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Re: [Gulf War] Protective helmet covers for Combat

Posted By: Larry Munnikhuysen (162.84.123.125)
Date: Saturday, 11 September 2010 1943 hrs. EDT

In Response To: Re: [Gulf War] Protective helmet covers for Combat (Craig Swain)

Craig, thanks for the personal insights into these short-lived protective covers ! The design of the current CVC helmet, which originated with the Gentex Corporastion in Carbondale, PA, goes back to the early 1950's with the H-4 flight helmet. The H-4 was comprised of a fabric liner, which the earphone were attached to, and then a hard outer shell was placed over top of this. Gentex improved on this arrangement in 1973 with a design (the soft-sides inner portion)which incorporated much better communications, better fit, and lighter construction. A lightweight plastic shell was attached to this and behold, the DH-132 was born. DH stands for "developmental helmet" and the 132 meant it was the 132nd developmental helmet designed by Gentex. The Army bought the helmet, and used the Gentex designation as it's nomenclature, in 1973. The DH-132 continued as a standard issue CVC until 1987. In 1987 Gentex responded to complaints of lack of fragmentation protection by upgrading the outer shell to a ant-fragmentation thickness and the name changed to DH-132A. The DH-132A was standard issue from 1987 to 1995. The Army responded to needs for extra ballistic protection for exposed crewmen by issuing the DH-132B beginning in 1995. The DH-132B had a very thick outer shell which had almost the same ballistic protection as the PASGT infantry helmet. The DH-132B was originally purchased in limited numbers being intended only for Tank Commanders and Drivers, however as time progressed and quantities increased it became standard for all tank crew members. The DH-132B and it's variants, the DH-132AS, DH-132AS/RHIB, DH-132DB, etc. continue to be used today.

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