Early production Ssh-60 helmet (1966)

[Jack59]

Lets look at a few interesting details about this 1966 Ssh-60.
There was small testing batches of Ssh-60 manufactured in 1961.
The principal purpose for a new designed helmet was to be able to fit properly on winter headgear.
The Ssh-40 helmet as sit on top of the headgear for every winters since its creation, exposing dangerously the head.




All the Ssh 60 helmets were manufactured at the Red October plant located in Volgograd (formally Stalingrad until 1961).
The Ssh-60 was produced from 1966 until 1973, the plant was then adapted to start manufacturing the new Ssh-68.








Note the new model of bracket for the pads.
With the bracket flexibility it will be
easier to fit a winter headdress in the shell.




Once the ballistic testing of the batch was confirmed each helmet received a 5 point star cold stamped under the front shell's visor.
Starting in 1967 a 4 point star replaced the 5 point one.


A simple solution was found to tackle the winter headgear problem.
It consisted to flatten the pads against the helmet's shell.



The drawstrings adjusted easily the padding's for the head or winter headdress.




That way the helmet could now protect efficiently the owner's head in winter.


​

White leather pads were used for the early production then were replaced with synthetic material ones.




Another early production feature was the canvas reinforcement of the chinstraps attachement.




The round bales were installed only on the early models.


The canvas strips were replaced with leather ones & standard square bales
replaced the original round ones on later production.

Chinstraps were back to leather.


Those details will hopefully help you identify quickly an early Ssh-60 next time you see one.

[Greg Pickersgill]

What are your sources for this information?

[Jack59]

What are your sources for this information?

My sources:
Volgograd - Wikipedia
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 40 - 1947/1960
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 60
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 68
RUSSIAN HELMETS, (2002) Robert W. Clawson, page 77 t0 81.
LES CASQUES DE COMBAT du monde entier de 1915 a nos jours, tome 3, Editions PSD, (1996) page 304, 305.

Regards
Jack

[Jack59]

Here is a quick view of the Russian ballistic acceptance stamping evolution.

Ssh-40 & Ssh-60 until 1967. Location under front visor.


Ssh-60 from 1967. Location under front visor.


Ssh-68 from 1973. The 4 point star replaced by a circle. Location under front visor.
Note the batch number as been move under the front visor.


Sources:
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 40 - 1947/1960
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 60
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 68

[James C]

Great post Jack and examples shown and a very interesting topic of discussion especially with the canvas strap reinforcements which is something i never knew about until today ,might as well share one i have in the pile which is an Afghan war bring back piece so a bit shabby looking but no doubt a later model

[Jack59]

Suggestion for early Ssh-60 (1966-67?) canvas reinforced chinstraps. If you wish look at your Ssh-60 helmets, then take a photo of the chinstrap including the bale & one photo of the date stamping, if no date stamping then a photo of the acceptance star under the helmet's visor.
That way you will take a closer look at your helmets & participate to a unofficial survey for early Ssh-60 chinstraps & round bales. That should be interesting. Thanks

Regards
Jack

[Trwade]

Excellent thread, well done!

Here are some SSh-60s within my collection I'm happy to include. I acquired the first helmet from Ukraine a few years ago and was told that Ukranian SSh-60 helmets could be differentiated if they had a white liner but it seems more complex than that! I'm sure they just got whatever leftover stuff was acquired from the Soviet Union (early and late SSh pots)

Early: (1966)






Late: (1972)





I hope these can be of use to this thread. I've learned significantly more about SSh-60s than I knew before, Very nice thread.

-Jack

[Jack59]

Thanks Jack to show your 2 Ssh-60.

The white leather seems to have been short lived. Thinking of previous Russian helmets most of the early models had leather liners. As we know they were soon replaced with rubberized fabric headband, then with oilcloth & finally with vinyl material.

I was able to look at many Ssh-60 from different years on line. That way we will have an idea when the canvas reinforcement chinstrap disappeared if ever.

The first batch of Ssh-60 was a test run manufactured in 1961, those were stamped with the CT acronym for Stalingrad since 1954 (the rebuilding of the Red October plant was completed in 1946, production started again in 1954). In 1961 the name of the city Stalingrad was changed to Volgograd, part of the De-Stalinization process. This created a polemic, finally the stamping was changed back to 3KO (Red October Factory). Note that some Ssh-60 don't have the factory stamp name, only the size, we then have to examine the star under the visor, this will tell approximately the year the helmet was manufactured, 1966/67 or 1967 or later. The approval stamped star shape changed in 1967.

Sources:
World War Helmets - Casque Ssh 60
Volgograd - Wikipedia
Volgograd Tractor Plant - Wikipedia

[Jack59]

I've looked at Ssh-60s helmets on line for a few hours. Here are my humble observations. By 1972 the canvas reinforced chinstrap & have been replaced with leather ones, the rounded bales by the square Ssh-40 model.
I did not find any 1968, 1969, 1970 & 1971 models for comparison.
The white leather flaps seems to have been issued only with the 1966 helmet.

1966
Sample 1




Sample 2 (Thanks to the other Jack for the next samples)




1972


Note the white leather used on chinstrap.


I've decided to show only the photos supplied to me
& kept all the online ones as references.

Photos from 1968 to 1971 & 1973 are welcome.

Best Regards
Jack

[James C]

Possibly a coincidence and nothing really to do with the Soviet Ssh-60 so i apologise for going off thread but when i read the post about the white liner being fitted to the an example posted by Twrade which came out of the Ukraine i just wanted to share this STSH- 1981 Sfera titanium helmet which i picked up out from the Ukraine a few years back and the chin cup was white as opposed to the Russian issue which has a black chin cup