The Cuirass refer to the complete torso-protecting armour. All of our functional Cuirasses and breastplate, you can choose which type of steel you would like it made from. The British produced a helmet for civilian use in World War II designed to give more protection to the head and neck from above.A Functional Cuirass and breastplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury. These kettle helmets were also used in World War II by the British, Commonwealth forces (such as Australia and Canada). When steel helmets reappeared in World War I, the kettle hat made its comeback as the British Brodie helmet (often called tin hat), as well as the French Adrian helmet. Southeast Asians especially Burmese, Laotian and Siamese wore various kettle helmets. Japanese Ashigaru infantrymen wore the jingasa, a helmet shaped like the Japanese form of the conical Asian hat. Hat-shaped helmets were not just a European invention. The kettle hat had an advantage over some other types of helmet, in that it did not interfere with the wearer's vision, hearing or breathing. It could be worn with or without a mail coif, or later a mail standard or plate gorget, and was secured by a chin strap. The wide brim gave good protection against blows from above, such as from cavalry swords, and was very useful in siege warfare as the wide brim would protect the wearer from projectiles shot or dropped from above. It was worn most commonly by infantry, however, it was also used by cavalry and even men-at-arms. Of a simple design requiring less time and skill to produce than some other helmet types, it was relatively inexpensive. Later kettle hats were raised from a single piece of iron. Įarly examples were made in the spangenhelm method, of a skull composed of framework filled with separate triangular plates, to which a brim was added. Also in the 12th century the brimmed helmet begins to be depicted in Byzantine art, and it has been suggested that it was a Byzantine development. In the late 12th century, alongside the development of the enclosed helmet, the brimmed helmet makes a reappearance in Western Europe.

Though similar brimmed helmets are depicted in illustrations of the Carolingian period, their use seems to have disappeared soon after. It was called Eisenhut in German and chapel de fer in French (both names mean 'iron hat' in English).

The kettle hat was common all over Medieval Europe. It gained its common English language name from its resemblance to a metal cooking pot (the original meaning of kettle). The only common element is a wide brim that afforded extra protection to the wearer. A British Mark II steel Brodie helmet as issued in the Second World WarĪ kettle hat, also known as a war hat, is a type of helmet made of iron or steel in the shape of a brimmed hat. Steel helmet in the shape of a brimmed hat Italian kettle hat, last quarter of the 15th century, Cleveland Museum of Art Netherlands/Burgundian kettle hat with a fluted skull, c.

Pictures of medieval helmets