AEF Gasmasks & Respirators 1917 to 1919

[Dr_rambow]

Excellent work! Well worth the time to read!

 

I had never seen much documentation on the early USN masks. I was pleased to see you included them!

 

Do you have any information on how extensive the use of the MK I Canister Mask was and when it was generally in use?

[USAFnav]

Great job, thanks for your work with this.

Pete

[dave peifer]

i agree........great thread,thanks for posting..........some really great info here...........dave

[RustyCanteen]

Excellent thread WWI Nerd! I have been looking forward to this with growing anticipation; and it paid off!

 

RC

[bheskett]

Holy cow this is a great thread. Thanks for putting this together and sharing with us.

 

Bob

[Dirk]

Outstanding thread! One of the most informative on this site!

[world war I nerd]

Thanks to all who took the time to read or look at this post, but as previously mentioned, the real credit should go to the forum members who went way out of their way to help me accumulate all of the material needed to put it together. I however, am responsible for any and all of the errors the post may contain.

Corrections

Speaking of errors, it has been pointed out to me by Retro, who supplied so many of the photos of actual gasmasks, that the inset of the ASBR gasmask shown in photo No. 14, and that of the KT Gasmask shown in Photos No. 99 & 100 were not part of his collection. Those respirators were in fact from the collections of New Romantic and Jeremy Plum respectively.

 

Regarding the non-regulation red and green filter canister connected to the AT Gasmask shown in Photo No. 98, I stated that that filter was made and used in France. That is not correct. That filter was manufactured by an American company whose name was “La France” and sold after the war to American firefighters, not French firefighters.

 

Furthermore, the larger of the two images in Photo No. 119 was not published in the Ship and Gunnery book, it was borrowed from the U.S. Army publication, The Gasmask. And finally, the respirators shown in Photos No. 119, 120 & possibly 121 that I mislabeled as the “MK II Submarine Mask” was actually known as the Navy Diaphragm Optical (NDO) experimental.

 

My apologies to all for the mix-ups …

[world war I nerd]

Doc, I was only able to locate a small amount of information on the early Navy gasmasks. I posted pretty much everything I knew about them … which sadly wasn’t very much. Judging by the fact that the MK I Gasmask’s eyepieces were partially held in by twine, my guess is that it was devised in late 1917, at the same time or shortly after the ASBR and ATM respirators were designed. I have no idea when the MK II gasmask was introduced or how widely either one was used.

[world war I nerd]

Photo 122: Beast led me to the photos of a gasmask used by Margaret Gillespie of the Army Nurses Corps during the time she spent with the AEF at Base Hospital No. 55. While serving overseas she met and later married Doctor John Freed, who’s French ARG Gasmask is shown in Photo No. 90 of this thread. Here’s a link to the original thread showing Nurse Gillespie’s gasmask along with a few of her other personal articles:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/3430-margaret-gillespie-wwi-nurse/?hl=gillespie

 

Photos courtesy of the Beast collection

[dunmore1774]

Fantastic thread! Thanks for all the work!

[France1918]

Thank you! - The most thoroughly researched treatise on gas masks that I have ever seen (or expect to). Your supporting photo documentation was extremely well chosen and I will return to this work many times.

[world war I nerd]

Thanks again to all who looked and for the comments ...

[world war I nerd]

Animal Respirators in the AEF

History tells us that the Great War was the first conflict to witness the use of tanks, airplanes, machine guns, and poison gas for killing on a mass scale. Despite the technological advances in weaponry, millions of men that fought at the front and toiled behind the lines relied on the animal kingdom for transportation, logistical support, communication, medical support, and in some cases companionship. Dogs were pressed into service as messengers, sentries, beasts of burden, and as providers of first aid supplies. Pigeons acted as messengers and couriers. Camels were utilized as movers of both men and equipment on the Macedonian and Mesopotamian fronts. Mules, horses, and oxen were either ridden or employed to pull wagons, carts, ambulances and field guns of all descriptions. Finally, regiments and other miscellaneous military organizations adopted animals of various species as symbols of their ferocity, loyalty, and bravery. Everything from the humble hound to goats, monkeys, kangaroos, bears, and even lions were kept by individual units to help forge comradeship and boost morale.

 

Photo No. 123: Great War animals clockwise from upper left, a British messenger dog, a circus elephant pressed into service by the German Army, an aerial photography pigeon, and RAF No. 32 Squadron’s mascot - a fox cub.

[world war I nerd]

Draft Horses & Mules

Of the above mentioned animals, none were more important to the war effort than draft animals in the form of horses and mules. By 1915 the British Army estimated that the average life of a war horse on the Western Front was just twenty days. In fact, the shortage of horses in Europe was so acute in 1917 that an artilleryman from New Zealand recalled being told:

To lose a horse was worse than losing a man, because men were replaceable, while horses weren’t at this stage.

Gunner Bert Stokes, NZEF

Photo No. 124: This painting by Captain George Harding, titled Army Camp, depicts just a portion of the 6,100 draft animals that were required by every AEF infantry division going about their silent but faithful work.

[world war I nerd]

Horse Respirators

After the advent of gas warfare in 1915, it became evident that the thousands of horses and mules needed to transport supplies, evacuate wounded, and haul both artillery pieces and their shells, required some form of protection against the toxic environment in which they were now made to operate. Investigation revealed that a horse’s eyes were not affected nearly as much as human eyes by smoke or tear gas, and that horses in general proved to be more resistant to the harmful effects of toxic gas than men. Further studies showed that a horse did not breathe through its mouth. Therefore, it was only necessary to devise a mask that prevented a horse from inhaling gas through its nose. Initially nose plugs were improvised to protect the beasts of burden during a gas attack until a chemical soaked bag that fitted over the animal’s nostrils and left the mouth free to use the bit became available.

 

Photo No. 125: It is estimated that some eight million horses were killed during the five years of warfare. Surprisingly, only 25% of those deaths were the result of enemy action. The overwhelming majority of horses and mules were killed by what was called “debility”. Debility as a cause of death encompassed malnutrition, exhaustion, disease, drowning in water and mud, as well as being destroyed for other injuries such as broken limbs and shell shock. The AEF shipped just under 182,000 horses to Europe, only 60,000 were returned to America.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 126: Many horses and mules became gas casualties because applying and adjusting a horse or mule’s gasmask was at best - difficult, and at worst - impossible. During a gas attack, after donning their own respirators many AEF mule skinners and wagon drivers feared that their gasmasks would be torn off while putting on the animals mask, as they were often panic stricken, violently kicking, or seized by violent fits of coughing. At left a gassed mule is being led to the rear for treatment. Opposite, British Tommy’s carefully removing a heavy layer of mud from an exhausted mule.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 127: Left, just as the Germans were the first to use poison gas, so too were they the first to deploy a horse gasmask. The German horse respirator was a double nose bag that was stuffed with straw or rags and then dipped in water. It was not impregnated with any neutralizing chemicals. Right, the French Army used two types of horse gasmasks, one with a closed bottom and the other with an open bottom. The fabric used on both masks was impregnated with a chemical solution to neutralize gas. Note that the riders wear the 1917 Lederschutzmaske and 1917 ARS Gasmasks respectively.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 128: The body of the British horse respirator, which was nicknamed the “Horsepirator” in the BEF, was comprised of two layers of chemical impregnated “flannelette”. The mask had a canvas mouth pad and was partially secured to the horse’s muzzle by an elastic drawstring. Both the right and left side of the horsepirator are shown below. The officer on the left has donned a British SBR and carries a ‘P’ or ‘PH’ helmet in the khaki haversack slung from his right shoulder. The British horse gasmask was used by the AEF throughout its involvement in the war.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 129: At left is another view of the British horse gasmask. Front and back views of the equine mask’s 5 X 14 inch, canvas and leather carrier are shown on the right. The British horsepirator carrier was typically attached to anywhere on the horse or mule’s bridle, saddle or harness, so long as it could be easily donned and rapidly adjusted.

 

Carrier photos courtesy of Bay State Militaria

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 130: The AEF used the British flannelette gasmask until an American made horse respirator became available in 1918. America designed a new horse gasmask because the horsepirator’s high breathing resistance caused horses and mules laboring under a heavy load to become prematurely exhausted. The British Army’s horsepirator is shown on the left and its American counterpart on the right. The U.S. horse gasmask was used by the AEF form sometime in 1918 until the end of the war. The British mask’s carrier is partially visible under the horse’s neck on the left hand image.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 131: The primary difference between the two masks were the materials from which they were fabricated: British – two layers of flannel wool, and American – fourteen layers of cheesecloth, and the chemical composition with which they were impregnated. Both masks had an oilcloth barrier inserted between the mouth pad and the body of the mask to prevent the horse from chewing through it. A canvas frame was also stitched onto the inside of the mask to prevent the material from being drawn into the nostrils when the animal inhaled. Three views of the U.S. equine gasmask as worn by horses are shown below.

 

Center image courtesy of the Rusty Canteen collection

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 132: In this image, the U.S. equine gasmask is worn by a pair of Army mules. Apparently horses were more accepting of the horsepirator. According to the following account, mules were not:

 

In one case where a horse and a mule in the same supply column were fitted with their masks at the same time the difference was most marked. The horse was dressed up without much trouble, though he did not like it. He whinnied and sneezed, breathed hard and perspired and looked rather pitiable, but stuck it out. The mule on the other hand, had to be roped to get the mask on at all. Then he danced about, heels in the air and head down, and tried to rub off the objectionable appendage against a rope, and then against a tree. This did not affect its removal, and for a minute the cunning animal stood still with his ears cocked at different angles. The suddenly he put his head to the ground and before anything could be done to prevent it, put his foot on the respirator, pulled his head up smartly and left the respirator under his hoof.

 

Gas and Flame in Modern Warfare, Major S.M.J. Auld, 1918

[world war I nerd]

133: The U.S. Horse Gasmask was housed in a 10 X 14 inch khaki canvas carrier with a flap that was secured by three snaps (center). The horse gasmask in its carrier is shown on the breast band in the carry position (left) and on the nose band of the head collar in the alert position (right). During the war, 377,881 horse gasmasks were fabricated by the Fifth Avenue Uniform Company of New York, of which 351,270 were shipped to the AEF in France by November of 1918.

 

Right & left images courtesy of the Rusty Canteen collection

[world war I nerd]

Horse Boots

Photo No. 134: Because mustard gas was known to gas linger on the ground and inflame the frog of a horse’s hoof, a special horse boot was developed late in 1918. The sole of the horse boot was comprised of a hoof pad made of sheet iron that was embedded in a rubberized hoof protector to which a horse shoe was applied. It protected the animal’s foot from mustard gas, as well as shell splinters and barbed wire. The upper of the boot was made from satin fabric that had been treated to render it impervious to mustard gas. The upper was held onto the hoof protector by means of clips and sewn cloth straps, and was wrapped one and a half times around the leg and then secured by a strap. The horse boot was prevented from being used at the front by the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918.

 

Right, this photo taken at the Chemical Warfare Service’s facility on Long Island, New York shows the U.S. Horse Gasmask and Horse Boots in use. The rider appears to be wearing a late war anti-gas suit and the late war Victory Gasmask. Left, close up of the boot’s satin upper, and its steel sheet hoof pad. Note the cloth straps clipped onto the hoof pad.

[River Patrol]

I gave a presentation this time last year at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD concerning gas masks used in WW1 that paralleled what you presented here. Good job!