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Civilian Gas Masks


Jason G
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I believe I got this from a forum member. I thought it was very neat, since it was in the original issue box. What I didn't know was, upon opening, to find it was mint, unissued, unworn, with all the original paperwork packed inside the mask, just as it would have been when it was issued. Although the box has been repaired, and there are some minor rust stains on the bag, the mask and everything else is just like it would have been in WWII. I think it's a fantastic home front piece and was happy to get it.

 

 

The issue box. More of these have survived than most people think. I guess everyone stored them after the war, and now they are hitting the market. Even tho it's sort of in the "easy to find" area of collecting, I still like this stuff.

post-271-1202605522.jpg

 

 

The mask bag. It's nicely marked with the Chemical Corps insignia, the type and size. (Adult Medium). Some rust spots at the bottom, but still a neat home front item that is under collected, in my opinion.

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The mask itself. I didn't remove the paperwork and instructions, which were still inside the mask. It's an "Adult medium", by the way. Lots of instructions (one would hope that they were read prior to donning the mask LOL). This one is 'mint, unissued' in my opinion, just the way you want to find them. Instructions are packed into the mask body itself, which I did not remove.

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Overall, these Civilian Defense Masks are an undercollected area of WWII and "Civil Defense" parts of history, which should be preserved. I really have taken a liking to them.

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  • 3 years later...

This one had me confused at first: it came with a box stuff from a guy who worked as a civlian employee of the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard in WWII. It looked Navy but the Navy did not use a gas mask a single lens until 1957.

 

Well it turns out this one is a Navy civilian gas mask, the model NC-1. It was made by MSA CO and is dated "8 41" - it comes in a blue cotton twill bag with the size marked in yellow and has a cardboard protector.

 

The Gas Mask Database formerly at http://www.gasmasks.net had said this:

"The NC-1 gas mask was designed to be used by civil defense teams operating in conjunction with the US Navy. The mask had a single eye piece made of flexible clear plastic. The NC-1 used two bilateral filter disks, identical to the ones used on the M6-12-8 Dog Gas Mask. A rubber flapper type exhale valve protruded downward from the front of the mask. An elastic head harness was used for suspension"

 

gasmasknc1.jpg

 

gasmasknc2.jpg

 

gasmasknc3.jpg

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