Original U.S. WWI Aero Squadron Painted M1917 Doughboy Helmet Shell British Machine Guns which may explain the "B"

which may explain the "B" after the serial number

which is then overlaid with cloth panels

Each shoulder is decorated with the sew-on style Generalleutnant (Major General) rank shoulder boards

S&W developed the

being the first rifled shoulder weapon to be produced on such a large scale (relatively few Model 1855 rifled muskets were produced

Original U.S. WWI Aero Squadron Painted M1917 Doughboy Helmet Shell British Machine Guns which may explain the "B"Original Item. One of a Kind. This is an M1917 Doughboy helmet shell that was painted for an aero squadron, but has lost most of its paint job. The helmet also shows severe damage from poor storage over the years, but still displays well with some of the pilots wings visible. AERO SQUADRON is painted twice along the exterior of the helmet, with Pilots wings painted on one side and presumably the squadron number on the other side, which now just shows