Message 2078, May 4, 2001
Hi all, Yesterday I was browsing through some of my books on the Royal Danish Air Force in order to more clearly identify which helmet types were used in which timeframes. I stumbled over a very interesting combination. A pilot in a British-built Meteor NF.11 all-weather fighter was wearing a P-3 helmet together with an RAF Type H oxygen mask. Makes sense in a way because the P-series helmets had taken over from the RAF Type C helmet as the RDAF standard fighter helmet from 1951 onwards, but so had the MS22001 mask vs the RAF Type H mask.
Bluelight thinking, "Considering the origin of the Meteor, it might be logic to continue with the RAF Type H mask instead of modifying the MS22001 with a microphone interoperable with the Meteor's British-made radio".
Bluelight wondering, "Hmmm, what about interoperability between an American helmet and a British mask?. Impedance and plugs are the obvious problems but what about a simple thing as British studs on an American "Pull-The-Dot" post?".
Bearing in mind earlier postings discussing the non-compatibility of USAF and USN studs and posts I simply had to try. Guess what? The RAF Type H oxygen mask studs fit perfectly onto the "Pull-The Dot" posts. This must be a coincidence. I know about the rivalry between USN and USAF over the years but even taking that into consideration, when two American organisations cannot or will not coordinate things like this it would seem more unlikely that the USAF and RAF should. Just look at the comms plugs. There is no way that a standard RAF male plug would fit the US female microphone plug on the P-3. How the comms were adapted to play together still remains for me to find out. Unfortunately the photo was of marginal quality so no hints there. Another point on my list of things to remember when I visit the RDAF Historical Collection later this year.
Cheers, Bluelight

Message 72, March 22, 2000:
Thanks Bill, Yes, I discovered this some year ago, much to my chagrin. The Navy uses a different type ('Pull the Dot') that seems the same until one tries to use them with non 'Pull the Dot' fasteners. The Navy snaps are designed to open in one direction only, whereas the Air Force type are omni-directional. I have a source for new USN 'Pull-the-Dot' snap sets, but have yet to locate one for Air Force types. Thanks for the heads-up on this, in any event. Appreciated. Cheers, Chris

Message 69, March 21, 2000:
Greetings all. Please be advised that the USAF P-series snaps are not interchangable with the Navy snaps. The Navy snaps are slightly smaller. If you have ever tried to fit a Navy mask to a P-series helmet, it does not work. Best wishes, Bill Cook

Message 62, March 19, 2000:
I have current need of some replacement snap-sets of the same type that were used originally on USAF P-series helmet leather mask retention tabs. These snaps (sometimes referred to as Pull-the-Dot fasteners, although these latter units were a 'proprietary' product and were slightly different than the regular snaps) were heavy duty and featured a threaded internal orifice that would take small screws used to secure the mask fasteners to the snaps, so as to guard against accidental release. Regular snap sets, such as the commercially available ones in hardware stores, are slightly simpler in design and are not a precise match for use on P-series mask leather tabs. Does anyone know where I can obtain any of the mil-spec type, the proper and correct match-ups for these helmet mask retention leather tabs? I need to repair a few damaged snaps on some of my P-series helmets and would appreciate information anyone might be able to offer on where to find some of the correct snap-sets (male and female components) for this application. Cheers, Chris Carey.