BellsAviation.com

07/11/2025

Can you guess what this helmet is? Answer in the comments below to guess!

06/26/2025

Vintage Treasures: US Navy P-1.

The P-1, introduced in 1948 and made by Switlik Parachute Co. and Paramount Rubber Co. was the first USAF standard hard flight helmet for fighter aircraft. The P-1 shell was constructed of pressure and heat-molded laminated cotton duck fabric that had been saturated with phenolic-resin (similar to Bakelite). This helmet did not have a fixed (rivetted) chin strap originally as did later upgraded versions, but instead could be secured to the head through the use of a chin cup that snapped onto the lowest of the snaps on the oxygen mask mounting tabs. A-13A or A-14 oxygen mask were worn with the P-1 as well as black rubber goggles B-8.

This P-1 is unique because it is an early style and has the black leather tabs coming out the center of the black edgebead/edgeroll on the helmet instead of from the inside edge. This one is also unique because it was used by the US Navy instead of USAF. You can tell it is US Navy because this one has both a boom microphone and an oxygen mask microphone attached to the helmet, and the plug on the cord has been modified to have a separate mic and earphone plugs. The oxygen mask on this one is the type A-14 mask, and the goggles are type B-8. ⛴✈

06/06/2025

This is one of our awesome ejection seats complete with flight helmet and flight gear! Who can guess what aircraft this seat came out of?! And for a bonus question, can anyone guess what the helmet and flight gear that he's wearing is?

05/28/2025

These are helmets that we made for the filming of the movie Devotion, which came out in 2022, and is a story about an African American pilot during the Korean War. The top left helmet was the main actor's (Jonathan Majors who played Jesse Brown) helmet when the movie was filmed!

05/16/2025

We dug this photo out from deep in the archives! Who can identify this helmet? Answer in the comments!

05/01/2025

This is our HGU-20-p navy clamshell helmet with orange and white reflective Tape checkers on the top of the helmet! The helmet is marked "NAS Cecil Field" from the Naval Air Station at Cecil field, located today in Jacksonville, Floridia! Do you think this helmet could have been used to fly missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

04/17/2025

This helmet is Albert Schwichtenberg's helmet from when he was the flight surgeon for the mercury program! He was the doctor who helped select the few astronauts that were in the mercury program! Before that, in September 1rst, 1954, he was named air surgeon of the Air Defense Command, and he received the legion of merit! To see more information, see this article: https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105689/brigadier-general-albert-h-schwichtenberg/

04/10/2025

This is our cobra attack helicopter helmet; the sight and linkage that attaches to the top of the helmet allows the wearer to aim the guns on the helicopter by turning his head and looking at the target! This was the predecessor to electronic helmet targeting systems.

04/03/2025

This is one of our DH-101 nuclear flash protective helmets. It has a sensor on the forehead that would sense a nuclear explosion flash and activate an explosive charge in the goggle lenses that would black-out the visor to protect the pilots' eyes from the nuclear explosion flash. Then he could remove the visor and keep flying!

07/05/2020

B-29 'Doc' Flight Experience Tour Going Back to Oklahoma City in July.

The B-29 Superfortress known as Doc will bring its B-29 Doc Flight Experience Tour to Oklahoma City, Okla., Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19.

06/27/2020

How Alcock And Brown Crossed The Atlantic - Simple Flying

Despite growing up a few miles apart in Manchester, north-west England, John Alcock, and Arthur Brown did not…

05/04/2020

The MB-5 partial pressure helmet was used in the 1950s by USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) crews with the S-2, MC-1, and MC-3/MC-4 partial pressure suits. It is very similar to the USAF K-1 helmet and has a liner with a short neck skirt, but the communications equipment is more like the later USAF MA-2 helmet, except with a longer communications cord. Partial pressure and full pressure suits and helmets are used to protect aviators from the effects of high altitude if their aircraft were to lose pressurization or if they were required to eject/bailout.✈

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