SSh-39 and SSh-40

In 1931, soldiers of the Red Army received a small number of steel helmets. They were used during military exercises in 1931Зенитные пулемёты на тачанках (1931 год, из коллекции Н. С. Тагрина) // журнал "Наука и жизнь", № 2, 1968. стр.23.

Since 1936, the first standard army helmet, the SSh-36, began to be made for the Red Army. In 1939, camouflage nets (worn over helmets to improve camouflage) began to be made in the USSRД. Ушаков. Военно-инженерное дело. 3-е исправленное издание. М., Госвоениздат, 1939 ("Массовая военная библиотека"). стр.12 .

The SSh-39 was of simple, more modern design, and was much easier to manufacture than the SSh-36. The SSh-39 would be the standard design for Soviet helmets for the next 29 years, with only minor changes occurring during that time.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} It is also the design for the helmet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The helmet was produced primarily in three factories, the Stalingrad Tractor Factory (designated CT in the ink stamp), the Red October Factory (ЗКО) also in Stalingrad, and the Lysva Metallurgical Factory (LMZ).{{Cite web |url=http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rclawson/RussianHelmets/stamps.html |title=Russian Helmets, by Clawson, rare civil defense |access-date=2021-01-12 |archive-date=2016-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112133950/http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rclawson/RussianHelmets/stamps.html |url-status=dead }} The first liner was an eight-finger leather liner, similar to those of the German M35 to M42 Stahlhelm designs.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Next came a short production of an eight-finger liner made of Gralex.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The final version of the SSh-39 liner was cloth, similar to the SSh-36 liner.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} All three variations of the liner were suspended from the helmet by three metal tabs, which were riveted to the shell near the top.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

This helmet, like the earlier SSh-36, saw action in numerous campaigns before it was phased out in 1942 in favor of the SSh-40.

File:Парад_Победы_на_Красной_площади_24_июня_1945_г._(16).jpg

The SSh-40 was the most commonly seen in-service helmet used by the Soviet Union during World War II.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} The only external difference between the SSh-39 and the SSh-40 was the six rivets near the bottom of the helmet, as opposed to the three near the top of the SSh-39 shell.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Rivet placement of the SSh-40 was due to a newly introduced liner, simpler and sturdier than the previous versions.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The liner consisted of three (later four during post-war) cloth or oilcloth pads connected with a cotton drawstring for size adjustment.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The chinstrap was cloth and connected to D-rings on each side of the shell by tabs.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The chinstrap ends were connected with a slip buckle, and a semi-circular metal piece was clamped to the end of the long chinstrap.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Unlike the SSh-36 and SSh-39, the SSh-40 was only manufactured in three sizes, 1–3.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

According to tests performed in 1942, Soviet helmets including the SSh-36 and SSh-40 provided better protection than the German Stahlhelm, but they were also heavier, making them uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time.{{sfn|Forty|2024|page=55}} Chronic shortages of metals coupled with a large amount of equipment lost in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa left many Red Army units without steel helmets, but even when they were issued several soldiers preferred using soft-fur lined caps.{{sfn|Forty|2024|page=55}}{{sfn|Pegler|2019|page=58}} The SSh-40 was supplemented by the SSh-60 which entered service in the 1960s and finally replaced by the SSh-68,{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} though many remained in use as late as 1989, during the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.{{sfn|Galeotti|2012|page=192}}

The SSh-40 saw limited use during the early stages of the Korean War by Korean People's Army troops entering Seoul in 1950, but as the war progressed and equipment shortages became more acute, steel helmets largely disappeared amongst KPA forces.{{sfn|Lai|Guoxing|2024|page=97}} While some special units of the KPA were issued with steel helmets, the vast majority of troops wore simple caps.{{sfn|Lai|Guoxing|2024|page=26}} During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army used mostly sun helmets, while steel helmets such as the SSh-40 and SSh-60 were used mostly by anti-aircraft artillery crews.{{sfn|Rottman|2012a|page=24}} The SSh-40 was also used by Iraqi troops during the Iran-Iraq war, though it was largely replaced by the M80 helmet.{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=38}}

• {{PRK}} − Domestically produced copies of the SSh-40 remain in use as of 2024{{sfn|Lai|Guoxing|2024|page=97}}{{Cite web |title=North Korea M40 |url=https://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/north-korea-m40.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Brendon's Helmets |language=en}}

• {{flag|Iraq|1963}} − SSh-40, replaced by the M80 helmet{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=38}}
• {{Flag|Poland|1928}} − SSh-40, used by Polish People's Army in 1943−1950, replaced by the wz. 50 helmet.{{Cite web |title=Poland Ssh40 |url=https://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/poland-ssh40.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Brendon's Helmets |language=en}}
• {{flag|Romania|1965}} − SSh-40, replaced by the M-1973 helmet{{sfn|Rottman|2012|page=57}}
• {{flag|Soviet Union}} − The SSh-40 remained in use as late as 1989{{sfn|Galeotti|2012|page=192}}
• {{VIE}} − Limited usage of the SSh-40 during the Vietnam War, mostly by NVA anti-aircraft artillery crews{{sfn|Rottman|2012a|page=24}}

{{Commons category|SSh-39}}

{{Commons category|SSh-40}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Forty |first1=Simon |title=The Soviet Infantryman on the Eastern Front |date=2024 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-63624-364-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgHkEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Galeotti |first1=Mark |title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Union's Last War |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-29943-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_IrBgAAQBAJ |access-date=23 July 2023 |author1-link=Mark Galeotti|language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Lai |first1=Benjamin |last2=Guoxing |first2=Zhao |title=Ground Forces in the Korean War 1950–53 (1): The North Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army |date=2024 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-6102-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2rxEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Chris |title=Armies of the Iran–Iraq War 1980–88 |date=2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-4558-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLUIEAAAQBAJ&dq=ssh-60+helmet&pg=PA38 |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Pegler |first1=Martin |title=Sniping Rifles on the Eastern Front 1939–45 |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2588-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJODDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L. |title=Warsaw Pact Ground Forces |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78200-447-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrPvCwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L. |title=North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75 |date=2012a |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78200-498-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7bvCwAAQBAJ |language=en}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite book |last1=Clawson |first1=Robert W. |title=Russian Helmets: From Kaska to Stalshlyem, 1916-2001 |date=2002 |publisher=R.J. Bender Pub. |isbn=978-0-912138-90-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Russian_Helmets.html?id=3T9lAAAACAAJ |language=en}}

{{helmets}}

{{Soviet and Russian soldier equipment}}

Category:World War II military equipment of the Soviet Union

Category:Soviet military uniforms

Category:Combat helmets of Russia

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s