Soviet North Vietnamese Army Helmet with Net 1966

Many NVA became friendly fire casualties due to wearing helmets without camouflage.  They were mistaken for ARVN soldiers and shot.  As a result many NVA helmets brought back from Vietnam have netting of some kind. The nets made of cotton, bamboo reeds and communication wire of various colors. Steel helmets were extensively issued along the HCM Trail due to the constant bombing . In the North, they were routinely worn by anti-aircraft units. They were surplied mostly by the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary but also by the East Germans and Yugoslavs.  The Chinese were not mass producing steel helmets during the 1960s. This helmet is dated 1966 – 66r. The r is the Cyrillic abbreviation for year.