The nets weren't specifically issued for beach landings; soldiers made them up themselves, received them from camouflage shops, or later, received them as part of their kit. Netting could be used to attach scrim (camouflage) such as pieces of tree bark, leaves, or fabric. Soldiers often found other uses for the nets, shoving packets of cigarettes or first aid kit components underneath them. The nets also reduced the shine of the helmet when it was wet; an unintended advantage. At first, the US Army did not issue a specific type of net, and soldiers waiting on D-Day in England experimented or took whatever they could find from British, French, or Canadian stocks. This produced possibly hundreds of thousands of nets, and many variations; the netting varied from very tight (1/4" squares) to loose (1/2" to 2"-3" squares) One specific variety that only seems to have been used only by the 79th Infantry Division has very large squares. Eventually, the US contracted the British to purposefully manufacture various types of nets. Most of the nets were of knotted construction like the above types, but some were thicker and woven, like the extremely common "shrimp" net (1/4"-5/16" squares) The "shrimp" material was proven unsuited by the US Army for making large camouflage nets for vehicles, but found a second life on helmets. From March to July 1944, about 1,700,000 "shrimp" nets were procured from the British, and several hundred thousand more were made in US camouflage shops in England and on the Continent. In late 1944, the purposefully manufactured "M1944" net (technically called "Net, Helmet, with Band"; many small or inconsequential items didn't receive "M-" designations) with an elastic band began to be issued; several hundred thousand made it to Europe before the end of the war, mostly with replacements or divisions that arrived in 1945. Helmet nets seem to be less common in the Pacific.