech helmet from the USA.

Although the knights of the Middle Ages already wore metal helmets, this form of head protection was unusual in the armies of modern times. In 1914, when World War I broke out, most soldiers only wore leather hoods or cloth caps. “France was the first nation in 1915 to equip soldiers with steel helmets during World War I,” said Joost Op ‘t Eynde from Duke University and his colleagues. The British followed at the end of 1915, and in early 1916 the German soldiers also received a steel helmet.

Protection against pressure waves in the test

These first steel helmets were originally primarily intended to prevent head injuries from shrapnel and other sharp objects. As a side effect, they also protect the brain from damage caused by the shock wave from artillery fire and explosions. It is similar with modern helmets: “No current helmet system was developed specifically for protection against such shock waves, even if they have a protective effect in this regard,” the researchers explain. You have now compared for the first time how well the helmets from the First World War perform in this respect compared to modern helmets. “As far as we know, this is the first study to investigate the protective effect of historical helmets against shock waves,” says Op ‘t Eynde.

For their comparative tests, the researchers put one of four different helmets on a dummy. There was a choice of a French Adrian helmet, a British Brodie helmet and a German steel helmet from the First World War as well as a comparison of the Advanced Combat Helmet, a modern helmet of the US armed forces. A pressure wave in three different strengths was then generated in a special test chamber directly above the head of the dummy. This would cause brain bleeding in an unprotected head, as the scientists explain. Their strength roughly corresponds to the pressure waves that can occur in the event of war.

Historic Adrian helmet better than modern counterpart

The tests revealed surprising results: all helmets withstood the pressure waves and reduced the risk of brain hemorrhage for the wearer by five to ten times. “We have found that all helmets provide substantial protection,” reports Op ‘t Eynde. “However, we were surprised that the 100-year-old helmets performed just as well as the modern ones.” Despite modern materials and a special layer structure, the modern US Army helmet did not protect against brain damage from shock better than its historical predecessor. Because he lacked a rim, the dummy soldier’s eyes were even subjected to a higher pressure than the helmets from the First World War.

Also surprising: The French Adrian helmet withstood the pressure even better than the modern US army helmet. “This is fascinating because this helmet was made of a similar material to its German and British counterparts and even had a thinner wall,” says Op ‘t Eynde. “But the main difference is that the French helmet has a thickened ridge along the crown.” This raised ridge was originally intended to better distract shrapnel. However, it also helps to redirect shock waves to the head side and thus protects the top of the head particularly effectively, as the researchers explain. However, the Adrian helmet probably did not provide better protection against lateral pressure waves than the other helmet models.

“Even a simple helmet crest or a wider rim can make a difference when it comes to protecting against pressure waves,” says Op ‘t Eynde. This finding could help to make modern helmets more shock-absorbent and thus better protect the brains of soldiers from damage from explosions in the future.

Source: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, technical article: PLOS ONE, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0228802

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