WW2 UNITED STATES GAS MASK FOR FREE
WW2 UNITED STATES GAS MASK TRIAL

Drill two ¼' holes, one near each end, as shown, to allow for free flow of air in case the corrugated rubber tubing, through accident or otherwise, is pressed against and closes the end openings of the manifold. This manifold may be made of 1' low-pressure seamless brass tubing. (b)Provide an air manifold as illustrated in enclosure (A), figure 1. (a)Tear off the friction tape at each end of the canister, cut the binding wires and pull the corrugated rubber tubes from the ends of the canister. This may be accomplished by the ship's force as follows: In the meantime, the Bureau has no objection to ships improvising hose masks from the facepieces of the standard ND Mark III and Mark IV service gas mask. If these fittings are found satisfactory, the number of sets required will be procured and furnished each ship for converting the facepieces of standard ND Mark III or Mark IV service gas masks into hose masks.

WW2 UNITED STATES GAS MASK TRIAL

(Enc.: (A) Photograph of ND Mark III Gas Mask Modified to a Hose Mask.)ġ.The Bureau has received recommendations from the Fleet Maintenance Officer, Commander Service Force, Pacific Fleet, and various ships for gas masks of the 'hose' or 'air-line' type for entering voids such as those containing gasoline vapors and spaces with extremely small access hatches, etc., in which the use of the present oxygen rescue breathing apparatus would be unsatisfactory.Ģ.Hose masks or air-line masks, as they are sometimes called, usually consist of a gas mask facepiece with adjustable head harness and a length of air hose, one end of which is connected to the facepiece and the other end terminating in fresh air or connected to a compressed-air supply, such as a compressed-air cylinder with intervening air regulator, or to an air pump with intervening air reservoir.ģ.The Bureau proposes to supplement the oxygen rescue breathing apparatus with hose masks which will be carried on board as permanent equipment in damage-control repair lockers on the basis of two for each locker.Ĥ.An experimental lot of hose masks fitted with 100 feet of air hose, air regulator, pressure gage, quickly acting connection for connecting the hose to a compressed-air supply, and a safety belt and life line are being shipped to the Fleet Maintenance Officer, Commander Service Force, Pacific Fleet, for trial use to determine the suitability of the mask fittings as standard equipment. No value at all for working in.44-507-Hose Masks for Damage-Control Purposes 'Conclusion: Masks invaluable in gas attack when dogs remain out of work, walking or sitting. If the filter was removed the dog knew there was someone about, but could get no sense of direction,' said the report, which has remained secret for more than 50 years. The school at Northaw, Hertfordshire, reported that although the masked dogs were 'all quite comfortable' walking and sitting while on patrol, when asked to do anything else they were useless: 'Completely confused when asked to work on a/c of the intake of air coming from under the chin, no direct scent can reach the nose, and it appears that if it did the container filter would be faulty.

When the masks were tried on 120 army dogs most fitted quite well, but War Office papers show that the dogs could not carry the masks on their backs because 'of the difficulty of getting through obstacles (hedges, barbed wire, etc)' and so it was decided that the respirator should be carried by their handlers. The War Dog Training School chose not to attach the mask to the dog's collar on the grounds that that was used for message carrying. It consisted of a rubberised canvas mask with a filter attached to the dog with a body harness.

They worked in pairs, mostly at night, and relied almost entirely on their sense of smell.Ī respirator was developed with a level of protection equal to that of 'the human light respirator'. The dogs, mostly alsatians, retrievers and collies, had been in use since early 1943 to patrol vulnerable points and on messenger duties with troops in the frontline. The War Office said the masks were needed 'in view of the increasing use of dogs for essential duties'. The War Office's chemical weapons research station at Porton Down, Wiltshire, strove from April to October 1944 to protect dogs against gas on the battlefield.

Ww2 united states gas mask