[1] Its large front rim and wide flares over the ears provided good protection for the wearer.

The wide brim was said to create wind resistance while running and made it difficult for a soldier to move , and the large visor was said to reduce visibility.

It was for these and other reasons that work began in 1939 on the next helmet, which was later named the SSh-39 and the SSh-40, [3] both the 39 and 40 were practically the same, but had minor differences in the liner.

Beginning in 1940, the Red Army began gradually attempted to stop issuing any more SSh-36s, but the beginning of the Soviet Unions Involvement in The Second World War postponed this replacement, as a result of which the SSh-36 was issued alongside the SSh-40 by Soviet soldiers until about 1943.

Due to the unreliability of these early liners, later variations were introduced with cloth linings.