Article The cold war - Soviet Army

[Иван Феоктистов]

Next comes the small infantry (also called the small sapper) shovel MPL-50. 50 is not the year of creation, but its length. The MPL appeared before the war, I personally have a 1945 spade. Very excellent steel that can be mined, chopped or peeled for oranges. The case with oranges is taken from life, in the new year 2020. The shovel was worn in a canvas case.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

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[Иван Феоктистов]

Legendary Soviet flask. To be honest, I just hate these flasks. Soviet flasks were made of food grade aluminum, and when you open the lid, the aluminum of the lid scratches the neck of the flask and this fine aluminum dust gives off unpleasant bitterness. Disgusting. I don't know why they are still in the army. Already in the 1960s there was a very good example of an East German flask - a plastic case, a cup lid... Beauty! The Soviet aluminum flask was stained green. The lid was attached with a chain. The flask was worn on a belt in a canvas pouch.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

I read my text again. It seems that I did not see any mistakes ... But if my words are not clear - write. It's very difficult to translate something like that, damn it

What's next? Cloak tent. Well, there is not much to say. I think I even wrote about it above when I discussed watchmaking in the 1960s. A raincoat-tent appeared during the war years; in fact, it is a large piece of tarpaulin that can shelter a soldier from the rain, and also serve as a blanket or dastarkhan. The soldier's cape-tent had only one cutout for the arm, the officer's had two. The officer's raincoat-tent had a special carrying strap - the soldiers did not wear the soldiers' unloading system.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Combined arms protective kit - OZK. Oh, this is truly a legendary thing!) The OZK appeared in the 1960s, under Khrushchev, and is still in service with the Russian army. This is one of the best isolation suits for soldiers in the world. I dealt with foreign costumes - almost all of them gave the impression of thin rags. And OZK ... Wow! OZK is put on quite quickly and in three positions - in the form of a cape, in the form of a raincoat and in the form of a jumpsuit. I will attach an interesting movie about this costume.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

The OZK consisted of a cloak, stockings and gloves. The cloak was folded into a cloth "kerchief" and fastened on the shoulders. It was enough to pull the rope and he would bloom, protecting the soldier. Stockings and gloves were on the side. To protect against radioactive dust in the 1960s, by the way, only stockings and gloves could be used. It looked incredibly epic. Especially for the OZK there was a protective liner, which was worn in a gas mask bag.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

For officers, there was a special protective suit called L-1. In Russian, with a fast pronunciation, a play on words arises and the name of the costume becomes similar to the name "Aladdin". His problem is the inability to put it on quickly. That is why the L-1 was supposed to be used before entering the lesion focus.

L-1 were often supplied to the Civil Defense. I am now at a loss to find a photo of the officers in L-1, so I will attach a photo from the Civil Defense exercise. I hope you will understand and forgive me, friends.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Safety glasses "OF" and "OPF". These are photochromic glasses called "chameleons". They have an amazing ability to darken with a bright flash. Then they returned to their original state. In contrast to the black goggles, it was possible to carry on the battle calmly in them without experiencing difficulties. I will attach some photos and videos.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

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[Иван Феоктистов]

Okay. Small break. In the meantime, keep another great song from the Alexandrov Ensemble. This is a very beautiful song "City of Rostov on Don". It is performed by Ivan Bukreev, already well-known to you (if, of course, you watched the recordings of the Ensemble's performances, which I published earlier).

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[Иван Феоктистов]

Note about Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). First, understand a little fact. It raises questions among foreigners. In the Soviet and Russian classification, a gas mask consists of a rubber mask, a filter and a bag (on average). This is called a gas mask kit. Only one rubber mask is NOT ANTI-GAS. Now to the point.

In the early 1960s, the MO-4 and MO-4U gas masks were replaced by the RSh-4 gas mask. The RSh-4 gas mask set consisted of a ShM-41MU rubber mask (it is now massively copied by the Chinese on Aliexpress), an EO-16 filter, a connecting tube and a bag. There was also an insulating pad on the gas mask valve box and insulating pads on the glass. The bag was two-piece, under the filter were wooden blocks so as not to obstruct breathing. Radio operators, vehicle commanders and officers had MM-1 and ShMS rubber masks. They had a speaker and a different arrangement of the spectacle assembly. The ShMS mask made it possible to work with optical sights and binoculars.

The first photo is a set of a gas mask with a ShM-41MU mask. The second one is with a ShMS mask. The third is with the MM-1 mask.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

In 1963, the PMG-1 aka "Nerekhta" gas mask was adopted. PMG means "Small size gas mask". Indeed, this gas mask was more compact in comparison with the RSh-4 gas mask. The "Nerekhta" gas mask set consists of a ShMG mask, an EO-18K filter and a canvas bag. The bag also contains a comforter for the OZK set and an anti-dust respirator R-2.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

In 1975, the PMG-2 gas mask began to enter the army. It consisted of a rubber mask ShM-66MU (the same as in civilian gas masks GP-5M) and an EO-62 filter. The abbreviation "EO" meant "United Combined Arms" - remember the RSh-4 and PMG-1 gas masks. The PMG-2 gas mask had a bag similar to the PMG-1 bag, it was also made of tarpaulin.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

"ShR-2". Helmet of the wounded in the head. It was a special rubber mask to protect soldiers with head injuries. They were actively supplied to both the army and the civil defense. These gas masks could have various filters - EO-16, EO-18, and so on.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Finally, I'll tell you about the PBF gas mask. Filtering gas mask without box. The PBF gas mask consisted of a ShMB mask and filter elements (not filter boxes!) EO-19. This is a special gas mask, around which there are a lot of legends. According to one of them, Soviet generals saw American soldiers in Vietnam and wanted the same gas mask. According to another, they began to do it when they learned that the Americans had anti-tank shells with toxic substances. Such gas masks were issued to crews of armored vehicles, tankers. Since many such gas masks were made, the paratroopers also received them. True, this gas mask was bad for the paratroopers - it was very difficult to keep track of where you were landing with a parachute. PBF gas masks were actively supplied to the countries of the Warsaw bloc, especially in the GDR.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

I think you are very familiar with this photo session, where German border guards are watching the dispersal of a demonstration in West Berlin.