Even in ancient times, warriors used special steel helmets to protect their heads. They were equipped with the legionnaires of Julius Caesar, the Scythians, medieval knights in Europe. The steel helmet was also widely used in Kievan Rus, where it was represented by a wide variety of types.
In our time, headgear protecting during battles is no longer called a steel helmet. This name is not used today. Modern helmets are known to consumers as hard hats. The military make up the main percentage of all users of this type of headgear. In addition to them, miners, construction workers, policemen, firefighters and participants in extreme sports use helmets.
How did the concept of “helmet” come about?
A special headgear designed to protect a 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, it was included in the standard combat set under the official name “steel helmet” by the military command and recognizedan effective personal protective equipment for a fighter.
With the advent of various types of troops and the improvement of military craft, helmets began to be modernized. Products had a domed shape. Steel was used to make them. 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 details, the headdress was associated with iron. Over time, a more convenient word “helmet” appeared in everyday life, which in Latin means “metal helmet.”
The device of helmets
Helmets of the war years have always been the subject of research by historians and archaeologists, who have thoroughly studied all the features of the structure and form of a soldier's personal protective equipment, widely used for more than one thousand years. Scientific research suggests that the main part of the design of a protective helmet has remained unchanged for many centuries. The changes affected only the form. It depended on the development of weapons and destructive weapons, from which it was obliged to protect.
Metal was used as the material for the manufacture of helmets. These were thin sheets of bronze or copper, which over time were replaced by steel or iron. It was 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 began to be made from such modern materials as titanium, kevlar, fabric polymers, titanium-aluminum compounds.
Intern althe device of the helmet is represented by a special leather part, fastened with rivets around the circumference in the lower inner part of the product. This part of the helmet was called the “tuleika”. It branches off with the help of slots into several petals connected by a cord. The main functions that the tuleika and petals perform:
- ensure a balanced fit of the helmet on the head;
- preventing head contact with the metal sheet of the helmet;
- mitigation of the force of impacts of fragments and stones on the outer part of the helmet.
Modern military helmets are more comfortable and safer for the soldier, because the petals contain additional soft foam or leather pads attached to them.
Fashion Influence
In the period from the time of the legionnaires of Julius Caesar to the European knights of the Middle Ages, helmets were actively used by soldiers. The military operations of those years were carried out with great intensity, and the demand for protective headgear was especially great. But over time, helmets began to perform an aesthetic function. There was a fashion for beautiful hats. The issue of security has faded into the background. Helmets have been supplanted by feathered hats, shakos and peaked caps with beautiful lacquered visors.
French helmet
Military operations in the First World War were of a trench character. The unprotected heads of soldiers became targets. Careless movement along the trench threatened serious injury or death. An uncovered head was a vulnerable spot for firing from a rifle or machine gun, for shrapnel and land mines. For the first time in these yearsagain remembered the high efficiency of helmets. By this time, the fashion for beautiful hats and shakos had passed, and helmets returned to service.
The French military was the first to be equipped with new, more advanced models. French products contained three elements: a cap, a skirt and a comb. “Adriana” is the official name given to these helmets. Since 1915, the French military have been equipped with these protective products, which significantly reduced the loss of army personnel. Mortality decreased by 13% and the number of wounded decreased by 30%. During the First World War, French helmets were used by soldiers from England, Russia, Italy, Romania and Portugal.
English helmet
The military leadership of England was not satisfied with the French helmet "Adrian". It was decided to create their own version of the military helmet. The developer of such a protective product was John Leopold Brodie, who took as a basis the medieval Capellin hat, widely used by the military from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. The helmet was called the “first modification steel helmet” and was a one-piece stamped product with wide brim.
This form of helmet was very convenient for trench battles, since the fields created the effect of an umbrella for the soldier, sheltering them from fragments falling from above. But this model was inconvenient when it was necessary to attack, since its landing on the head was carried out very high and did not protect the temporal and occipital at all.parts of the head. But, despite this shortcoming, the English Brodie helmet was adopted by the armies of Canada, the United States of America and Australia.
German version of the helmet
Unlike other countries, Germany until 1916 did not spend money on the production, according to its experts, of low-quality, low-grade helmets. Its gunsmiths in Hannover were engaged in the design of really high-quality products. In 1916, Germany saw the famous Stahihelm helmet, which later became the symbol of the German soldier, as it was used in two world wars.
The German helmet was much superior in comfort and protective qualities to the French and English models. A characteristic design feature in the Stahihelm helmet was the presence of steel horns in the temporal regions. They performed several functions:
- provided cover for helmet vents;
- were fastening a special armored shield that protects the head of a German soldier from direct hits from rifle and machine-gun bullets.
Despite the absence of flaws in design and form, the German version of the helmet did not guarantee the absolute safety of personnel. Although the helmets withstood direct bullet hits, they did not ensure the safety of the soldier's cervical vertebrae. The blows when hitting the helmet had such high energy that the cervical vertebrae were injured. And this, in turn, led to a fatal outcome. To improve thisthe situation was not affected by the fact that the helmet itself calmly withstood the energy of blows during direct hits.
Military Soviet model
For the production of helmets in the USSR alloyed armor steel was used. The Soviet model was called SSH-39 and was a product weighing 1.25 kg. The walls had a thickness of 1.9 mm. The helmet was tested personally by S. M. Budyonny and gave a good result. The Soviet model was able to withstand direct hits from a distance of ten meters from a Nagant revolver bullet.
In 1940, the SSH-39 underwent modernization. Tuleika was equipped with additional belts, nets and linings. SSH-40 - this is the official name of the improved helmet. Subsequent changes and innovations were made in 1954 and 1960. The result was the appearance of new helmets SSH-54 and SSH-60, the changes in which affected only the shells. The design itself has remained unchanged since 1939.
Improved SSH model
Significant revision of the SSH-39 was made in 1968. The form that the helmet had was subject to modernization. The military Russian model now had an increased inclination of the frontal wall of the dome and shortened outward-curved sides. For its manufacture, an armored alloy with greater strength was used. The slope of the frontal wall increased the resistance of the helmet in case of shrapnel hits.
China, North Korea, the Russian Federation, India and Vietnam use a similar helmet design to staff their personnel.
One ofthe most effective military helmets used by the Russian security forces are:
- SSh-68 M designed for internal troops;
- SSh-68 N is used by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Both options have modern tuleys. Despite the fact that these helmets weigh about two kilograms, they meet the first class of resistance, as they are able to withstand direct bullet hits from a Makarov pistol and fragments flying at a speed of 400 m / s, the mass of which does not exceed one gram.
Modern Russian helmet
Shtsh-81 "Sphere" helmet, since 1981, and to this day is used by the internal troops of the Russian Federation.
For the production of its body, a titanium plate 0.3 cm thick was taken. The helmet weighs 2.3 kg and is used only to protect against mechanical injuries. Responds to the second class, since it does not guarantee protection against firearms. The structure of the dome consists of three armored elements, which are contained in special cases.
The “Sphere” helmet has a “Sphere-P” modification, in which titanium armor plates were replaced with steel ones, which significantly increased the weight of the model (3.5 kg). The disadvantage in the design is the lack of its integrity. Traumatic brain injury is possible. Special covers with armored titanium or steel elements wear out quickly. This leads to their displacement and a decrease in the protective qualities of the helmet.
How to make a military helmet?
First of all, you need to acquire the necessarymaterials. The second step is to make a drawing according to which a military helmet will be created. It is not difficult to make it with your own hands. It is better if the helmet will have a spherical shape. This will reduce the destructive energy on impact. A well-made lining will also help absorb it or significantly reduce it.
The basis for a helmet can be a blank made of wood or a children's ball treated with gypsum binders and epoxy resins with a hardener. After the plaster has hardened, the frame is considered ready, and the blank can be removed.
One of the tasks that a helmet performs is to redistribute the impact over its entire area. Therefore, the material for the outer shell must have a high strength and toughness. Polyurethane foam is ideal. Its tensile strength is 5kg/cm2, which makes it very effective at absorbing shock. You can use fiberglass, which is glued in several layers to the surface of the helmet and coated with epoxy. After the resin has hardened, the excess is removed with a spatula, and the remnants of fiberglass are cut off with a knife.
The inside of the helmet should contain foam blocks to increase impact protection. They are attached with glue. It is recommended to do this after careful fitting. It is important that there are no voids in the inside of the helmet, foam blocks should not put pressure on the temporal region.
Blocks in the occipital and frontal parts are glued last. They prevent possible displacement of the helmet from impact. If there are voids in the helmet, they are filled with pieces of polyurethane foam. Before you start pastinginside, mounted with screws and washers special fastening straps.
The final touch will be painting a 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 an automotive nitro primer.
The disadvantages of homemade helmets are the lack of heat transfer and poor sound transmission.
Before you get started, you need to understand that a helmet does not guarantee the safety of the head, it only softens the impact. In addition, the force of impact is essential. The energy generated in this case is approximately 25 J. This is the limit of human endurance, exceeding it threatens with loss of consciousness and more serious consequences.
