2015-03-07 - Thinktank - Sasha Taylor - 56

During the first years of aviation, pilots started wearing leather flying helmets as a form of protection from the cold and the noise of aircraft engines.

Leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

was becoming a popular choice for protective gear with the rise of motor sport and aviation at the start of the 1900s. It has many advantages that made it the ideal material for flying helmets. It is warm, durable, impermeable to liquids therefore waterproof, flexible and can be cut to curve around the head. It is wind-proof and has the great advantage of not accumulating dust. It was also found that leather helmets offered a level of protection against fire. British Engineers led by Charles Edmond Prince added

Throat microphone A throat microphone, also called a laryngophone, is a type of contact microphone that absorbs vibrations directly from the wearer's throat by way of single or dual sensors worn against the neck. The sensors, called transducers, can pick up speec ...

s &

earphones Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...

into these helmets during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for hands free communications in the noisy and windy environment of aircraft

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

s.The National Archives
Fighting talk: First World War telecommunications
/ref>IEEE Spectrum
In World War I, British Biplanes Had Wireless Phones in the Cockpit
/ref> Perhaps the most iconic design of early leather flying helmet was known as the Type B helmet. This was designed to accommodate earphones in pockets in the ear-flaps and was easy to wear with

oxygen mask An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth (oral nasal mask) or the entire face (full-face mask). They may be made of plastic, silicone, or r ...

s and

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

. A detailed description of a typical Type B helmet can be found on the website of The

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

(London, England). It is made from six vertical panels which meet at a central ridge panel running from front to back. There is a rectangular horizontal panel which goes across the forehead and it includes padded leather oval housings at the ears. The chinstrap, also made of leather, is stitched to the right side and buckled to a small strap on the left. The brown leather of the helmet is lined with buff-coloured chamois and has a rectangular length of brown-coloured material sewn to the inside of the forehead. A particularly fine example of a Type B flying helmet can be found in the

Thinktank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental o ...

, The Science museum for Birmingham, England. That helmet belonged to a female pilot,

Helen Kerly Helen Kerly or Ruth Helen Clark (6 January 1916 - 26 May 1992) was a British civilian female pilot officer who was one of only two such women commended for their work. Life Third Officer Ruth Helen Kerly was born in 1916 in London and she came ...

who was a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

delivery pilot during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Type B flying helmet was designed to accommodate the addition of earphones for radio communication, but unlike later models did not include integrated wiring. Similarly, the helmet was styled to be comfortably worn with an oxygen mask and separate goggles to protect the eyes. Protection from head injuries was not considered, the leather is soft and flexible not hard to withstand blows. There were many female pilots in the early part of the 1900s who wore the same design of protective clothing, including helmets, as their male counterparts. The leather helmets and jackets, the goggles and boots allowed the women to function as pilots in the same terms as men. Manufacturers of early flying helmets were

Alfred Dunhill Ltd. Alfred Dunhill Limited (known and stylised as dunhill) is a British luxury goods brand, specialising in ready-to-wear, custom and bespoke menswear, leather goods, and accessories. The company is based in Westminster, City of Westminster, Lond ...

and

Gamages Gamages was a department store in Holborn, London. Trading between 1878 and 1972, it was particularly well known for its toy and hardware departments. History Gamages began life in 1878 in a rented watch repair shop and, after quickly becoming ...

of London, England, and Roold in Paris

References

{{Reflist Helmets Aircrew clothing