ww1 gas masks

In world war I were used three class of poison gas: Tear gas - Chocking - Blister/Vescicant

 

At the beginning were used tear gas like bromine and chloroacetone since 1914, then chocking agent in 1915,

like Chlorine and Phosgene. Chlorine was easy detected, because its evident green color and its strong smell.

The countermeasure was to cover mouth and nose with a cloath dumped with water or urine, because the gas

is water-soluble and it react with the urea contained in urine. The first gas masks given to the troop were

canvas funnel cointaing gauzes soaked with neutralizing substance, or gas helmet, like the british P Helmet, soaked

in sodium hyposulfite.

Then during 1915 come the Phosgene, the main agent of fatalities due to gas during the great war.

The Phosgene was invisible and quite odorless, just an inkling of hay. Unseen and undetected it could act for hours,

without evidence of effect on the exposed men, then appeared the effect, irritation of eyes, dyspnea and bronchospasm.

Against the phosgene were added more gauzes soaked with different neutralizing substances, but the chemical

neutralizing masks and pad were not completely reliable, furthermore, if the mask was bathing neutralizing agents

were washed away.

 

 

In 1917 appeared the Mustard Gas, or Yperite, it was a blister-vescicant gas, it wasn't as deadly

as Phosgene, but it was the more invalidant agent of the war, and it persisted after the launch for days,

and sometimes for weeks in the trenches.

 

Thus they were introduced new masks to physical absorption, rather than chemical

neutralization. These masks possessed of external filters containing layers of active

carbon, usually produced from seeds of fruit, and layers of gauze containing neutralizing

substances. These masks proved very effective and were usually made of rubber or rubberized fabric,

not all masks were equipped with escape valve, and this forced the wearer to breathe the same air,

or make great efforts to expel it from the filter. Mustard gas tended to infiltrate

the rubber masks, so the German army, so parsimonious in materials, produced from 1917 the

leather mask impregnated with reagents neutralizing rather than rubber.

The filter could last about 5 hours, during attack, so the soldier had often an old chemical

neutralization mask for back-up or a spare filter.

The masks were very wide, especially below the viewers, so the soldier could insert forefingers

externally in the folds of the mask and clean inside the condensation that formed on the lenses.

 

The gas masks were the most precious assets of the soldiers.

Done