Finally completed my collection of representative helmets from all of the major armies that fought on the Eastern Front of World War 2 from 1939-1945. The Red Army of the Soviet Union wore three styles of helmet during the war, the Ssh36, Ssh39, and the Ssh40. Germany fielded three variants as well, the M35, M40, and M42. Hungary, Finland, and Spain fielded their own versions of the German M35/M40/M42 family of helmets which were nearly identical in appearance at first glance, but did have subtle differences which distinguished them from actual German helmets. Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy all fielded helmets that were unique to themselves. The tiny Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania were largely equipped with surplus WW1 era German M16/M18 helmets. Here are photos of the helmets in my collection with corresponding wartime images of the helmets in use. I prefer battlefield relic helmets or salty representative pieces over pristine lightly used or restored helmets, I want items in my collection “that were there” Enjoy!
1. Poland Wz31 “Szalamandra”
Polish dress uniform, Wz31 with “Szalamandra” or Salamander camo texturing
2. Slovakia M32 “Egg Shell”
Slovaks under fire, Soviet Union 1941
Slovakian troops cross the Dniester River, 1943
3. Bulgaria M36
Bulgarian troop wearing M36 equipped with German MP40 in the Soviet Union, 1942
4. Italy M33
Mixture of Italian and German troops, southern Russia
5. Hungary M38 with distinctive belt hook loop on back skirt
Hungarian Border Guard
6. Spain “Blue Division”
Spanish graves in the Soviet Union, 1942
The Spanish Blue Division, a combo of Spanish and German helmets can be seen
7. Finland M40
8. Romania
9. The Baltic Nations- Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania WW1 German M16/M18 family
Latvian Volunteer in the Waffen-SS
Estonian Waffen-SS Volunteer
10. Germany M35, pressed vent, in Winter Camo, from Demyansk
M35 helmets worn by SS troops during the 1939 Poland invasion
11. Germany M40 stamped vent, from Stalingrad
Fantastic shot of an M40 showing the stamped vent above national shield
12. Germany M42 “flared edge”
M42 with vent
Late-war M42 without vent, only a handful are known to exist
13. Soviet Ssh36
Red Army boy soldier with Ssh36
14. Soviet Ssh39
Officer on the far right wears an Ssh39, most of the others wear the Ssh36
15. Soviet Ssh40
