SCHUTZHELM

A protective helmet has a circumferential support 61 mounting a helmet shell (62, Figs. 3 and 4) and visor guides 81, a visor 80 movable within the shell (62) between lowered and raised positions and guided by the visor guides 81, a head harness (75) carried by the support (61) and ear defenders 90, (91) movably mounted at opposite sides of the helmet. Each ear defender 90, (91) is carried by a pair of wire supports 96, 97 having their ends pivotally mounted in sockets 98, 9; and having intermediate inturned portions 96d, 97d received in sockets 104, 105. The arrangement is such that each defender can be moved towards and away from an ear through a dead centre position. The helmet has a removable air filter unit 71 which is fitted in an interference fit within an air inlet cavity of the helmet. Electric fans (70) and an electric lamp fitting (85) are also provided.