Page 41 - All About History - Issue 27-15

Through History

This helmet was used by
the Red Bull Racing team in
the 2015 Australian Grand
Prix and is packed full of AMERICAN FOOTBALL
safety technology
Now an essential part of gridiron, helm
came to prominence in American footb
of the 20th century. Originally made ou
leather and padding, lighter designs we
the advent of plastic helmets in the 195
became safe enough to be used tactical
through the field, but they became high
as well, with a rule passed in 1995 that
quarterbacks must have a radio transm
installed to hear their team’s coach. The
FORMULA ONE HELMET 2015 first prototypes had dodgy receivers an
could sometimes be cut off or even pick
One of the first Formula One racing helmets was up chat on other frequencies.
the Bell 500, which was created in 1954, but the Helmets were only made
technology really came into its own after the Joseph mandatory in American
football in 1943, but the
increased safety measures put in place following “The Coolus M Reeves soft leather headgear
Niki Lauda’s crash in the 1976 German Grand came complete 1872-1948, AMERICAN wasn’t much of an
improvement
Prix. From here on out, new tough yet lightweight Along with George Barclay, Reeves
is credited with the invention of the
polymers were used in helmet technology, such as with face first American football helmet. Before
carbon fibre and Kevlar. It is also essential that the making sports helmets, Reeves was a
visor was as clear as possible and the material used and neck renowned Admiral in the US Navy during
was fire resistant and aerodynamic. Today’s racing both world wars. His eureka moment
helmets contain state-of-the-art technology such as coverage to came after a navy doctor advised
him that he risked death if he
heart-rate monitors, but cannot include too much received another blow to
tech as it would be a distraction the the driver. protect against the head.
barbarian blows”

CORINTHIAN HELMET
8TH CENTURY BCE

Headgear that completely conceals facial expressions,
the Corinthian helmet was used all over Greece, but
most famously by the Spartans. Superseding the
Illyrian helmet, the bronze mask gets its name from
the Ancient Greek state of Corinth. It was very sturdy,
but the lack of padding made it uncomfortable and the
small space for the eyes made seeing clearly an issue.
Additionally, the mask had to be made
to fit each individual soldier, so
Augustus production was time consumin
Siebe and not cost effective. It was
1788-1872, PRUSSIAN soon replaced by more open If the helmet didn’t fit
Born in Prussia, Siebe moved to properly it could easily
Britain after the Battle of Waterloo designs such as the Pilos be turned inside out by a
and trained as an engineer. Initially a helmet. Still looked great in glancing blade
maker of water pumps, Siebe moved 300 though…
The Siebe helmet’s ease to London and was contacted by
of use revolutionised Charles and John Deane, who
diving and kick-started requested he build them a
a new era in human helmet worthy of deep FIREFIGHTER HELMET 1881
underwater exploration sea diving.
Fighting fire is one of the most dangerous
professions, so as well as a top-notch extinguisher,
SIEBEDIVINGHELMET 1839 every fire service needs a tough helmet. Perhaps
the most iconic of them all is the leatherhead
This iconic copper design officially replaced the
helmet that was frequently used in the USA and
older Deane model after being approved by the
has become the stereotypical firefighter’s helmet.
navy just a year after it was introduced. Known as
Also popular was the Merryweather helmet, which
a 12-bolt helmet, it was unlike previous designs as
was used extensively in Victorian Britain. More
it had an oval side window and was clamped to a
Before the mass use of recent headgear can help the firefighter navigate
breastplate for added protection when underwater, plastics, fire helmets, like safely through thick smoke and utilises noise-
forming part of a new ‘closed diving dress’. Helmets many things, were made out
of metal cancelling technology to aid concentration in the
weren’t the end of the road for the Siebe Company, © Alamy, Dreamstime, Getty
most raging of infernos.
who also made underwater cameras.
41