This is a special study of Japanese tropical helmets by Nick Komiya, and is presented in four parts.
1939 March, Design Patent Granted for the Type 98 Sun Helmet Liner System
On 10th March 1939, the Patent Office Granted Utility Model Number 264722 to a Shotaro Fujioka of Tokyo for his invention of the flexible liner size adjustment system he developed for the Army’s Type 98 Sun Helmet. Fujioka was an employee of the Army’s Main Clothing Depot. The Army had applied for this on 2nd April 1937, just before sending the prototypes out for testing in Taiwan. Similar to a patent, but simpler to obtain, it is the same as the German Gebrauchsmuster system (when items are marked DRGM). Continue reading
A unique variation of Japanese sun helmets used during World War II is one often referred to as “the officer’s pattern.” Why this particular helmet is considered to be an officer’s version is not known, but it is likely that it is because the character of Colonel Saito, the prison camp commandant in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai wore such a helmet.