Riddle Game #4

[higgins]

DDR?

The country still exists and has supplied a large bulk of Estonian military arsenal.

[Marras]

To widen that guess a bit I change it from DDR to Germany

[higgins]

Nope, not ze Germans. Anyone else want to take a shot before I reveal the origin of the helm?

[EinBein]

Finland?

[higgins]

Closest so far, but no. The helmet is Swedish.



It is called Huvudskydd m/69 and it's a police helmet. One of the suggested purposes I've heard is SWAT-style entry, but the sheer clumsiness and the impaired vision leads me to rule that out. The double layered part of the vizor is around 5mm thick, so, definitely an overkill for any kind of riot control. So, due to accompanying protective gear that came with it, bomb disposal sounds most likely. In a pinch, I'm sure it could serve in all those three roles. Huvudskydd literally just means "head protection".

[Marras]

Swedish? I wouldn't have guessed that for quite some time Good riddle!

[higgins]

Thanks!

But yeah, we have a lot of Swedish stuff. Our defense forces even use the Ak 4, the Swedish G3 variant.

[Marras]

I didn't know Sweden was so important arms provider to Estonia. When I checked Wikipedia it seemed that Germany was the largest provider.

[higgins]

It's definitely a mixed bag. Hell, we even have Galils.

[Marras]

Yes, I saw from Wikipedia that you have quite a range of rifles in your army

[Agamemnon]

I prefer the DEA ballistic masks myself.


higgins says: images more than 572 pixels wide break forum formatting. see the original full size image here.

[Marras]

Yeah, that "Jason" mask is way cool. Does anyone know how common those masks are in actual use or how effective those actually are?

[Agamemnon]

From what I understand, they are ballistic IIIa masks - so, they are effective against basically anything short of a full-powered rifle round to the face.

They are in use in a number of places around the world, but they kind of gained some fame in the states as DEA masks, that would be used by door-breaching teams in high-risk warrants and drug raids. Basically, the two or three guys wearing that are designated "first guys in the door."

[Marras]

So it should be quite effective, then. Thanks for the info!

[higgins]

The actual ballistic rating depends on the exact make and model. Also, googling around, I found the DEA mask getting this outstanding review:

I was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. It's a very well made product, it has some weight to it. Fits well and I was amazed that breathing in it wasn't difficult. Fit and finish were spot on.

Tangofighter got it to me quickly.

Everyone I've shown it to thought it was awesome, except the next door neighbor's 8 year old.

It scarred him pretty good!