Japanese Navy Stenciled Anchor Helmet

This WWII Imperial Japanese Navy combat helmet represents the transitional period in naval equipment that emerged around 1942, when the traditional metal anchor badge began to be phased out. Instead of the earlier brass or steel insignia, naval forces increasingly adopted a painted or stenciled anchor on the front of the Type 90 helmet—a change driven by wartime material shortages and the need for faster, more economical production.
While the stenciled anchor became the standard naval identifier, surviving examples show that both styles were issued concurrently for some time. This overlap explains why helmets with metal anchors and those with painted insignia appear side‑by‑side in period collections and battlefield recoveries. The stenciled version, however, is notably scarcer today, as fewer were produced.