War trophy Ssh 39 helmet

[Jan]

Hi guys,

I´m about to get this war trophy Ssh 39 helmet from the early months of "Operation Barbarossa". It was accuired in the aftermath of the Finnish offensive in Juntusranta on the 17th of August 1941.

The helmet supposedly is "as found" and I´m curious about the white liner and the markings inside the helmet. So please if you can help me with these. All other comments and information about the battle itself would of course also be of interest to me.

Best,

Jan

[Jan]

A few original pictures from the aftermath of the battles around Juntusranta taken in August 1941.

Best,

Jan

[Estonian]

Looks like Italian M33 liner

[Jan]

Hi Estonian,

I may of course be wrong but I don´t think it´s an Italian liner. From what I have learned a small part of the Ssh39 helmets were issued with this kind of almost white leather interior. Here´s a picture of another Ssh39 with an identical type of liner.

Best, Jan

[Estonian]

You are right
RUSO 39

[MAP]

Looks like Italian M33 liner

While it might share some design characteristics, this is not an Italian M33 liner.

Italian M33 helmet-1947-90


I took too long to type LoL.... Was looking for a good link to show comparative M33 liners!

[TheGoon]

I wonder what dented the side like that, doesn't look like it chipped or scrapped off any paint. But I to have read that the ssh39 helmets were issued with leather liners for a short time and they do look very similar to yours. I would comment more on the helmet but I just don't know enough about them to give a solid opinion.

[Jan]

I wonder what dented the side like that, doesn't look like it chipped or scrapped off any paint. But I to have read that the ssh39 helmets were issued with leather liners for a short time and they do look very similar to yours. I would comment more on the helmet but I just don't know enough about them to give a solid opinion.

Thanks for your kind help, I´m no expert on these either so I really appreciate all comments here. I will take a good close look at the helmet when I get it.

I will also have a look underneath the flaps to see if I can find any more markings. I agree that the dent looks strange but I guess we will never kno what hit it.

Best,

Jan

[Asjemenou]

Nice copy Jan.
The liner originally belongs in the helmet. The first production batch of the Lysva factory (ЛМЗ) of the SSh-39 helmet from 1939 had a white leather liner.

[JPhilip]

Hello,
I think i have never posted in the USSR subforum, but seeing this helmet made me do it...
What a cool helmet with well preserved liner, red star and also with nice markings and handwritings...i'm not exprerienced in Red Army collecting even if i own several WWII items, so i can't judge or ID things like markings, but in my eyes this helmet as an almost perfect example of early WWII examples, it has every criteria required to be a war trophy of which the condition did not change since the war and the time it was seized or found on the battle field. Of course i can't say if the story of war trophy is true or not, no one can i guess, but the helmet speaks for itself in my opinion. The few real "war trophy" german helmets that i've seen in my collecting life, the ones i'm certain that they're not made up, not pimped to resemble to something else, all these helmets looked the same...good condition, sometimes with a slight battle damage, bright markings, handwritings from the soldier and/or from the person who found or seized the helmet, usually lightly used on the field, well stored or displayed to preserve the item and with no traces of heavy manipulations over the years, as they've been seized or found last year.

A friend of mine collects Red Army artifacts and i've seen in his collection at least two steel helmets that had white colored linings.
I did also see white linings in a serious article of a magazine about WWII soviet helmets, i perfectly remember them.
That's not very useful, sorry.

In my opinion, if you don't receive any bad comments about a feature of the helmet, if markings are correct for this time of the war, if the chinstrap, liner, paint, lot or serial number, red star, are correct, there would not be reasons not to believe the story of the war trophy. I agree that i know nothing, but what i see here is a great and well preserved witness of the early steps of the Great Patriotic War.
Thanks