Offered is this Ssh-40 helmet in the proper wartime configuration. This LMZ made helmet is a size 1 and is dated 1944. The shell retains about 85% of the factory finish. Interestingly, this shell has the faded remains of an outlined star on the front in what appears to have been either dark green or black. Similarly, there is a line along the turned up edge of the shell skirt in the same color that ran the entire perimeter of the shell. Not sure what this represents as the only think I have seen that was similar is the painting found on Soviet helmets worn by military traffic control personnel. Of course those are typically a white shell with red stars and edge trim. Possibly this is a subdued attempt at the same for someone closer to the front or just simple soldier’s decoration.
The shell interior contains the standard 3-pad Ssh40 liner system. It is all there, but one pad has suffered some mouse damage and is missing a drawstring tab. There is a tear in one of the other pads as well. The drawstring is the factory original. As correct for a wartime LMZ of this era, the chinstrap is of the white, undyed web with no metal termination. The strap on this helmet is compete and very clean. Nice wartime Ssh-40 that is getting harder to find in a sea of postwar reworks.
