Soviet Army 1970s Cold War Tank Liner

The Soviet Army tank liner is a 1970s pattern, made to button inside the shell of a tankman’s winter suit rather than to be worn on its own.

It features a button closure down the front, buttons at the cuffs and around the hem where it fastens into its shell, and a deep black faux fur collar, cut in a channel quilted cotton over a soft pile lining in a charcoal grey. The quilting runs in vertical channels the whole length of it, which is what gives the thing its shape once the shell is off — it holds its own line rather than collapsing like a liner usually does. Standard Warsaw Pact winter issue for armoured crews, and the fur collar is the part nobody expects.

The label is torn and mostly gone; what is left of it reads 46, which in Soviet sizing is about a 36" chest. It has not been measured flat.