"Iraqi Vader Helmet ?" Topic

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and the google translation

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According to rumors, they are actually the inspiration for Vader's Helmet, while others think it's the other way round …

Surely they should come in a boxed set with a respirator…?

Actually Vader's helmet was inspired by those worn by Japanese Samurai. The Iraqi's must have really liked Star Wars.
Love to get one.
Andrew

I'd always been under the impression, from comments and sketches by the Star Wars designers, that the Samurai were the major inspiration for Darth Vader's helmet and armor.

A friend of mine brought one back from Iraq and it sits on his book shelf at the moment. According to what he found out while he was over there, the helmet is inspired by Darth Vader, whichever commander who commisioned them was aparantly impressed by the Evil overtones of his outfit and had those helmets commissioned. I don't know how true this is but that's waht he was told.

I can't believe the Iraq helmet inspired Darth's. It would then mean that they have been using this thing for somewhat 30 years. I have a tough time believing that the Iraq armay even gave their men helmets 30 years ago.

Somehow, I find it both plausible and hilarious that an evil despot would want to equip his troops with helmets patterned after that worn by a really impressive villain in a really impressive movie…

I'm not sure 6mm thick fiberglass offers much in the way of protection. I'm also not sure whether the psychological impact is quite as profound as the commissioning officer would like it to be. Still, an interesting relic of the war. Probably be worth thousands to collectors in another twenty years.

And Dom is right. A built-in respirator, or heck, any kind of face plate, would have been much more impressive. If I'm going to commission a helmet design to scare my enemies, I'm going to get the Apple design department on it. "Make me something as evil-looking as the iPod is shiny."

I'm now waiting for someone to make the figures in 28mm!

I saw a piece on the news a couple of years ago about Saddam's collection of fantasy art. He collected paintings with dragons, half-clothed maidens and sword-wielding heroes. Also, he loved American action movies like Rambo. I am sure he would have seen Star Wars.

I found this reference and a photo of the helmet on a museum website;

"This Fedayeen Saddam helmet was retained by U.S. Army Specialist James Coffey while serving with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) near Mosul, Iraq. A small rubber oval bearing the silhouette of Saddam Hussein was affixed to the right side, but are usually missing; in this instance, Specialist Coffey was ordered to remove the emblem in order to keep the helmet. The paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam ("Saddam's Men of Sacrifice") was founded by Saddam's eldest son Uday in 1995. In September 1996 Uday was removed from command of the Fedayeen after he transfered sophisticated weapons from Republican Guard units to the Saddam Fedayeen without Saddam's knowledge. Control passed to Saddam's son Qusay, further consolidating his responsibility for the Iraqi security apparatus. Control later passed back to Uday. The Fedayeen, with a total strength reportedly between 18,000 and 40,000 troops, was composed of young soldiers recruited from regions loyal to Saddam. The unit reported directly to the Presidential Palace, rather than through the army command, and was responsible for patrol and anti-smuggling duties. Though at times improperly termed an "elite" unit, the Fedayeen was a politically reliable force that could be counted on to support Saddam against domestic opponents. It started out as a rag-tag force of some 10,000-15,000 "bullies and country bumpkins." They were supposed to help protect the president and Uday, and carry out much of the police's dirty work. Uday was a fan of the Star Wars movies, hence the resemblence to the helmet worn by Darth Vader."

Spanish version of the page says that the thing is made in 2003.So,copyright goes to the evil empire from long,long ago.

If I'm going to commission a helmet design to scare my enemies, I'm going to get the Apple design department on it.

Would they have names like "Tangerine Terror", "Loathsome Lime", "Genocide Grape", "Sadistic Strawberry", and "Blueberryian"?

Fiberglass instead of steel? Probably cost considerations and ease of manufacture.

As to why they didn't include respirator masks, maybe the Husseins read the Evil Overlord list — I seem to recall one of the things that an Evil Overlord must never do was something to the effect of "I will redesign the helmets of my Evil Minions so that their faces are in plain view, to prevent small groups of heroes from bushwhacking patrols and stealing their uniforms to sneak into my Evil Base."

Could have been worse. Hussein could have been a Flash Gordon fan…

Also, the evil minions are supposed to have clear fields of vision for increased firing accuracy.

I have more pictures of that helmet that I took at a local military history show. The sucker was thick and heavy – too heavy, in my opinion, to be worn in combat.

Wyatt

I have one of these helmets as well as about 50 or so other Iraqi helmets.

Almost all of the helmets used by the Iraqi army are plastic of fibreglass. Most of them look like the old US army Helmet liner and are made of the same material but are about a 1/4 inch thick. They even had a copy of a US Kevlar helmet but made out of plastic.

The Iraqis had tons of steel helmets (mostly russian or czech) but seemed not to have used them. I have a few that came out of a mountain of them in a warehouse north of baghdad, but they seemed to have preferred the plastic ones.

The Fedayeen helmet is an exact copy of Darth Vaders helmet except for the little saddam insignia. For a combat helmet they suck because they are ungainly and restrict movement and vision, but you would look pretty intimidating to an enemy.

Alan