Original Item: Only One Available. The Soviet ZSh-3M was issued in the early 1960s, it is based on a internal leather helmet and an external, rigid aluminum shell. The shell is padded and has a notch to mate with the single ridge of the leather helmet to hold both in place. The KM-32 oxygen mask is held in place by adjustable straps, a metal bracket on top, and a press stud at the bottom. A throat microphone is worn with this specimen. Produced in different versions, it was used on almost all Soviet aircraft and helicopters of the era. The ZSh-3M uses an occipital bladder which fits against the back of the head of the pilot, pressurized by the oxygen mask system. This system tightens the pilot’s face against the oxygen mask automatically as the “G” force increases.
The ShZ/ShL-61 was used in just about everything from 1961 onwards, in various combinations. Combined with the ZSh-3 hard shell, it was the primary fast jet helmet for many years, beginning around the MiG-21 era. Also, it would have been used with the hard shell in the older aircraft that preceded the helmet, eg. the MiG-17, MiG-19 and the corresponding Sukhois.
This is an excellent example of both the ZSh-3M and ShZ/ShL-61 with KM-32 oxygen mask.