RichieC

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A small sample of 1930s and pre-1944 Bulgarian "schtuff"... IMAGE 1: Copied with permission from my friend in Bulgaria. Great shot of a Bulgarian NCO in training I assume. IMAGE 2: Lt Col of Mountain Artillery Unit... IMAGE 3: Parade Tunic for Lt Col of Infantry. It is a VERY small size (it would not fit on my small display torso!). IMAGE 4 & 5: Perhaps my favourite Bulgarian piece... Cape of a Lt of Infantry and detail of it's collar. Image 6: Infantry Lt lightweight summer tunic. The stand up collar I thing is pretty darn sharp looking... IMAGE 7: Medical Second Lt. This is constructed from lightweight wool gabardine... IMAGE 8: Royal Bulgarian Officer Cadet CDV and his buckle, circa 1880s/90s. IMAGE 9: Lt of an assault gun/anti tank unit. I believe that yellow piped boards and collar are distinctive to such uniforms worn only by unit personnel of Sturmgeshutz given to Boris' army by their German "ally".

No problems... I will wait with patience for your post. Richie C

By the way RLB, I admit publicly that I am "in love" with your Pilotka... I do not have such an exquisite example. Please, show more of your items... Richie C

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Here are few examples of Soviet lids from my collection: IMAGES 1-7: Model 1936/SSH-36 with "FAT STAR" frontal application and second type liner. The first type was similar to the leather, German M35 liner. However, it did not hold up very well in the field. It is a rare occasion in any case, to find a M36 with its's original first type of liner as early-on, most were torn out so the helmet could be worn over the M40 Ushanka, or "Finka" cap during the harsh Finnish winters of 1939-40. IMAGES 8-11: Model 1936/SSH-36 with "THIN STAR" & Hammer & Sickle frontal application with the second type liner. IMAGES 12-16: Model 1939/SSH-39 with Star/Hammer & Sickle frontal application. This example retains the type of liner which is similar to the SSH-36 second type liner. As with the SSH-36 first type of liner, the M39's first type of liner did not hold up very well. Again, it was the fingered type, but constructed of flimsy oilcloth. I will try and dig up an un-copyrighted photo of the first type of liner. Surprisingly, there is no photo of this type shown in the Clawson book. As far as painted stars are concerned; stars of any type were phased out until well after 1945. I posess limited retained knowledge of helmets from this period on. IMAGES 17-22: Model 1916 Izhora. These were used by Imperial troops during WWI and by the Soviets during the 20s & 30s along with the Russian Adrian (I do not have any of these because most out there for sale are FAKE). This particular example displays attributes of both the Izhora and Finnish "Sohlberg" (M-17) models. The shell with small rivets is of Russian design, and the vent cap and liner are of Finnish. Get the Clawson book I mentioned in an earlier post and READ UP... IMAGE23: 1930s era SHVARTZ Experimental, AKA the "X36". These were never mass produced or used in combat. A cache of them were discovered in a St Petersburg industrial facility's storage bunker in the late 90s. Lt Aleksandr Abramovich Shvartz also designed the VERY rare Model 28 which I do not own an example of. Also, Lt Shvartz was one of the many who needlessly perished in Uncle Joe Stalin's paranoia induced purges of the late 1930s... I do not own this helmet any longer. I traded it for an adornment that my lovely wife now wears on one of her dainty little fingers... In any case, I feel that my fond memories of this rare prototype "Kaska" are worth posting here... I also have a Model 1940/SSH-40 that I can not seem to locate the photos of. I will post them at a latter date... Richie C

This is a highly comprehensive book about Soviet helmets. It is readily available on efake and Amazon for under $35.00 US. It was written by Robert W Clawson. I recommend it highly...

Thanks for all the replies. If at all possible, I would love to see a scans of 1943 or even December 1942 dated docs or photos... Kindest regards, Richie C

Does anyone here on the forum know and/or have documentation on which date this medal was first actually issued? I have read that it was instituted on 22 December 1942, but was "told" that it was not issued until 1944. Richie C

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Here are four photographs from my collection. The first, which is the most prized in the collection, I have identified as Konstantin Stepanovitch Alexeev, 1914-1970. He was an amazing man. I would love to know the identities of the following three men. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance. Richie C