These first helmets, issued in the summer of 1916, were actually made from four pieces of very thick leather riveted together to form a deep bowl. The solution was to issue helmets to the troops inside the tanks.

Often it was from the vehicle itself that the soldiers needed protection! The uneven moonscape terrain of no man’s land caused the crew to bounce around, and head injuries were commonplace. The British were the first to successfully deploy tanks on the battlefield, and thus the first to realize that the soldiers inside the tanks needed just as much head protection as those in the trenches. The crews of these behemoths utilized whatever they could adopt, but in the post-World War I era most nations began to create actual motorized units, complete with their own specialized equipment. The day of cavalry charges faded away, replaced by slow and lumbering tanks assaults. Ceremonial looking hats and leather helmets, which had no place in combat, were removed from front line service in favor of steel headgear. Napoleonic battle lines gave way to trench warfare, while the grand colorful uniforms were replaced with subtle tones of gray and khaki. The First World War is remembered as the first truly modern war. At first this often meant adopting existing head protection, but the interwar and Cold War eras saw great development in the types of helmets tank crews were provided. Since the first tanks rolled across the battlefield during World War I 100 years ago at the Battle of the Somme, armored crews have required specialized equipment to protect them inside their giant metal beasts.

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