rambob Posted February 1, 2007 Share #1 Posted February 1, 2007 About 15 or so years ago there seemed to be good quantity of these NOS M1 gas masks for sale, still sealed in their original packing can. I traded for this one and decided to open it to see what was inside. This may have been a stupid move, but it is one I have to live with. The can still had the gas inside that was put in to help preserve the mask and the can even hissed when opened. What you see in the pictures is the entire contents of the can, along with the packing list filled out by hand in pencil. The paking date is 9/21/29, which makes this mask very pre WWII. The mask form is made out of sheet metal, packed in OD paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bfryar44 Posted February 1, 2007 Share #2 Posted February 1, 2007 I remember when those came out in the early 90's. Atlanta Army Navy (Mr. Jack to those who knew him) had a whole pallet of those cans. All were in fantastic shape and still vacuum sealed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
517th Posted February 10, 2007 Share #3 Posted February 10, 2007 [Here`s what it should look like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
517th Posted February 10, 2007 Share #4 Posted February 10, 2007 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
General Apathy Posted February 10, 2007 Share #5 Posted February 10, 2007 Pleased to see that rambob & 517th have shown the two different styles of metal container which held these masks. Rambob's is a square flat can with rounded corners, and 517th has shown the eliptical can with ribbed sides. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ww2_1943 Posted April 8, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 8, 2007 I had been looking for a gas mask for many years now. The price keep crawling up and I realized I turned down some great prices in the past. I finally took the plunge and won an unopened M1A2 on Ebay for about the same price used ones are going for. Now I am faced with the dilemma of opening it or not when I receive it. I would like to display it, but once it is open it will never be a mint-sealed example again. I suppose I could buy an open one, but the same amount of money on something I already have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BOLO Posted March 17, 2008 Share #7 Posted March 17, 2008 M1 service gas mask history: An experimental design from WW I, known as the Kops Tissot Monro (KTM), was standardized as the Model 1919 and renamed the M-1 Service Gas Mask in 1921. It came in five sizes, with fixed round eye lenses, a long corrugated rubber tube and canister, very similar to subsequent designs. After more than a decade of successful use, two improved models of the M1 mask were developed in the mid-1930s: 1934: the M1A1 mask with replaceable lenses and improved exhaust valve, minor modifications to the head-harness straps and the mounting of the eyepieces. Five sizes produced. 1935: the M1A2 mask with a one-size stockinet-covered rubber face mask with a seam at the chin. The universal size fit about 95% of soldiers; M1A1 largest and smallest sizes continued to be used for those who could not fit the M1A2 mask. Although rooted in the designs of WW I, the M1 series masks (M1, M1A1, M1A2) served until 1944, late in World War II. By 1937, Edgewood Arsenal was producing over 50,000 M1A2 masks per year, but all three variants were in use until declared obsolete in 1944. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BOLO Posted March 19, 2008 Share #8 Posted March 19, 2008 this is the M1A2 mask: marked U for universal size the last model of the M1 gas mask, in use until 1944 this one dates back to about 1935 - 1937 pre WWII Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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