SSh-68

The SSh-68 (Russian: СШ-68 [стальной шлем образца 1968 года/stalnoy shlyem, or steel helmet], English: SSh-68 steel helmet model 1968) - is a steel combat helmet of the Soviet and then Russian Armed Forces. The SSh-68 is a further development of the SSh-60 helmet. It differs primarily in its greater strength, greater front slope of the dome and the shorter outer edge.[1] It is usually painted in dark green.[2]

SSh-68
SSh-68 on display inside the Museum of the History of Donetsk Militsiya.
TypeCombat Helmet
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
Used bySee Users
Production history
Designed1968
Produced1968-1980s
VariantsSee Variants

The helmet weights 1,300 grams (with leatherette balaclavas - 1,500 grams). SSh-68 provides protection from impact shock (machetes, etc.), and steel fragments (shrapnel) weighing 1.0 grams at speeds up to 250 m/s.[3] The SSh-68 is not meant to protect against bullets.

The SSh-68 was used by the armed forces of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, and others. Today, it is still in service in most countries of the CIS, as well as Vietnam, North Korea and Afghanistan.[4]

Due to the introduction of improved helmets starting with the original 6B7, the SSh-68 was progressively withdrawn from service. In the Russian Armed Forces, the final examples are being gradually replaced by the newer 6B7-1M and 6B47 helmets.

Variants
Russian KFOR soldier wearing an upgraded SSh-68 with an added inner Kevlar shell in 2001

SSh-68M/СШ-68М (GRAU index - 6B14) - A modernization of SSh-68 by installing an aramid fiber liner, called SVM, inside the helmet, as well as modern harness belt and restraint systems. As a result, the mass of the helmet is increased to 1.9 kg. The helmet is designed by "Special equipment and communication", for the personnel of the Russian Ministry of the Interior Internal Troops. The SSh-68M provides head protection of class 1 (pistol and revolver bullets).[5] It's manufactured by NII Stali.[6]

SSh-68N "blank"/Заготовка (Grau index - 6B14) - Modernization of SSh-68 by increasing the thickness of the aramid membrane inside the helmet, as well as by the installation of modern harness belt and restraint systems. As a result, the mass of the helmet is increased to 2 kg. This helmet is designed for the personnel of the Russian armed forces. The helmet protects the head in class 1 (9×18mm Makarov pistol and revolver bullets), as well as from fragments of steel of spherical mass of 1.1 g (6.3 mm diameter of fragment) up to 400 m.[7]

Sizing

SSh-68 are available in three different sizes, P1, P2, and P3. P1 (small) is good to about a 58 head, size 2 (medium) is between about 59 and 61 and size 3 (Large to extra large) is from 61 up. SSh-68s are not sized as NATO helmets are since they are designed to be able to adjust for soldiers to wear an Ushanka or other heavy hat underneath it during the winter.

Replacement

In early 2000s the Russian military attempted to replace the SSh-68 with the new 6B7 helmet, which was never widely used. By the 2010s a new model,the 6B27 (see ru:6Б27) largely replaced SSh-68 in Russian service, but the old helmet is still in limited use by the Russian Armed Forces. In other post-Soviet states (except for Baltic countries and Georgia) there are still large stocks of SSh-68 in use, although in Ukraine it was sporadically replaced by Kaska-1M (see ru:Каска-1М).

During the conflict in Ukraine several hundred SPECTRA helmets were donated to Ukrainian volunteer nationalist battalions (Aidar, Azov, Donbass etc.).

Users

Current
Syrian Army commandos wearing SSh-68s while operating a MILAN ATGM

Former

See also

Notes
  1. http://ultimatehistoryproject.com/headstrong.html
  2. Sergey Monetchikov. Uniforms: From helmet to the steel helmet Magazine "Big Brother», № 6, June 2009 www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2009/6/2009_6_14.php
  3. Dmitri Mamontov. Cast iron forehead: Keep your head "Popular Mechanics", February 2007 http://www.popmech.ru/article/1197-chugunnyiy-lob/page/1/ Archived 2013-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. https://www.militarytrader.com/militaria-collectibles/from-behind-the-iron-curtain-communist-bloc-helmets
  5. NL-68M, a protective helmet of steel upgraded "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2012-07-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.gostak.co.uk/composites/russia/
  7. upgraded bulletproof helmet NL-68N "blank" http://shooter.com.ua/zashhita/966-modernezirovannyj-pulestojkij-shlem-ssh-68n-zagotovka.html Archived 2012-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. http://brendonshelmets.weebly-.com/syria-ssh68.html
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Mũ chống đạn của Quân đội Việt Nam chịu được đạn 9mm". netnews.vn. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  12. http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/vietnam-ssh60.html
  13. http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/lithuania-ssh68.html
  14. http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/mongolia-ssh68.html
  15. http://mahargpress.com/military-helmets/chapters-summaries/central-america/nicaragua/
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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