Soviet helmets during World War II Over the course of World War II the Soviet Union employed three main helmet designs ; the M - 36 , the SSh - 39 , and the SSh - 40 , each being designated with the year in which they were introduced . Standard practice was to stamp the size , location , and year of manufacturing on the interior of the helmet . Adrian . The French Adrian helmet was used by the Imperial Russian and then the Red Army until the M36 started entering service . However large stockpiles were kept and were issued during the mobilisation , especially to second line units . M - 36 . The M ( " model " , or model ) 36 was designed by Aleksandr A . Shvartz , and began production in 1936 . Its large front rim and wide flares over the ears provided good protection for the wearer . The German M35 , introduced a year before the Russian M - 36 , served as a model for the development of the M - 36 . The M - 36 was also fitted with a comb on top , which allowed for ventilation . There were also apocryphal claims that the comb was designed to deflect saber blows . Early M - 36s were made with fragile leather linings . Due to the unreliability of these early models containing leather linings , later variations were introduced with cloth linings . Similar problems were also encountered with early leather chinstraps , so the leather chinstraps were phased out in favor of cloth models as well . Throughout their production four sizes were produced : small , medium , large , and extra large . The M - 36 was worn by Soviet soldiers in several campaigns of the late 1930s and 1940s , including the Khalkin Gol campaign against the Japanese in 1938 ( giving it the nickname " Khalkingolka " ) , the Finnish Winter War of 1939 - 1940 , the 1939 invasion of Poland , the 1940 invasions of the Baltic states and Bessarabia , and in World War II , or as it is known in Russia , the Great Patriotic War . It was also distributed to the Republican soldiers of the Spanish Civil War in conjunction with Soviet support of the Spanish government . During the Finnish Winter War , the cold temperatures forced many soldiers to tear out the helmet ' s liner so the ushanka , or fur hat , would fit under the metal shell . Production of the M - 36 ended in 1941 . Today it is a rare and expensive item for its collectors . SSh - 39 . The SSh ( stalnoy shlem , or steel helmet ) 39 was of simple , more modern design , and was much easier to manufacture than the M36 . The SSh - 39 would be the standard design for Soviet helmets for the next 29 years , with only minor changes occurring during that time . It is also the design for the helmet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow . The helmet was produced primarily in three factories , the Stalingrad Tractor Factory ( designated CT in the ink stamp ) , the Red October Factory ( 3K0 ) also in Stalingrad , and the Lysva Metallurgical Factory ( LMZ ) . The first liner was an eight - finger leather liner , similar to the German M35 - M42 . Next came a short production of an eight - finger liner made of Gralex . The final version of the SSh - 39 liner was cloth , similar to the M - 36 liner . All three variations of the liner were suspended from the helmet by three metal tabs , which were riveted to the shell near the top . This helmet , like the M - 36 , saw action in numerous campaigns before it was phased out in 1942 in favor of the SSh - 40 . SSh - 40 . The SSh - 40 was the last and most commonly seen in - service helmet used by the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War . The only external difference between the SSh - 39 and the SSh - 40 were the six rivets near the bottom of the helmet , as opposed to the three near the top of the SSh - 39 shell . Rivet placement of the SSh - 40 was due to a newly introduced liner , simpler and more sturdy than the previous versions . The liner consisted of three ( later four during post - war ) cloth or oilcloth pads connected with a cotton drawstring for size adjustment . The chinstrap was cloth and connected to d - rings on each side of the shell by tabs . The chinstrap ends were connected with a slip buckle , and a semi - circular metal piece was clamped to the end of the long chinstrap . Unlike the M - 36 and SSh - 39 , the SSh - 40 was only manufactured in three sizes , 1 - 3 . The SSh - 40 was supplemented by the SSh - 60 and finally replaced by the SSh - 68 .