South African Defence Force first generation M83 Parabat / Paratrooper helmet - Israeli Army OR 201s

South African Defence Force first generation M83 Parabat / Paratrooper helmet - Israeli Army OR 201s

Very good condition and clean

An agreement between South Africa and Israeli Governments led to the purchase of Israeli Orlite Engineering OR-201s helmets for the SADF Parabats.

This helmet purchased from Israel became known in the SADF as the M83 (first generation helmet).

The only significant difference between Israeli Army OR-201s and the ones exported to South Africa is the colour of the shell (olive green for the Israeli Army and earth brown for the SADF).

Due to increased SADF demand, copies of the Israeli OR-201s were manufactured in South Africa by S.A.P.H.I Pty Ltd (South African Pith Helmet Industries). These second- generation helmets retained the name M83.

One of the main differences between the Israeli manufactured helmet (imported from Israel) and the South African manufactured helmet is that the front and back black rubber shock absorbers lack the grooves found on the Israeli helmets.

This helmet on Gumtree has grooves on the front and back rubber shock absorbers (above detailed information obtained from Philip's Military Helmets online)

Width of helmet 23cm

Length of helmet 26cm

Height of helmet on flat surface about 18cm

Chinstrap and internal headband genuine leather with fien strong steel buckles

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