Helmets and military helmets: description, types and features

Even in ancient times, soldiers used special head protectors with steel helmets. They were manned by legionaries Julius Caesar, Scythians, medieval knights in Europe. Its wide use of a steel helmet was also received in Kievan Rus, in which it was represented by a wide variety of species.

Nowadays, protecting headgears during battles is no longer called a steel helmet. Today this name is not used. Modern helmets are known to consumers as helmets. Military make up the main percentage of all users of this type of hats. Besides them, helmets, builders, policemen, firemen and participants in extreme sports use helmets.

How did the concept of "helmet" come about?

A special dress designed to protect the warrior's head during a battle was originally called a helmet. Since it was a continuation of the armor and was also made of iron, the military command was included in the standard combat kit under the official name "steel helmet" and was recognized as an effective means of individual protection of the fighter.

With the appearance of various types of troops and the improvement of military craft, helmets were also modernized. The products were domed. For their manufacture, steel was used. But history knows samples made of felt and leather, the protective properties of which were provided by a large number of metal elements attached to them. Due to the presence of these steel parts, the headpiece was associated with iron. Over time, a more convenient word "helmet" appeared in everyday life, which means "metal helmet" in Latin.

The device of helmets

Military helmets have always been the subject of research by historians and archaeologists, who thoroughly studied all the features of the structure and form of personal protective equipment soldier, widely used for thousands of years. Scientific research suggests that the main part of the design of the helmet for many centuries remained unchanged. Changes only touched the form. It depended on the development of weapons and defeating means, from which it was obliged to protect.

As a material for the manufacture of helmets, metal was used. These were thin sheets of bronze or copper, which eventually were replaced by steel or iron. It was the helmets made of iron sheets that were used by all the armies of the world until the 80s of the twentieth century. Later, military helmets and helmets were made of modern materials such as titanium, kevlar, fabric polymers, a titanium-aluminum compound.

The internal structure of the helmet is represented by a special leather detail fastened with rivets around the circumference in the lower inner part of the product. This part of the helmet was called "Tuleika". It branches off with the help of slits on several petals connected by a lace. The main functions that perform a tulejka and petals:

• Ensuring a balanced fit of the helmet on the head;
• Prevention of contact between the head and the metal sheet of the helmet;
• The softening of the impact force of fragments and stones on the outer part of the helmet.

Military modern helmets are more comfortable and safe for the soldier, since the petals contain additional, soft-reinforcing pads made of foam or leather.

The influence of fashion

In the period from the time of the legionaries Julius Caesar to the European knights of the Middle Ages, the soldiers actively used helmets. The military operations of those years were carried out with great intensity, and the demand for protective hats was particularly great. But over time, helmets began to perform and aesthetic function. There was a fashion for beautiful headdresses. The issue of security has come to the fore. Helmets were replaced by hats with feathers, shakos and caps with beautiful lacquered visors.

French helmet

Military operations in the First World War were of a trench nature. The targets were unprotected soldiers' heads. Careless movement along the trench threatened serious injury or death. The unopened head was a vulnerable place for shooting from a rifle or a machine gun, for shrapnel and bombs. For the first time in these years, they again recalled the high effectiveness of helmets. By this time, the fashion for beautiful hats and shakas had passed, and helmets had returned to the service.

The French military were the first to be equipped with new, more advanced models. French products contained three elements: a hood, a skirt and a comb. "Adriana" - such an official name was given to these helmets. Military French since 1915 were manned with these protective products, which significantly reduced the loss of personal army. Mortality was reduced by 13% and the number of wounded fell by 30%. During the First World War, French helmets were used by soldiers of England, Russia, Italy, Romania and Portugal.

English helmet

The military leadership of England was not satisfied with the French helmet "Adriana." It was decided to create its own version of the military helmet. The developer of such a protective product was John Leopold Brodie, who for the basis took the medieval hat of Capellin, widely used by the military in the period from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. The helmet was called the "steel helmet of the first modification" and was a whole-piece product with wide margins.

Such a form of helmet was very convenient for trench battles, because the fields created a soldier umbrella effect, sheltered from falling shards from above. But this model was uncomfortable when it was necessary to attack, since its landing on the head was carried out very high and completely did not protect the temporal and occipital parts of the head. But, despite this shortcoming, Brody's English helmet was adopted by the armies of Canada, the United States of America and Australia.

German version of helmet

Unlike other countries, Germany until 1916 did not spend on production, according to its experts, low-quality low-grade helmets. Her gunsmiths in Hanover were engaged in the construction of really high-quality products. In 1916, Germany saw the famous helmet of Stahihelm, which later became the symbol of a German soldier, as it was used in two world wars.

The German helmet was much superior in terms of convenience and protective qualities to French and English models. A characteristic feature of the design in the Stahihelm helmet was the presence of steel horns in the temporal areas. They performed several functions:

• Provided cover for ventilation holes in the helmet;
• They fastened a special armored shield protecting the head of a German soldier from direct hits of rifle and machine-gun bullets.

Despite the lack of flaws in design and form, the German version of the helmet did not guarantee the absolute safety of personnel. Although helmets and withstand direct bullet hits, but did not ensure the safety of the cervical vertebrae soldier. The blows when hit the helmet were of such high energy that the cervical vertebrae were injured. And this, in turn, entailed a fatal outcome. The improvement of this situation was not affected by the fact that the energy of blows with direct hits was easily maintained by the helmet itself.

Military Soviet model

For the production of helmets in the USSR, alloyed armored steel was used. The Soviet model was called SS-39 and was a product weighing 1.25 kg. The walls had a thickness of 1.9 mm. The tests of the helmet were carried out personally by SM Budyonny and gave a good result. The Soviet model was able to withstand direct hits from a distance of ten meters from the revolver bullet Nagan.

In 1940, the school was upgraded. Tuleika was completed with additional belts, nets and pads. SS-40 - such an official name received an improved helmet. Further changes and innovations were made in 1954 and 1960. The result was the appearance of new helmets SSh-54 and SSh-60, changes in which only the tuleikas affected. The design itself since 1939 has remained unchanged.

Improved model of secondary school

Essential completion of the school was carried out in 1968. Modernization was subject to the form that the helmet had. The military Russian model now possessed an increased inclination of the frontal wall of the dome and shortened outwardly curved sides. For its manufacture, an armor alloy with greater strength was used. The slope of the frontal wall increased the stability of the helmet in the case of fragmentation hits.

A similar helmet design uses China, North Korea, the Russian Federation, India and Vietnam to staff them.

One of the most effective military helmets used by Russian power structures is:

• SS-68 M is designed for internal troops;
• SS-68 N is used by the Russian armed forces.

Both versions have modern tulejki. Despite the fact that the weight of these helmets is about two kilograms, they meet the first class of stamina, since they are able to withstand direct bullet hits from the Makarov pistol and fragments flying at a speed of 400 m / s, the mass of which does not exceed one gram.

Modern Russian Helmet

Helmet СТШ-81 "Sphere", since 1981, and to this day is used by the internal troops of the Russian Federation.

A titanium plate with a thickness of 0.3 cm was taken to produce its hull. The helmet weighs 2.3 kg and is used only to protect against mechanical injuries. Responds to the second class, because it does not guarantee protection from firearms. The design of the dome is three armored elements, which are contained in special covers.

The helmet "Sphere" has a modification of "Sphere-P", in which the titanium armored plates were replaced by steel, which significantly increased the weight of the model (3.5 kg). The disadvantage in the design is the lack of its integrity. Craniocerebral trauma is possible. Special cases with armored titanium or steel elements quickly wear out. This leads to their displacement and a decrease in the protective properties of the helmet.

How to make a military helmet?

First you need to acquire the necessary materials. The second step is to draw a drawing on which a military helmet will be created. It is not difficult to make it with your own hands. It is better if the helmet is spherical. This will reduce the destructive energy upon impact. To absorb it or significantly reduce the well-executed lining.

The basis for the helmet can be a wooden blank or a child's ball, treated with plaster binders and epoxy resins with hardener. After the gypsum hardens, the scaffold is considered ready, and the disc can be removed.

One of the tasks that the helmet performs is to redistribute the blow across its entire area. Therefore, the material for the outer shell must have a high index of strength and viscosity. Perfectly suitable for polyurethane foam. Its ultimate strength is 5 kg / cm ² , which makes it very effective to absorb the impact. You can use fiberglass, which is glued in several layers on the surface of the helmet and coated with epoxy resin. After the resin hardens, the excess is removed with a spatula, and the remnants of the fiberglass are cut with a knife.

The inner part of the helmet must contain blocks of foam, which increases the protection when striking. They are attached with glue. It is recommended to do this after a thorough fit. It is important that there are no voids in the inside of the helmet, the foam blocks should not press on the temporal region.

Blocks in the occipital and frontal parts are glued last. They prevent possible dislocation of the helmet from impact. If the helmet has voids, they are filled with pieces of PPU. Before mounting the inner part, special fastening straps are mounted using screws and washers.

The finishing touch is the painting of the homemade helmet. To do this, you can use aerosol nitro paint or nitro-enamel. But before that, the surface of the product must be treated with automotive nitric.

Disadvantages of homemade helmets are the lack of heat transfer and poor sound permeability.

Before you start, you need to understand that the helmet does not guarantee the safety of the head, it only softens the blow. In addition, the strength of the blow is essential. The energy produced is approximately 25 J. This is the limit of human endurance, its excess threatens loss of consciousness and more serious consequences.