Soviet ShZ helmet

[willie45]

Received this helmet early in the week, after looking for one for years.
A bit beaten up, with some rust and dodgy comm leads, but nothing a bit of work can't fix.












The original comm leads have been cut off and replaced with two wires cut at about two metres length. The original communication leads are exactly the same as the model after this one, so I can cannibalize another to restore this one to original configuration.




Cheers, Willie.

[ssg keay]

Wow, that oxygen mask setup is primitive and dangerous. I cannot image having to remove that huge strap assembly in an emergency. I also collect flight helmets, but only RAF, AAF and German. Danny

[willie45]

Wow, that oxygen mask setup is primitive and dangerous. I cannot image having to remove that huge strap assembly in an emergency. I also collect flight helmets, but only RAF, AAF and German. Danny

Yes, Danny, I'd agree there 100%. It's a terrible setup and you wouldn't want an ant to crawl inside the mask.There's two mask hooks per side, a top hook, and a strap harness around the back of the helmet with a spring loaded clip fastener.

It came out in 1958 and was superceeded in 1960 with the improved KM-32 mask and a smaller bladder inside the helmet. The odd thing is that there are photos of pilots wearing the old setup into the mid sixties, well after the better gear was introduced. It may have been due to a pecking order, with front line units getting first choice of gear. I can't think of any other reason to keep using it.

Cheers, Willie.