USS Jenks Navy Talker Helmet
USN Talker Helmet in excellent and complete condition with molded rubber liner and quick release leather chinstrap. Painted in battleship gray with a yellow bordered center stripe used to i.d. the crewman’s shipboard position.
Post war hand written inside identifies this position as Twin Bofors AA Gun, Aft, USS Jenks and 1944. I would speculate that this was done by the vet to i.d. his somewhat bulky souvenir of service.
On June 4, 1944, the USS Jenks was part of an anti-submarine hunter/killer group with the USS Guadalcanal. Contact was made and the German U-505 was brought to the surface by a depth charge attack by the USS Chatelain. The German crew opened the sea valves to scuttle her and began to abandon ship. The USN sailors boarded the quickly sinking U-505 and closed the sea valves. The USS Jenks rescued German crewman and recovered important documents and equipment from the U-505. The sub was towed in and is on display at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.
$200.00 SOLD