Hełm Wz. 50

The Wz50 () is a steel combat helmet produced in Poland from 1950 to 1955. During the Cold War, these helmets would be widely exported to a number of Arab countries for its low price.

Design

After 1945, production of helmets wz. 31/50 (using pre-war resources) was not sufficient for the expanding Polish People's Army. In 1950, it was decided to launch the production of a new domestic helmet based on soviet pattern. The shell is another Warsaw Pact copy of the Soviet SSh-40 design, along with the Czech M53 and Hungarian M70.

It was the first mass-produced helmet design developed in Poland after World War II. Its prototype was the Soviet helmet Sch-40. This product had the following dimensions: height 166 mm, length 271 mm, width 248 mm. It was pressed from 1.4 mm thick special steel sheet. Its weight did not exceed 1200 g. The internal fittings were based on the Italian helmet M33. Its most important part was a springy hoop, to which the leather elements of the internal fittings and the lining were attached. The helmet's shell was painted smoothly with semi-matt varnish. The land forces used khaki helmets, the air forces used blue-gray helmets, and the Internal Military Service used white helmets. The helmet was tested by firing a 7.62 mm TT pistol or a 7.62 mm AK rifle from a distance of 3 m. The dimensions, rivet holes, the distance from the line connecting the centers of the rivet holes to the lower edge of the shell, and the materials from which it was made were also checked. If even one shell was found to be defective, the entire batch was returned to the plant for sorting and correction. The production of combat helmets was limited by the throughput of the annealing furnace used for thermal processing of the shells.

In 1955, the production of helmets wz. 50 was discontinued. A total of 533,910 pieces were produced in the years 1950–1955.

Early pre-production helmets by a double riveted chinstrap and cow skin leather liner. All models of helmet would include a maker and manufacture stamp. Starting in 1962 branch specific stenciled insignia would be applied to the front. A variant for use by the civil defense was developed which featured a prominent crest on top and insignia on the side with its respective city.

Users

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* : Replaced by the M80.
* : Captured by the Israeli Army.
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* : Replaced in 1967 by the wz. 67 helmet.
* Syria

References

Bibliography

* Kijak, Jacek (1993) ''Hełmy Wojska Polskiego 1917–1991'', Warszawa: Bellona, ISBN 83-11-07997-8.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hełm wz. 50
Combat helmets of Poland
Military equipment introduced in the 1950s
Combat helmets of Iraq
Combat helmets of Vietnam