Not surprised about the winch! Would love to see the pics. The hoop seems to have been a late addition to the suit as suit No. 19 does not have the fitting but suit 23 does.
Re. the picture labelled 'WTF is this?' - The Soviets only planned on landing a single cosmonaut on the surface and he would have no-one to assist him in the event of a problem. I was told by both US and Russian sources that the grey cylinder below the control panel is a point of attachment for a hoop device, much like a hula hoop, that would prevent the wearer 'turning turtle' and allow the cosmonaut to regain his feet should he fall over backwards, the main mass of the suit being in the hatch at the back. I have never seen any photos or drawings of the hoop but would dearly love details.
I have read lots and lots of writing about the hula-hoop over the years since I got interested in the Soviet space program. Many insist that it was a real thing, but I, too have NEVER seen a photo or drawing of it. I always assumed that some or all of these pro-hula-hoop people were mistaking the red tubular device that is usually used to hold the suit upright for display to be the apparatus, but now I'm not sure. It would be terrific if a photo or diagram of it surfaced one day. We can only hope and stay tuned!
It’s interesting that the gas meters are labeled with Latin characters. I can only guess these are considered chemical “symbols” and thus not rendered in Cyrillic.
I stumbled on to a web site of a guy selling an original SKV spacesuit. This was the prototype that was used to develop the Krechet and Orlan suits. It was pretty primitive. There are several photos but they are poorly lit. It gives some appreaciation for what they were working with back then. Here's the link: https://ussrrussiansoviet.com/en/original_soviet_russian_eva_space_suit_skv_1965_lunar_program_ultra_rare_1.html
Not surprised about the winch! Would love to see the pics. The hoop seems to have been a late addition to the suit as suit No. 19 does not have the fitting but suit 23 does.
I keep trying to organise my reference pics, but I can’t keep up!
Re. the picture labelled 'WTF is this?' - The Soviets only planned on landing a single cosmonaut on the surface and he would have no-one to assist him in the event of a problem. I was told by both US and Russian sources that the grey cylinder below the control panel is a point of attachment for a hoop device, much like a hula hoop, that would prevent the wearer 'turning turtle' and allow the cosmonaut to regain his feet should he fall over backwards, the main mass of the suit being in the hatch at the back. I have never seen any photos or drawings of the hoop but would dearly love details.
I think I may have a low res photo somewhere on my hard drive
Other schemes included keeping the cosmonaut on a cable, and winching him back in if he passed out!
Mr Leonov was vocal in his objections I understand…
I have read lots and lots of writing about the hula-hoop over the years since I got interested in the Soviet space program. Many insist that it was a real thing, but I, too have NEVER seen a photo or drawing of it. I always assumed that some or all of these pro-hula-hoop people were mistaking the red tubular device that is usually used to hold the suit upright for display to be the apparatus, but now I'm not sure. It would be terrific if a photo or diagram of it surfaced one day. We can only hope and stay tuned!
It’s interesting that the gas meters are labeled with Latin characters. I can only guess these are considered chemical “symbols” and thus not rendered in Cyrillic.
I noticed the same thing, I think your conclusion is correct regarding the chemical symbols