Helmet, one of the protective gear needed by modern soldiers, can effectively protect the head, which is very important. With the advancement of technology, the materials of military helmets are also changing. In the past, steel helmets were the mainstay, but now light tactical helmets are more popular.
No matter how it changes, the helmet still maintains a round shape, but India went the other way and created a square helmet.
Patka (Patka), which is the name of the Indian square helmet, was born in the 1980s and is mainly equipped by mountain troops stationed in Kashmir. General military helmets are large domes, and Patka’s shape is more similar to forehead guards, the biggest feature is lightness, weight 1-1.5kg.
As a reference, the current mainstream of the Indian army is the M1974 steel helmet, which weighs 2.5kg (plus the weight of the internal communication device), which is 66-150% heavier than the Patka helmet.
Throughout the world, Patka's appearance can be described as "the only one", so why did India create such a square helmet?
In the final analysis, Patka is actually a product of religious influence. There are six major religions in India, namely Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Because of the different doctrines, there will be many differences in what you wear.
Take Sikhism as an example. Their teaching requires adult men to wear a headscarf, but this headscarf is larger than a steel helmet. This caused the early Sikh soldiers to be unable to wear a steel helmet. The safety problem is very serious.
The military had planned to force Sikh soldiers to wear steel helmets, but eventually gave up due to religious influence. Instead, they were replaced by the result of a compromise between the two sides-Patka, a kind of headscarf, but with defensive power Helmet.
The Patka helmet consists of four parts. The outermost part is a camouflage jacket. There is a zipper on the surface of the jacket. After being opened, bulletproof panels, cushioning materials and linings can be installed. The bulletproof panels are responsible for blocking Ammunition or fragments, cushioning materials to ease the impact, and the inner lining is softer, providing soldiers with better wearing comfort. The composition of
is actually very simple, which explains why Patka is so light.
The shape of the bullet-proof board is similar to the horseshoe shape. The forehead and both sides of the head are protected. It can withstand the attack of a 9mm pistol at a distance of 20 meters. The back of the head and the top of the head are not protected by the bullet-proof board. Compared with tactical helmets, Patka's protective area is much smaller, only protecting the front and sides. Once a bullet is fired from the back or overhead of an Indian soldier, Patka's defense is almost nothing.
On the other hand, the internal space of a square helmet is not as good as a round helmet, which makes Patka unable to build communication equipment.
In addition to being light, Patka has another advantage-anti-rolling. The unique square structure prevents Patka from rolling as easily as a round helmet. This is good news for mountain troops. Otherwise, if the helmet accidentally slips off the mountain, Patka will not roll all the way down the mountain.
To sum up, as a product under the influence of religion, Patka has the advantages of being portable, easy to carry, and anti-rolling. The disadvantage is that the defense is poor and communication equipment cannot be installed. Not particularly suitable for modern battlefields. The Indian military actually knows about these issues, but the influence of Sikhism prevents them from changing the status quo. They can only default to the existence of the Patka square helmet.
