The Mk 6 helmet is a type of

combat helmet A combat helmet, also called a ballistic helmet, battle helmet, or helmet system (for some Modular design, modular accessory-centric designs) is a type of helmet designed to serve as a piece of body armor intended to protect the wearer's head du ...

that was the standard of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

as well as another supplied helmet of the UN during peacekeeping operations. The Mk 6 replaced the Mk IV helmet (more correctly titled – Helmet Steel MK IV, General Service) in army service and the RAC helmet in naval service. The jump in MK numbers is thought due to the confusion surrounding the MK IV helmet using the MK V lining, introduced in 1959. The helmet is manufactured by NP Aerospace, and is reported to have an "almost unlimited service life" by the manufacturer.

History

The Mk 6 was issued to the British military in 1986. They were known to be used in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. From 1992, the Mk 6 was supplied to the UN alongside the M88,

MICH Mich or MICH may refer to: People * An abbreviation for Michelle (name) * Mich Dulce (born 1981), Filipina fashion designer, milliner, corsetiere, feminist activist, actress, artist and singer * Mich Matsudaira (1937–2019), American businessman ...

and the M1 to allow for protection of peacekeeping forces. Many military forces used these helmets such as Argentina, Mexico, and most listed UN countries as stated. These were either covered with the respective country's camouflage helmet cover, or issued with a blue Mk 6 cover to indicate it as a peacekeeping helmet. From June 2009, the helmet was replaced by the Mk 7 helmet.

Design

The Mk 6, in its default configuration, is in dark green color. The British Army use covers to camouflage the helmet and adapt it to different environments. Covers include the British

Disruptive Pattern Material Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) is the commonly used name of a camouflage pattern used by the British Armed Forces as well as many other armed forces worldwide, particularly in former British colonies. The main variants of DPM are a four-colo ...

in temperate woodland and desert patterns, multicam pattern,

Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (DPCU), also nicknamed Auscam, jelly bean camo, or hearts and bunnies is a five-colour military camouflage pattern used by the Australian Defence Force. Replacing the jungle greens used from WWII, it wa ...

, a pure white cover for arctic environments and a

United Nations blue Varieties of the color blue may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness), or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shad ...

coloured cover. The MK 6 is designed to accept modern ear protection, Bowman personal radios, and

respirators A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including lead, lead fumes, vapors, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories o ...

. It is sometimes referred as the "battle bowler", a term first used for the First World War

Brodie helmet The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by Latvian inventor John Leopold Brodie (). A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the US. Colloquially, it wa ...

. The Mk 6 is often mistakenly thought to be made out of

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

when in fact it is constructed of

ballistic nylon Ballistics may refer to: Science * Ballistics, the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles ** Forensic ballistics, the science of analyzing firearm usage in crimes ** Internal ballistics, the study of the pro ...

Variants

Mk 6A

In 2005, the Mk 6 began to be replaced by an evolution of the original design, the Mk 6A helmet. NP Aerospace also manufactures the Mk 6A. Although it looks very similar to the Mk 6, the Mk 6A has enhanced ballistic protection and is marginally heavier than the earlier model. The two variants can be easily distinguished from each other when the cover is removed, as the material of the Mk 6 is olive green whilst the Mk 6A is black.

Users

Current

* * * ** * – 2,000 helmets were supplied by the British Government (bringing the total supplied to 3,000) to the Ukrainian government on 3 July 2015; further helmet donations were made during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Former

* * : Replaced with Mk 7 helmet. **

References

External links

NP Aerospace

Mk VI helmet
at world-war-helmets.com {{helmets Combat helmets of the United Kingdom Cold War military equipment of the United Kingdom British Army equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1980s