************************************************************************************ SSH-40 (Lysvensky helmet) - a steel helmet of the 1940 model, a personal protective equipment for military personnel, was widely used in the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war years, until more advanced models SSh-60 and SSh-68 were supplied .Worn with a comforter. Over the course of World War II the Soviet Union employed three main helmet designs; the SSh-36, the SSh-39, and the SSh-40, each being designated with the year in which they were introduced. Standard practice was to stamp the size, location, and year of manufacturing on the interior of the helmet The SSh-40 was the last and most commonly seen in-service helmet used by the Soviet Union during World War II. The only external difference between the SSh-39 and the SSh-40 were the six rivets near the bottom of the helmet, as opposed to the three near the top of the SSh-39 shell. Rivet placement of the SSh-40 was due to a newly introduced liner, simpler and more sturdy than the previous versions. The liner consisted of three (later four during post-war) cloth or oilcloth pads connected with a cotton drawstring for size adjustment. The chinstrap was cloth and connected to d-rings on each side of the shell by tabs. The chinstrap ends were connected with a slip buckle, and a semi-circular metal piece was clamped to the end of the long chinstrap. Unlike the SSh-36 and SSh-39, the SSh-40 was only manufactured in three sizes, 1–3. The SSh-40 was supplemented by the SSh-60 and finally replaced by the SSh-68, though many remained in use throughout the Soviet period and beyond. The SSh-40 is commonly confused with the Czechoslovakian Vz. 53 helmet. *************************************************************************************** |