Damaged Soviet Army Ssh40 combat helmet recovered postwar in Latvia
overall: Height: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Width: 9.625 inches (24.448 cm) | Depth: 11.875 inches (30.163 cm)
The helmet was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Ted Shealy.
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Damaged and heavily orange corroded steel Soviet Ssh40 style convex domed helmet shell with a narrow rim and short frontal brim. There are 5 metal rivets evenly spaced around the lower third of the shell, with a hole on the right side for a missing 6th rivet. These rivets were attachment points for a cloth liner and chin strap that are missing from this helmet. There are traces of dark green paint just above the brim exterior. The shell is warped, and has several cracks and missing sections.
Corroded Soviet Army Ssh40 combat helmet recovered in a Latvian swamp many years after World War II. Production of the Ssh40 model helmet began in 1940 and continued until 1960. It was issued to Soviet soldiers on all fronts during World War II. The Ssh40 was designed to replace the Ssh39, which had a liner that made it difficult for the wearer to place the helmet over a winter hat or garrison cap. The Ssh40 was designed to solve this problem by attaching the liner to the exterior shell near the rim, which allowed the helmet to slide over another hat. The Soviet Union occupied the independent state of Latvia in June 1940. It was later occupied by Nazi Germany in July 1941. In 1944, the Soviet army reentered Latvia, which became a Soviet republic.