AEF Gasmasks & Respirators 1917 to 1919

[world war I nerd]

The WW I U.S. made "Dog Gas-mask" as developed by the Chemical Warfare Service in 1918.

 

Photo courtesy of the National Archives

[DukeNougat3d]

I know I said I would post photos of my examples, and apologies for getting around to it so late, but I'll photodump a few pics and details off each of my current specimens, starting with a lineup photo -

U.S. Akron-Tissot (A.T.) Masks. From Left to Right:

- Model of 1918, Type A Facepiece, Size 3

- Model of 1918, Type B Facepiece, Size Medium

- Model of 1918, Type B Facepiece, Size 3

 

[DukeNougat3d]

Starting with my Type A, it was in very poor condition when originally received, crumpled up into a ball like most A.T. Masks, but due to the fact the facepiece was made of calendared rubber instead of dip-molded like the Type B, the facepiece is much more pliable than the Type B and I was able to carefully spread it open at the sacrifice of the head harness breaking away.

^The mask as originally received.

^The mask after opening.

[DukeNougat3d]

The markings on my Type A's Facepiece read:
- 3 (Size Stamp)
- 250H 390 (Serial Stamp)
- 22A (Curing Form No. and Facepiece Type)
- "FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY" (This stamp is sadly all but entirely faded away on the left cheek of the mask and is almost invisible to the naked eye.)

A good shot of the Type A's dilapidated interior, giving a view of the Clarifying Tube remnants and the earlier model of Chin Rest Padding.

[DukeNougat3d]

For those of you that noticed, I opted to remove the MI 10" Breathing Tube given that it was still in good, flexible condition and isolating this piece of hardware from the rest of the kit would allow it to retain its shape much longer than if it were crushed and bent inside the MI Carrier.

^Here you can see a detail that the hose would have originally covered up - the angletube assembly on my Type A is made by the Stewart-Warner Speedometer Co.

^Detail on one of the side harness tab assemblies of the Type A, with the side straps grouped together near the temples similar to a Box Respirator mask. The Type B Facepiece did away with this central 'mono-tab' horseshoe shape for the side straps and implemented individual harness tabs.

[DukeNougat3d]

The next specimen is actually a quite recent addition that I picked up last Monday as of making this post - it is probably my worst condition A.T. that I own, overall somewhat of a typical Type B Facepiece, but with one major twist - the facepiece is stamped as a size 'Medium' rather than the usual 1-5 Numeric Size System we adopted from the British early on. There is a handful of period photos of Type B's with a Small-Medium-Large sizing system and it seemed to have been very short lived. Not even the carrier is stamped for a size medium (and is stamped with the Typical '3' representative of the size). The 'trench art' visible on the carrier is almost certainly 100% fake.

^The mask as received. It is quite in a poor state - solid as a rock and folded in on itself.

 

^Here you can get a good view of the aforementioned 'Medium' stamp in place of the typical '3'. Possibly the only example of it's kind. The head harness itself (not pictured) is also slightly different in that it lacks any adjustment buckles and the triangular head pad is sewn in a much tighter grouping.

[DukeNougat3d]

Unfortunately, I can't report on the start of the markings, as the excessive folding of the facepiece has covered up all serial stamps/mold numbers/etc except for the forehead size stamp.

 

^From this angle, you can see the flutter valve guard is in a bit of a poor state as well - rusted and bent out of shape.

 

^Another angle, showing the seam in the stockinette fabric outer layer on the chin.

 

 

 

[DukeNougat3d]

Now onto the final example in my personal collection, here we have a basic Type B Akron-Tissot, and probably probably my best condition A.T. of the three. This one I had actually bought off a very kind user in this forum (you know who you are) who was generous enough to bring this specimen to my attention after reading through this thread and resold it to me for study and evaluation. Despite being rock-hard and crumpled as usual, this kit is in extremely good shape with lots of visible markings and almost absolutely no rust whatsoever.

^The kit itself.

[DukeNougat3d]

^ Detail on the facepiece. Note that 2/3rds of the original MI 'Flutter' Valve are still intact in this photo, but were very fragile and have since fallen off.

^Detail on the size stamp. Notice the evidence of a repair plaster being applied between the lenses. This is very typical on Type B Facepieces, as they are most prone to failure here.

 

^Unfortunately, the serial stamps are not visible, but the markings are:

- 3 (Size Stamp)

- AT (Akron-Tissot)
- 44B (Curing Form No. and Facepiece Type)

- 1845 (The relevancy of these markings are unknown, 18 might represent the year of production, but the 45 is unknown, possibly a batch number.)

[DukeNougat3d]

^View inside the eyepieces, with the Clarifying Tubes partially visible just below each frame. Notice the molded '204' stamp just under the left eyepiece. You can also see how the faceblank material was curled inwards under the aluminum flange of the eyepiece when they were pressed into place.

 

^Markings on canister:
Left:
- 312H (Batch or Serial No.)

- L (Type L Canister. Similar to the more common Type J, but the Type L has more absorbent inside.)

 

Right:
- Blank Fabric Name Tape (It is very common to see WWI-era U.S. Tissot Masks with a patch of tape on the canister named to the person it was issued to. This was to signify ownership and assure these highly experimental masks were not stolen.)

- Hero Manufacturing Co.

 

[AustinO]

You're cornering the market! Great photos. Whats the name on the painted carrier? I'll look him up in the 1st Divisions records quick.

 

I wonder if 1845 is in reference to the week of production, 45, similar to how the carriers are marked?

[DukeNougat3d]

^Detail on canister inlet valve. It is very rare to see WWI-era canisters in such pristine, rust-free condition. The valve seat itself has 95% of its original tin plating left intact.

 

^Detail on harness tabs.

 

^Detail on the canister spring inside the carrier, which is also very clean and free of rust.

[DukeNougat3d]

You're cornering the market! Great photos. Whats the name on the painted carrier? I'll look him up in the 1st Divisions records quick.

 

I wonder if 1845 is in reference to the week of production, 45, similar to how the carriers are marked?

 

Thanks! These things seem to keep finding their way to me lol

The name appears to be a Sgt.(?) A. O'Leary. I have had research associates to try find evidence on the man but unfortunately, nothing. If you can find anything, I welcome your efforts and any findings would be much appreciated.

The reason I think the markings are fake is because U.S. Tissot masks were never used on the frontlines, they were reserved for rear areas for testing only, they never saw combat as far as I know. And given that they were highly specialized experimental equipment of their time period, I highly doubt a soldier would have the time or freedom to scribble graffiti all over the carrier.

 

Moreover, the dates marked on the carrier do not line up with the A.T.'s contract and production dates, so assuming the markings aren't fake, it's possible the carrier is mixmatched, or perhaps the markings were added by a WWI veteran postwar, which at that point, A.T.'s were reserved as training masks only, and a majority of them were dumped on the surplus market or given to industrial safety companies to redistribute.

[AustinO]

Anthony O'Leary in Company I 18th Infantry went to France as a Private, was wounded in 1917 and 1918, and came back from France as a Private in June of 1919. Doesnt jive with the date or rank...No other O'Leary in Company I 18th.

[DukeNougat3d]

Anthony O'Leary in Company I 18th Infantry went to France as a Private, was wounded in 1917 and 1918, and came back from France as a Private in June of 1919. Doesnt jive with the date or rank...No other O'Leary in Company I 18th.

 

That almost confirms these markings being a fake, much appreciated.

Also that's a VERY good point about the A.T. date stamps referencing the week of the year, I never thought of it that way.

 

As it's been shown, Akron-Tissot masks will typically have a marking on the chin which reads -

AT = Akron-Tissot

[2-Digit #]A/B = Curing Form No. + Facepiece Type

18[2-Digit #] = Date

My Type A facepiece is stamped '1824' - 24th Week (June) of 1918, and my research associate's postwar LaFrance A.T. is stamped 1844 - 44th Week (October) of 1918.

Given that the A.T.'s contract lasted from June 11th, 1918 - December 1918, your theory is strongly supported based on the existing stamps I've seen. Even wilder is that with my Type A's Date, the week of production began on June 10th, which PREDATES the A.T. contract by one day, which explains why my Type A lacks an 'AT' stamp - it's likely a limited procurement batch before the contract was greenlit.

[world war I nerd]

DukeNougat3D, thanks for posting more great images of your very impressive gas mask collection. It's great to now have reliable information regarding the various variants of the AT masks.

 

Here's a poor quality image of American Doughboys showing off their French M2 Masks somewhere in France.

[world war I nerd]

Close up of two of the French M2 masks showing the mask's integral neck strap.

[world war I nerd]

A cropped image showing one of the variations of the AT Gas Mask in use at the Chemical Warfare Service's facility located in New York.

[DukeNougat3d]

A cropped image showing one of the variations of the AT Gas Mask in use at the Chemical Warfare Service's facility located in New York.

 

Excellent photos! Judging from the distance between the eyepieces and the length at which they protrude outwards, it is safe to assume the variant pictured in your photo is another Type A facepiece. The location specifically mentioned in that photo would be the Gas Defense Plant in Long Island, NY. Also, through careful examination of my specimen, I can now say that the Type A Akron-Tissot Masks were constructed of a calendared red-brown 'gum' rubber, similar to the earlier American-Tissot Masks, where in previous posts, I have erroneously stated they were made of black rubber on posts #212:

 

The 'Type A', which starts off as a 'calendered' sheet of uncured black rubber is worked on a flat building form with raised circles to form the eyelens platforms,

And #233:

 

Like the Miller and Whittlesey Tissots, the Type A Akron-Tissot began as a calendered sheet of black rubber,

 

Additionally, I have recently discovered that the Akron-Tissot Masks were given their final assembly at the Hero Manufacturing Co. in Philadelphia, PA, rather than the Gas Defense Lab at Long Island, NY as mentioned before, but I do not doubt that many A.T.'s were sent to the Long Island Gas Defense Lab for testing, it is just unlikely that many, if any at all were assembled there, unlike the R.F.K. and K.T. Masks, which were solely assembled on location there. It should also be mentioned that I made an error in the number of A.T.'s produced. I had previously stated around 364,000 A.T.'s were produced in total with 197,000 of them being Type B Facepieces, when in reality, it is more likely that 364,000 Faceblanks of both types were produced, but only 197,000 were completed for testing. Also worth mentioning, the contract for the Akron-Tissot started on July 1st, 1918, not July 11th or June 11th as I've mistakenly said multiple times before in the thread.

[DukeNougat3d]

After some consideration and thinking, I decided that in order to aid the preservation of the metal components as well as to learn more about my Size Medium Type B Akron-Tissot (seen in posts #256 and #257), I needed to carefully pry open the facepiece.

After using careful precision dexterity under a flow of scalding hot water, I was able to slowly and carefully open the facepiece to reveal many additional important markings. (Continued)

[DukeNougat3d]

AT - Akron-Tissot

22B - Curing Form #22 for Type B Faceblank

220 - 220th Day of 1918 (Assembled August 7th, 1918)

270H388T - 270 (Hundred), 338 (Thousand)th Faceblank Produced.

So not only is this Type B the only known existing Medium-sized model, but it is also the only Type B known to exist with a 3-Digit date code (Day Number of the Year), rather than the usual 4-digit (Last Two Numbers of the Year + Week Number of the Year).

Note that the mask is only this dark color because the stockinette was still damp when the photos were taken. It will resume its normal khaki color after drying.

 

 

[DukeNougat3d]

Additionally, the clarifying tubes were in remarkable shape with fully visible markings, the chin rest had a creme-colored sponge rubber pad instead of the usual red, and the faceblank's rubber turned a deep brown-green color upon washing, but upon further inspection, rubs off to black, meaning this color change was residual dirt and blooming still on the rubber. Note the rubber band around the wire and tape of the clarifying tubes as well as the rubber base of the chin rest are made of red-brown gum rubber, rather than black stock like the faceblank or clarifying tubes.

[DukeNougat3d]

Now for the thing that shocked me the most - If you look closely inside the chincup, you can see a black rubber reinforcing strip in the center bordered by two lines of cement (green stripes). This is indicative of where the rubber was joined together at the chin.

This meaning that the Type B was NOT dip-molded as indicated by all previous references of the mask in this thread, but rather had a solidly vulcanized seam on the chin much like the Type A Model Akron-Tissot. Dip-molding was a production method being experimented with (and may have possibly been a later production method), but whether or not it was implemented into production Type B's or not has yet to be determined at this point.

 

I do hope my consistent posting of these masks isn't bothering anybody in the thread, I just wanted to get these little details and informative updates out there for anyone that has as much interest in these early Tissot masks as I do.

 

[dan_the_hun84]

Question on the PH helmet flutter valve- did they have the same sort of mouthpiece that the later SBR and CEM masks had? or was it just a simple rubber coated tube? I have never been able to find an interior pic of an origional- but keep hearing it described as a "tube" held with the teeth

[DukeNougat3d]

Question on the PH helmet flutter valve- did they have the same sort of mouthpiece that the later SBR and CEM masks had? or was it just a simple rubber coated tube? I have never been able to find an interior pic of an origional- but keep hearing it described as a "tube" held with the teeth

 

 

It's the latter of the two - a soldered tin tube with a bit of rubber around the end. Some low-end reproductions try to get away with snorkel-style mouthpieces, but this is completely inaccurate.