The Mk 6 helmet is a type of

combat helmet A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet. It is a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat. Modern combat helmets are mainly designed to protect from shrapnel and fragments, offer some protec ...

that was the standard of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

as well as another supplied helmet of the UN during peacekeeping operations. The Mk 6 replaced the

Mk IV helmet Mk IV helmet is a combat helmet that was used by the British Army in the 1950s to 1980s. It replaced the Mk III helmet and became the British Army's last metal helmet when it was replaced by the composite material Mk 6 helmet in 1985. Design The ...

(more correctly titled – Helmet Steel MK IV, General Service) in army service and the

RAC helmet The Royal Armoured Corps helmet is a combat helmet of British origin worn by Armoured Troops. As with the similarly shaped HSAT, it was initially manufactured by Briggs Motor Bodies at Dagenham. It was introduced in WW2 and was issued to commonw ...

in naval service. The jump in MK numbers is thought due to the confusion surrounding the MK IV helmet using the MK V lining, introduced in 1959. The MK 6, introduced into service from the 1980s, is designed to accept modern ear protection, Bowman personal radios, and respirators. The helmet is manufactured by NP Aerospace, and is reported to have an "almost unlimited service life" by the manufacturer. The helmet in its default configuration is a dark green. The army use covers to camouflage the helmet and adapt it to different environments. Covers include the British Disruptive Pattern Material in temperate, woodland and desert patterns, multicam pattern,

Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform Disruption, disruptive, or disrupted may refer to: Business *Creative disruption, disruption concept in a creative context, introduced in 1992 by TBWA's chairman Jean-Marie Dru *Disruptive innovation, Clayton Christensen's theory of industry disr ...

, a pure white cover for arctic environments and a United Nations blue coloured cover. It is sometimes referred as the "battle bowler", a term first used for the First World War

Brodie helmet The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by Latvian inventor John Leopold Brodie ( lv, Leopolds Janno Braude). A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in th ...

. The Mk 6 is often mistakenly thought to be made out of kevlar when in fact it is constructed of "Ballistic Nylon" - nylon fibre. From June 2009 the helmet was replaced by the

Mk 7 helmet The Mark 7 helmet is the current general issue combat helmet of the British Armed Forces supplied by NP Aerospace. Officially known as the ''GS (General Service) Mark 7 combat helmet'', it replaced the previous Mark 6A helmet and Mk 6 helmet, in ...

Mk 6A

British soldier during Operation Desert Shield

In 2005, the Mk 6 began to be replaced by an evolution of the original design, the Mk 6A helmet. NP Aerospace also manufactures the Mk 6A. Although it looks very similar to the Mk 6, the Mk 6A has enhanced ballistic protection and is marginally heavier than the earlier model. The two variants can be easily distinguished from each other when the cover is removed, as the material of the Mk 6 is olive green whilst the Mk 6A is black.

UN peacekeeping operations

From 1992, the Mk 6 was supplied to the UN alongside the M88,

MICH Mich or MICH may refer to: People * An abbreviation for Michelle (name) * Mich Dulce (born 1981), Filipina fashion designer, milliner, corsetiere, feminist activist, actress, artist and singer * Mich Matsudaira (1937–2019), American businessman ...

and the M1 to allow for protection of peacekeeping forces. Many military forces used these helmets such as Argentina, Mexico, and most listed UN countries as stated. These were either covered with the respective country's camouflage helmet cover, or issued with a blue Mk 6 cover to indicate it as a peacekeeping helmet.

Users

* * * ** * ** * – 2,000 helmets were supplied by the British Government (bringing the total supplied to 3,000) to the Ukrainian government on 3 July 2015; further helmet donations were made during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

References

External links

NP Aerospace
– Manufacturer's webpage.
Battle Bowler (Mk 6)

Mk VI helmet
at world-war-helmets.com {{helmets Combat helmets of the United Kingdom Cold War military equipment of the United Kingdom British Army equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1980s

Mk 6A

UN peacekeeping operations

Users

See also

References

External links