Poster on the theme of the Second World War 1941 1945. Posters of the Great Patriotic War
- OVERCOAT: Introduced by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 733 of December 18, 1926. The overcoat is single-breasted from a gray overcoat. Turn-down collar. Clasp hidden on five hooks. Welt pockets without flaps. Sleeves with stitched straight cuffs. At the back, the pleat ends with a slit. The strap is fastened to the posts with two buttons.
The overcoat for command and command staff was introduced by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 005 dated February 1, 1941. The overcoat is double-breasted, with cut-off lengths on the chest. Overcoat clasp with five loops on buttons. Floors with side recesses and two transverse welt pockets covered with flaps. Turn-down collar, with buttonholes sewn on the ends. The collar fastens with a hook and loop. The back in the middle has a counter fold along the entire length. Posts with buttons are sewn along the waist line on the back, on which a strap is fastened. In the middle of the back below the waist there is a slit (vent), fastened with four buttonholes. The sleeves are two-seam, ending with straight cuffs.
№1 -Soldat in the greatcoat of the rank and file; №2 -Sergeants in overcoats, 1945; №3 -Illustration - a single-breasted soldier's overcoat of the Red Army; №4 -Soviet officers in overcoats. In the center is an officer in a private overcoat. Vicinity of Zubtsov, 1942; №5 -Soviet officers in overcoats 1943; №6 -Illustration - double-breasted officer's overcoat of the Red Army.
– WOOL JACKET AND PANTS: The first example of this new type of winter uniform was. The jacket is made of leotard-diagonal melange waterproof impregnation in khaki color. On each side of the jacket there are five through loops and five large uniform buttons. The turn-down collar fastens with a single metal hook and loop. From the side of the lower collar there is a lash (turntable). The jacket has two side oblique welt pockets with straight flaps. There is a stitched yoke on the floors and back. The back is fixed. On the back, at the corners of the coquette to the bottom, two strips of the base material are adjusted along the strike line. Holes are left on the slats at waist level for threading a waist belt. On the side seams, one metal hook is sewn on to support the waist belt. The jacket has double-seam sleeves without cuffs, with a half-tape sewn into the front seam of the sleeve, and fastened with one loop and a large uniform button. The collar, sides, flaps, the top of the pockets, the half-lash of the sleeve, the stitching of the belts and the yoke were sewn at a distance of 0.5 cm from the edge. The bottom of the jacket is folded 2.5 cm.
The next sample was a padded quilted jacket, introduced by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 283 of August 25, 1941. The jacket with a stand-up collar replaced the old padded jacket worn under an overcoat. Now issued either a jacket or an overcoat. The camp of the jacket is straight, quilted on cotton in parallel lines, fastens with five buttons. On the sides of the floor there are stitched pockets sewn into the side seams. There are two side loops at the waist to hold the belt. The sleeves end at the bottom with a small slot and cuffs, fastened with one button with a loop sewn to the end of the outer half of the cuff.
Cotton trousers are also quilted with parallel lines. Fastened with 4 buttons. Belt loops on the waist. Drawstring straps at the bottom of the legs.
№1 -Wadded jackets arr. 1935 on the tankers of 116 Tbr. 1942; №2- Cotton jacket arr. 1942 (photo missing); №3 -Illustration - wadded jackets arr. 1935 and 1942; №4 - Scouts in quilted jackets; №5 -Young mortar man in a padded jacket with a turn-down collar; №6 - Illustration - padded quilted jackets (padded jackets).
- SINGLE SHEETS: Introduced by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 20 of December 23, 1931. The short fur coat is made of tanned sheepskin and is fastened with hooks *. The short fur coat has a long skirt, two vertical welt pockets with leaves and steep reliefs on the back. The turn-down collar of a short fur coat is made of white sheepskin with fur outside and is fastened with one hook and a tab sewn from the inside of the collar.
* Since 1940, the short fur coat was fastened with external loops made of basic leather with cut fur and large light or shaped buttons.
– WINTER MITTENS: Three-toed, textile.
№1 -Soviet officers in sheepskin coats, inspect the German winter boots for guards; №2 -Colonel A.I. Lizyukov is talking to tankers in sheepskin coats. 1941; №3 -Illustration - short fur coats of the Red Army; №4 -Single coat on the commander of the anti-aircraft crew. Stalingrad area; №5 - Major in a fur coat. 1941; №6 -Officers of the 4th Airborne Corps in sheepskin coats, during the Vyazemsky airborne operation, winter 1942
Literature / Documents:
- Types of fabrics used for sewing uniforms of the Red Army (article, composition, color, application). ()
- Rules for wearing uniforms by the personnel of the Red Army of January 15, 1943 (download/open)
- A typical list of clothing property of junior commanding officers and rank and file of the Red Army for summer and winter for peaceful and war time. Introduced by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 005 of February 1, 1941. ()
The Great Patriotic War, which lasted four years, dramatically changed the Red Army, which, after the terrible defeats of 1941, by the spring of 1945, was able to turn the tide of events and win. but soviet soldier not only gained experience, but also changed outwardly. The Warspot special project for the next anniversary of the Victory will help you figure out exactly how the uniform and equipment of the Red Army soldier has changed during the years of the Great Patriotic War.
The interactive image shows two infantrymen of the Red Army: a Red Army soldier on June 22, 1941 and a victorious sergeant on May 9, 1945. Even the photo shows how uniforms and equipment were simplified over time: something turned out to be too expensive to manufacture in wartime, something did not take root, something the soldiers did not like and was removed from supply. And individual items of equipment, on the contrary, were spied on by the enemy or taken as a trophy.
Not everything in the placement of items of equipment in the photo was done according to the charter and instructions: for example, a soldier of 1941 wears a satchel of the 1939 model, and his raincoat is not tucked inside the satchel. The 1945 soldier carries only one magazine bag for his submachine gun, although he was supposed to have two. Nevertheless, in reality, the soldiers of the described periods often looked exactly like that.
To get information about each of the items of equipment of the Red Army, hover over the red markers in the image and click on them. The arrow at the end of the item description will help you quickly return to the main image after reading.
Belt. A soldier's waist belt is the basis for placing equipment and equipment. By 1941, the Red Army was using several types of soldier's belts with a width of 35 or 45 mm. In addition to the width, the material from which they were made also differed: it was leather or braid with leather reinforcements (both types are shown in the photo). All types of soldier's belts were united by one thing - the design of the belt buckle. It was a frame metal single-tooth. When fastening the waist belt, the buckle should be in the left hand.
Aluminum flask, model 1932. Aluminum soldier's flasks have been produced in Russia since the beginning of the 20th century. At first, a rubber or cork stopper was used as a lid, which was used to plug the neck. March 2, 1932 was approved new standard on metal flasks with a capacity of 0.75 and 1.0 liters, which became mandatory from May 2, 1932. Flasks could be made of aluminum, tin or brass. The main difference between the new flasks was that they were closed with a screw cap with a fine thread, which had five turns. After the war, with the resumption of the production of aluminum flasks, the thread became larger, by three turns.
In reality, screw cap aluminum flasks began to be produced in 1937. The main production was in Leningrad, at the Krasny Vyborzhets plant. In the autumn of 1941, with the beginning of the blockade, production was stopped, and again aluminum flasks for the Red Army began to be produced only in 1948. The flask was carried in a special case designed to be worn on the belt. There were several types of cases: a sample of 1937 with a lace on the side, a simplified case of 1937 without lacing, a sample of 1941 - this is exactly the flask shown in the photo.
Cartridge bag. The two-socket ammo belt pouch is sometimes referred to as the 1937 pattern pouch. Unlike earlier samples, which had a box-shaped design, this bag had two separate pockets, fastened with a strap by a peg. By design, the bag resembled the version used in the Wehrmacht, differing in the number of sections: the Germans had three of them. WITH reverse side bags, in addition to straps for threading a waist belt, a quadrangular ring was sewn for the front hooks of the backpack straps. Each infantryman armed with a 7.62-mm Mosin rifle was supposed to have two cartridge belt bags.
Initially, each section of the cartridge bag was designed for 15 cartridges - three clips or one cardboard pack. Later, the wearable ammunition load was increased: they began to put another clip with bullets up, but it was inconvenient to remove it. If the ammunition was issued in paper packs, then one pack and ten cartridges in bulk were placed in each pocket of the bag. A cartridge bag was made of leather, but since February 1941 it was allowed to manufacture the main compartments of the bag from tarpaulin. Production continued throughout the war and for some time after it.
Steel helmet of the 1936 model (SSh-36). The first Soviet steel helmet, designated SSH-36, was created at the end of 1935. It was produced from 1936 to 1939 and since its inception has undergone several changes to the underbody device and how it is attached. Production unfolded with problems and a strong lag behind the plan, in addition, the SSH-36 revealed shortcomings that gave impetus to further work to improve the shape of the helmet and search for a new alloy.
In total, about two million SSH-36 helmets were produced. These helmets were used by the soldiers of the Red Army in Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, a certain amount was sent to Republican Spain, all infantrymen had them during the Polish campaign, they were massively worn in the Soviet-Finnish war. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the SSH-36 was in the army in large numbers and was one of the main types of helmet. Separate samples can also be seen in the photographs of 1945: many SSH-36s were preserved on Far East at the start of the war with Japan.
Knapsack model 1939. To replace the duffel bag in 1936, a knapsack, structurally similar to the German one, was adopted for the supply of the Red Army. However, military operation revealed some inconvenience in its use, so by the end of 1939 a new knapsack appeared. In front, he had hooks for hooking on cartridge bags, for which a metal quadrangular ring was sewn onto the latter. For fastening to the waist belt when carrying on the back of a soldier, a strap with a hook was provided at the bottom of the satchel. In addition, there were two more straps that went from the straps to the bottom of the pack, one of which could be quickly dropped. With the help of these belts, the satchel was adjusted in height.
Linen, a towel, spare footcloths, hygiene and clothing repair items, a bowler hat with a mug and a spoon, gun accessories, and a set of products were carried in the knapsack. A cape-tent and accessories to it were attached from below, and an overcoat roll was attached around the perimeter of the knapsack. In the stowed position, a helmet was also fixed on the knapsack. On January 31, 1941, by order of the NPO of the USSR, along with a grocery bag for infantrymen, a lightweight satchel of the 1941 model was introduced, which was a revised version of the 1939 satchel. By June 22, the troops could see the knapsacks of all the listed samples, as well as the duffel bag of the 1930 model.
Kettle of 1936 model. This name is not official, according to the date of acceptance for the supply of a new set of equipment for an infantryman of the Red Army in 1936. There are many other names: oval, flat, etc. The bowler hat was made by stamping from aluminum sheet with a steel wire handle at the Krasny Vyborzhets plant in Leningrad. The design was borrowed almost unchanged from a similar German kettle, but the Soviet-style lid was slightly higher and had a different number of rivets securing the lid handle.
The pot itself was intended for the first dish, the second was given out in the lid. In the assembled position, the lid was held on the pot by a folding bar with a hook, which served as a handle when eating. Such a bowler hat was used in the Red Army along with earlier models, gradually replacing them by the beginning of the war. At the end of 1941, production was stopped due to the blockade of Leningrad and the shortage of aluminum, resuming with minor differences only after the war.
Boots with windings. For the first time, boots with windings appeared in the Russian Imperial Army due to the crisis with shoes at the beginning of 1915, when an acute shortage of boots was discovered. Cloth-wrapped boots were best for the mass army, as they required less leather to make and were cheaper. Having passed civil war, boots with windings ended up in the Red Army, where they were used in infantry units along with boots. In the technical units, cavalrymen, tankmen, only boots relied.
Windings of black, gray or green protective color were a cloth tape, usually 10 centimeters wide and about 2.5 meters long. The end of the winding was folded and stitched in the form of a triangle, at the top of which a cord or braid was sewn. Winding windings required a certain skill - as, indeed, wrapping a foot in a footcloth. The windings were stored rolled up in a roll, while the lace was inside. The soldier wound the winding from the bottom up; the first turns were made the tightest and covered the upper part of the boot, the last ones almost reached the knee. The lace was tied at the top, hidden under the top coil and did not allow the winding to unwind. Boots with windings walked on the feet of the infantry until the victorious 1945.
7.62 mm rifle model 1891/30 Mosin systems. This magazine five-shot rifle chambered for 7.62 × 54 mm was adopted by the Russian Imperial Army on April 16, 1891. The design was based on the development of Captain S. I. Mosin with changes and additions borrowed from the Belgian Nagant rifle, as well as improvements on the proposals of members of the commission responsible for choosing a rifle for the army, and other officers. The rifle turned out to be very successful and fought through the Russo-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars.
In 1930, structural changes were made to the design. The receiver, sights and bayonet mount have changed. Changes were not introduced immediately, and the rifle of the 1891/30 model acquired its final form only in 1935–1936. Other changes were also tested: for example, a new bladed bayonet instead of a needle bayonet or replacing the wood used for the production of the stock and butt with other materials.
Despite the Simonov ABC-36 automatic rifle adopted by the Red Army in 1936, and then the Tokarev SVT-38 and SVT-40 self-loading rifles, the simpler and cheaper Mosin rifle remained the main small arms weapon of the Red Army infantry in 1941 and later. After the outbreak of the war, its production remained at high level until 1945, with the constant introduction of various kinds of simplifications into the design.
Soldier's tunic, model 1935. It was accepted for supply in the Red Army to replace the earlier tunic of the 1931 model. It was made of cotton melange fabric, fastened with buttons hidden under the placket. There are two pockets on the chest, elbow pads from an additional layer of fabric on the elbows. The gymnast had a turn-down collar, on which buttonholes with piping were sewn according to the type of troops. The Red Army infantrymen had a crimson buttonhole field, a black edging. The emblem of the branch of service, introduced in July 1940, was attached to the upper part of the buttonhole - a target with crossed rifles.
By a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 18, 1941, protective buttonholes were introduced for the personnel of the Red Army for wartime, and on August 1, 1941, by order of the NPO, protective emblems and insignia were introduced. The same order canceled the wearing of colored buttonholes at the front and in marching units, however, for a long time at the front, regular infantry units were with colored buttonholes and insignia that unmasked the Red Army.
Adopted for the supply of the Red Army by the same order as the tunic of 1935, bloomers remained unchanged throughout the Great Patriotic War. They were high-waisted breeches, well-fitting at the waist, loose at the top and tightly fitting the calves.
Small infantry shovel. For digging in, the soldier relied on the MPL-50 small infantry shovel (the total length of the shovel was 50 cm; during sapper work and construction, it was also used as a measuring tool). By 1941, the Red Army used both pre-revolutionary shovels with a straight cutting edge, and Soviet ones, in which the front part had a pointed end to facilitate digging in, and the blade itself was pentagonal.
Structurally, the shovel consisted of a tray (blade), which had bent upper edges, steps, a front cord (continuation of the tray), an overlay with a rear cord, a crimp ring and a wooden handle. The lining with the rear cord was riveted to the tray with five rivets, after which the handle was inserted between the cords, tightened with a crimp ring, and then the cords were riveted together with the handle with flush rivets, one of which passed through the crimp ring. The shovel was carried in a case on the waist belt, for which loops were made on the case. They used either leather covers from pre-revolutionary stocks, or cloth, tarpaulin or canvas.
Spare ammo bag. The fighter's wearable ammunition was located not only in the waist cartridge bags - a spare was also intended for this. Structurally, it was a quadrangular bag made of harsh canvas with a flap-lid and long loops for hanging on a waist belt. It was closed with a button or a wooden toggle, and to protect against accidental unfastening, an additional loop of leather or rope was sewn on.
A spare cartridge bag was worn on a belt and worn with the left waist cartridge bag. Visually, it hung below the main one, which is where the name, common in modern use for all products intended for carrying equipment and equipment on a belt or tactical vest, came from - “pouch”. Cartridges were carried in a spare bag in packs or clips. It contained two cardboard (30 rounds) or three paper (60 rounds) packs or eight clips in two rows (40 rounds), two of which were stacked with bullets up. In combat conditions, cartridges in a spare bag were often carried in bulk.
Pomegranate bag.
Two old grenades of the 1914/30 model or two RGD-33 (pictured) were placed in the bag, which were stacked with the handles up. The detonators lay in paper or rags. Also, four F-1 “lemons” could fit in pairs in a bag, and they were located in a peculiar way: on each grenade, the ignition socket was closed with a special screw plug made of wood or Bakelite, while one grenade was placed with the cork down, and the second up. With the adoption of new types of grenades during the war by the Red Army, putting them in a bag was similar to the F-1 grenades. The grenade bag served without significant changes from 1941 to 1945.
Grocery bag. It was accepted for the supply of the Red Army by order of the NPO of the USSR on January 31, 1941, was part of the items of full and lightweight marching equipment for infantry fighters. The bag was intended for storing and carrying in the field a bowler hat with bread or crackers in it, emergency food supplies (concentrates or dry rations), mugs and spoons. If necessary, an additional supply of cartridges could fit into it.
It was an oblong bag with a lid-valve. The outer corners of the side walls were rounded, with ribbon ties sewn on top of them. Worn on a waist belt at the back, in the center of the back. For carrying on the belt, loops were sewn on the reverse side. The bag was closed with two straps through special buckles. It was made of waterproof impregnated tent fabric lined with harsh canvas. Relatively few grocery bags got into the troops: the item of equipment is typical for infantry fighters of 1941, it is found in photographs of 1942.
Gas mask bag model 1936. A mandatory piece of equipment for each fighter was a gas mask carried in a special bag. By 1941, the supply of the Red Army had several types of gas masks and filters for them. The photo shows a gas mask bag of the 1936 model, in which a mask, filter, hose, anti-salt cape, accessories for processing clothing, weapons and skin after a chemical attack were placed.
The bag was made of canvas or tarpaulin, it had three compartments inside and two pockets outside. At the back of the bag was a braided cord with a carabiner and a ring for fastening around the body in the “ready” position. In the stowed position, the cord was folded, and was worn inside the bag with the reservation "to have anti-chemical protection equipment at the ready in reconnaissance and in combat - always, and on the march and when resting - by order."
A gas mask bag was worn over the right shoulder on the left side, over the overcoat and the rest of the uniform. When using the Ghillie Suit, the bag was hidden underneath. The upper edge of the bag was supposed to be at the level of the belt - the height was adjusted due to the length of the belt. Gas mask bags of the 1936 model were sewn, according to a number of sources, until 1944.
Shoulder strap. It was part of the lightweight camping equipment, but was worn constantly along with full camping equipment. The main purpose is to distribute the weight of the equipment placed on the waist belt on the shoulders of the fighter and prevent it from slipping or warping. Partially, this problem was solved by wearing a knapsack of the 1936, 1939 or 1941 model, where hooks for the belt and cartridge bags were provided, but the soldiers did not always go with knapsacks.
Structurally, the shoulder strap is a Y-shaped webbing design, through the loops of which a waist belt was threaded. The strap was used only for initial stage Great Patriotic War, despite all its obvious benefits. Moreover, not some photographs show that German soldiers also used trophy straps. The Soviet soldiers, instead of using the straps, began to tighten the waist belt more tightly, which only partly saved them from warping and slipping of the equipment. In many ways, this is why they went on the attack lightly, stuffing grenades and ammunition into their pockets and duffel bag.
Steel helmet SSH-40. Modernization of the SSH-39 helmet, accepted for supply to the Red Army in June 1939. In the design of the SSH-39, the shortcomings of the previous SSH-36 were eliminated, however, the operation of the SSH-39 during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 revealed a significant drawback: it was impossible to wear a winter hat under it, and a regular woolen balaclava did not save from severe frosts. Therefore, soldiers often broke out the SSH-39 under-the-shoulder device and wore a helmet over a hat without it.
As a result, in the new SSH-40 helmet, the under-shoulder device was significantly different from the SSH-39, although the shape of the dome remained unchanged. Visually, the SSH-40 can be distinguished by six rivets around the circumference in the lower part of the helmet dome, while the SSH-39 has three rivets, and they are located at the top. The SSH-40 used a three-petal under-body device, to which shock absorber bags stuffed with technical cotton were sewn on the reverse side. The petals were pulled together with a cord, which made it possible to adjust the depth of the helmet on the head.
The production of SSH-40 began to be deployed at the beginning of 1941 in Lysva in the Urals, and a little later in Stalingrad at the Krasny Oktyabr plant, but by June 22 the troops had only a small number of these helmets. By the autumn of 1942, helmets of this type were made only in Lysva. Gradually, the SSH-40 became the main type of helmet of the Red Army. It was produced in large quantities after the war and was withdrawn from service relatively recently.
Belt. Due to the fact that leather was expensive to process and often required for the manufacture of more durable and responsible items of equipment, by the end of the war, a braid waist belt reinforced with leather or split leather elements became more common. This type of belt appeared before 1941 and was used until the end of the war.
Many leather waist belts, differing in detail, came from Lend-Lease allies. The American belt shown in the photo, 45 mm wide, had a single-pronged buckle, like the Soviet counterparts, but it was not made of wire that was round in cross section, but was cast or stamped, with clear corners.
The Red Army soldiers also used captured German belts, in which, because of the pattern with an eagle and a swastika, they had to modify the buckle. Most often, these attributes were simply ground off, but if there was free time, the silhouette of a five-pointed star cut through the buckle. The photo shows another version of the alteration: a hole was punched in the center of the buckle, into which a star from a Red Army cap or cap was inserted.
Glass flask. Glass flasks were widely used in many armies of the world. The Russian Imperial Army was no exception, from which this type of flask was inherited by the Red Army. While the tin or aluminum canteens produced in parallel were more practical, the cheap glass containers were good for the mass draft army.
In the Red Army, they tried to replace glass flasks with aluminum ones, but they did not forget about glass either: on December 26, 1931, another standard was approved for the manufacture of such flasks with a nominal volume of 0.75 and 1.0 liters. With the beginning of the war, glass flasks became the main ones: the shortage of aluminum and the blockade of Leningrad, where most aluminum flasks were produced, affected.
The flask was closed with a rubber or wooden stopper with a twine tied around the neck. Several types of cases were used for carrying, and almost all of them provided for wearing a flask on a belt over the shoulder. Structurally, such a cover was a simple bag made of fabric with rope ties at the neck. There were options for covers with soft inserts to protect the flask during impacts - these were used in the Airborne Forces. A glass flask could also be carried in a belt case, adopted for aluminum flasks.
Bag for box magazines. With the advent of box magazines for the Shpagin submachine gun and with the development of the Sudayev submachine gun with similar magazines, a need arose for a bag to carry them. A bag for magazines of a German submachine gun was used as a prototype. The bag contained three stores, each of which was designed for 35 rounds. Each PPS-43 was supposed to have two such bags, but wartime photographs show that submachine gunners often wore only one. This was due to a certain shortage of stores: in combat conditions, they were consumables and were easily lost.
A bag was sewn from canvas or tarpaulin and, unlike the German one, was greatly simplified. The valve was fastened with pegs or wooden toggles, there were options with buttons. On the back of the bag were sewn loops for threading a waist belt. Bags were worn on a belt in front, which provided quick access to equipped stores and stacking empty ones back. Laying stores up or down the neck was not regulated.
Duffel bag. This item of equipment, nicknamed "sidor" by the soldiers, was a simple bag with a strap and a rope neck tie. It first appeared in the tsarist army in 1869 and ended up in the Red Army without significant changes. In 1930, a new standard was adopted that determined the look of the duffel bag - in accordance with it, it was now called the "Turkestan type duffel bag", or the duffel bag of the 1930 model.
The duffel bag had only one compartment, the top of which could be pulled with a rope. A shoulder strap was sewn to the bottom of the bag, on which two jumpers were put on for fastening on the chest. On the other side of the shoulder strap, three rope loops were sewn to adjust the length. A wooden toggle was sewn to the corner of the bag, for which the loop of the shoulder strap clung. The shoulder strap was folded into a "cow" knot, into the center of which the neck of the bag was threaded, after which the knot was tightened. In this form, the bag was put on and carried behind the back of the fighter.
In 1941, there was a change in the appearance of the duffel bag of the 1930 model: it became slightly smaller, the shoulder strap became narrower and received an inner lining on the shoulders, which required its stitching. In 1942, a new simplification followed: the lining in the shoulder strap was abandoned, but the strap itself was made wider. In this form, the duffel bag was produced until the end of the 40s. Due to the ease of manufacture, the duffel bag became the main means for carrying the personal belongings of the soldiers of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.
Yuft boots. Initially, boots were the only footwear of the Russian soldier: boots with windings were accepted for supply only at the beginning of 1915, when the army sharply increased in numbers and boots were no longer enough. Soldier's boots were made of yuft and in the Red Army were supplied to all branches of the military.
In the mid-1930s, tarpaulin was invented in the USSR - a material with a fabric base, on which artificial butadiene was applied - sodium rubber with an imitation of leather texture. With the beginning of the war, the problem of supplying the mobilized army with shoes became acute, and the “damn skin” came in handy - the boots of the Red Army soldier became tarpaulin. By 1945, the typical Soviet infantryman was shod in kirzachi or boots with windings, but experienced soldiers sought to get leather boots for themselves. The photo on the infantryman shows yuft boots, with leather soles and leather heels.
The pot is round. A bowler hat of a similar round shape was used in the army Russian Empire, made of copper, brass, tin plate, and later aluminum. In 1927, in Leningrad, at the Krasny Vyborzhets plant, mass production of round stamped aluminum bowlers for the Red Army was launched, but in 1936 they were replaced by a new flat bowler hat.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, in the fall of 1941, the manufacture of round bowlers was again established in Lysva in the Urals, but from steel instead of scarce aluminum. The return to the round shape was also understandable: such a bowler hat was easier to manufacture. The Lysvensky plant has done a great job, significantly reducing the cost of production. By 1945, the total production of round army bowlers amounted to more than 20 million pieces - they became the most massive in the Red Army. Production continued after the war.
Submachine gun Sudayev model 1943 (PPS-43). Many experts consider it the best submachine gun of the Great Patriotic War. The PPS combined ease of manufacture and maintenance, as well as non-failure operation in comparison with other samples. When developing the PPP, it was taken into account that mass weapon should be carried out, including at non-core enterprises with not the best machine equipment. The PPS parts that required complex machining were only the bolt and barrel, everything else was made by stamping, bending, riveting and welding.
PPS was equipped with a box magazine for 35 rounds of 7.62 × 25 mm. Having a folding butt and a curb weight of just over 3.5 kg, he was very fond of soldiers, especially tankmen, paratroopers and scouts. The production of the first batches of PPS-42 was launched in 1942 in Moscow, then in besieged Leningrad. In 1943, following the results of military tests and the deployment of production, a number of changes were made to the design. The resulting sample was adopted as the Sudayev submachine gun of the 1943 model, or PPS-43. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, it was produced in many countries, both the Warsaw Pact and in Finland, Germany and Spain.
Soldier's gymnast, model 1943. was introduced by order People's Commissar Defense of the USSR dated January 15, 1943 instead of the gymnast of the 1935 model. The main differences were in a soft standing collar instead of a turn-down. The collar was fastened with two small uniform buttons. The front placket was open and fastened with three buttons through through loops.
Attached shoulder straps were placed on the shoulders, for which belt loops were sewn. The soldier's tunic had no pockets in wartime, they were introduced later. On the shoulders in combat conditions they wore pentagonal field epaulettes. For infantry, the epaulette field was green, the piping along the edge of the epaulette was crimson. Lychki Jr. commanders sewn at the top of the shoulder strap.
Pomegranate bag. Each infantryman carried hand grenades, which were regularly carried in a special bag on the waist belt. The bag was located on the left rear, after the cartridge bag and in front of the grocery bag. It was a quadrangular fabric bag with three compartments. Grenades were placed in two large ones, and detonators for them were placed in the third, small one. The grenades were brought into combat position immediately before use. The material of the bag could be tarpaulin, canvas or tent fabric. The bag was closed with a button or wooden toggle.
Two old grenades of the 1914/30 model or two RGD-33 grenades were placed in the bag, which were stacked with the handles up. The detonators lay in paper or rags. Also, four F-1 "lemons" could fit in pairs in a bag, and they were located in a peculiar way: on each grenade, the ignition nest was closed with a special screw plug made of wood or Bakelite, while one grenade was placed with the cork down, and the second up (grenades with a screwed fuse , as in the photo, of course, they did not put it in the bag). With the adoption of new types of grenades during the war by the Red Army, putting them in a bag was similar to the F-1 grenades. The grenade bag served without significant changes from 1941 to 1945.
Small infantry shovel. During the war, the MPL-50 small infantry shovel underwent a number of changes aimed at simplifying production. At first, the design of the tray and the shovel as a whole remained unchanged, but the fastening of the lining with the rear cord began to be made by electric spot welding instead of rivets, a little later they abandoned the crimp ring, continuing to fasten the handle between the cords with rivets.
In 1943, an even more simplified version of the MPL-50 appeared: the shovel became one-piece stamped. It abandoned the lining with the rear cord, and the shape of the upper part of the front cord became even (before it was triangular). Moreover, now the front strand began to twist, forming a tube, fastened with a rivet or welding. The handle was inserted into this tube, tightly hammered until wedging with a shovel tray, after which it was fixed with a screw. The photo shows a shovel of intermediate series - with strands, without a ferrule, with fixing the lining by spot welding.
Gas mask bag model 1939. By 1945, no one removed the gas mask from the supply of the soldiers of the Red Army. However, four years of the war passed without chemical attacks, and the soldiers tried to get rid of the "unnecessary" piece of equipment by handing it over to the wagon train. Often, despite the constant control of the command, gas masks were simply thrown away, and personal belongings were carried in gas mask bags.
During the war, soldiers of even one unit could have different bags and different types of gas masks. The photo shows a gas mask bag of the 1939 model, issued in December 1941. The bag, made of tent fabric, closed with a button. It was much easier to make than the 1936 bag.
Scout knife NR-40. The reconnaissance knife of the 1940 model was adopted by the Red Army following the results of the Soviet-Finnish war, when there was a need for a simple and convenient army combat knife. Soon, the production of these knives was launched by the Trud artel in the village of Vacha (Gorky Region) and at the Zlatoust Tool Plant in the Urals. Later, HP-40s were also manufactured at other enterprises, including those in besieged Leningrad. Despite a single drawing, HP-40s from different manufacturers differ in details.
At the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War, only scouts were armed with HP-40 knives. For the infantry, they were not authorized weapons, but the closer to 1945, the more and more knives can be seen in photographs of ordinary submachine gunners. Production of the HP-40 continued after the war, both in the USSR and in the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact.
Soldier's trousers of the 1935 model. Accepted for supply to the Red Army by the same order as the tunic of 1935, bloomers remained unchanged throughout the Great Patriotic War. They were high-waisted breeches, well-fitting at the waist, loose at the top and tightly fitting the calves.
Drawstrings were sewn on the bottom of the trousers. There were two deep pockets on the sides of the trousers, and another pocket with a flap fastened with a button was located in the back. At the belt, next to the codpiece, was a small pocket for a death medallion. Pentagonal reinforcement pads were sewn on the knees. Loops for a trouser belt were provided on the belt, although the ability to adjust the volume was also provided with the help of a strap with a buckle in the back. Bloomers were made from a special double "harem" diagonal and were quite durable.
