The worst helmet in World War II was not bulletproof at all: why did the Japanese wear it?

In the anti-Japanese TV series, everyone must be familiar with the Japanese helmet. This helmet is almost one of the standard of the Japanese army. When you see the troops wearing helmets, you know that the Japanese are coming.

In fact, the Japanese helmet is not brilliant. Among the countries equipped with helmets in World War II, the protective power of Japanese helmets is only the last. So, why does the Japanese army need to equip helmets on a large scale?

First, Japanese helmets are most afraid of winter.

In fact, the development history of world helmets is only about 100 years. When World War I broke out, German and French armies had distributed helmets.

But at that time, the British and Russian troops had not issued helmets. The British army wore big hats on the battlefield, and as a result, the proportion of British casualties was high.

Under such circumstances, Britain began to equip helmets urgently. Because the helmet looks like a dog's tableware, it is called a dog basin helmet.

In fact, at that time, the Japanese army did not issue helmets. This can be seen from the military actions of the Japanese army, which was still wearing a French flat-topped hat. In the 1920s, Japan began to develop its own helmet.

While learning from the helmets of European countries, Japan has fully adopted its own characteristics. Because western helmets don't conform to Asian heads, Japan has added many of its own elements. 1930, Japan launched its own new army and its supporting helmets.

This helmet is named Type 30 helmet, which is used in conjunction with the newly distributed Showa military uniform. As far as the protective ability of the helmet is concerned, the Japanese type 30 helmet is really flattering.

Japan is a country lacking war resources, and many resources need to be imported from abroad.

Especially oil, steel, rubber, etc. These are the resources that Japan urgently needs. Because resources are limited, it is natural to save.

Helmets were essential equipment at that time, so Japan had to distribute them.

However, we can make a fuss about the thickness of the helmet. Japanese helmets are very thin and look nothing. In fact, the protection is very general.

In some film and television dramas, there are shots that directly penetrate the Japanese helmet.

If the Japanese helmet is really useless at close range, it can only have a little protective effect at medium and long distance.

Therefore, some Japanese soldiers will add another layer of things to the appearance of helmets, all in order to enhance protection.

Second, the Japanese helmet is far less than the Soviet helmet.

Once winter comes, the nightmare of Japanese soldiers comes. Those Japanese recruits don't understand the dangers of helmets, and those recruits wear them directly.

It is natural for the army to March and fight. After sweating, it is very likely that the helmet will freeze on your head. In winter, recruits will scream and take off their helmets.

Those Japanese veterans are much smarter. These veterans will put a layer of linen in their helmets to ensure the safety of their heads.

From the overall protection of the helmet, the type 30 helmet is definitely the worst among the countries in World War II. This Japanese is not ignorant, but his resources are limited.

1938, Japan introduced an improved type of helmet based on type 30, namely type 98 helmet.

The protective power of the Type 98 helmet is obviously enhanced, but due to the limited production quantity, this helmet is only equipped with the main force of the Japanese army.

As for the second-line troops, they still wear old-fashioned type 30 helmets. Type 30 and Type 98 were not as good as Soviet helmets at that time.

Due to the rapid expansion of the Japanese army, the number of helmets is limited. So the new troops formed after 1944 don't even have helmets.

During the war, our army also seized a large number of Japanese helmets, and some troops still wore them.

After the founding of New China, due to various problems, except for a few Soviet helmets, most of the troops did not have their own helmets.

In the late 1970s, China began to develop the first generation of helmets. Because the Japanese type 30 helmet conforms to the Asian head shape, we also drew lessons from some experience of Japanese helmet when designing the helmet.

But we didn't copy it completely. Because we have no problem with steel, we are much better than Japanese helmets in protection.

At the same time, our helmet also has its own characteristics, that is, the ear protection on both sides is added, which is not available in the original helmet.

At present, our Type 80 helmet is still used by some troops.

Hope to adopt (helmets are not used to prevent frontal attacks, but mainly to prevent stray bullets and side attacks. You can use the current helmet design, which is not designed to prevent direct frontal attack)