The SSh-60 (СШ-60 (Russian: стальной шлем образца 1960 года/stalnoy shlyem, or steel helmet) was a product improvement of the Soviet SSh-40 steel helmet of the Soviet Army and entered production around 1960. It was not fundamentally different from the previous World War 2 era SSh-40, the primary difference being an updated liner/suspension system.

SSh-60
TypeCombat Helmet
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1960-present
Used bySee Users
WarsVietnam War[1]
Sino-Vietnamese War
Transnistrian War
Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Produced1960-1972
A Ukrainian soldier with a SSh-60 helmet
SSh-60 export helmet liner. Note that it is a lighter color compared to that of standard issue helmets

Design

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The overall form and shell of the helmet remained unchanged. The internal harness was modified to include four stuffed leather pads (rather than three as with the SSh-40) attached to the dome rivets. The petals were moved to the top of the helmet along with two rivets and the chin strap.[2] As the SSh-60 looks identical to the SSh-40 externally when worn, photos don't indicate how many were in use. The short time of manufacture suggests that these were limited in numbers when compared to the SSh-40.

An export version of the SSh-60 exists, designed for sale and exportation to other countries outside of the Soviet Union. It differs from the main issue helmet only with a change to the color of the helmet liner.

The SSh-60 was subsequently developed into the model SSh-68. Quantities of both SSh-40s and SSh-60s remained in use throughout the Soviet period and beyond: some examples were still being used by the Russian Army in the 2010s.

Users

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Former users

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References

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  1. ^ "Soldiers of Vietnam People Army accompanying a couple of students on their way back to the barrack". x.com. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  2. ^ Sergey Monetchikov. Uniforms: From helmet to the steel helmet Magazine "Big Brother», № 6, June 2009 http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2009/6/2009_6_14.php Archived 2018-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Campbell 2016, pp. 20−21.
  4. ^ "Vietnam Ssh60".
  5. ^ McNab 2022, pp. 38−39.
  6. ^ Zaloga 1985, p. 58.

Bibliography

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