Photos of Marines wearing gas masks in the Pacific.

[knd643]

Does anyone have any photos(or were any are online) of Marines wearing gas masks in the Pacific during WW2? I have seen a couple but that's it.

[ThompsonSavage]

There are a lot of training photos, actual combat pics are more difficult to find. This one is probably not exactly what you are looking for, but interesting none the less. Marine wearing Japanes gas mask on Okinawa, June 10, 1945. (http://www.ww2incolor.com/us-marines/PICT4920.html)

 

 

[knd643]

That's a really cool photo. I have seen the training photos of them wearing gas masks. I have heard that burial details you can see them wearing gas masks.

[B229]

I have heard that burial details you can see them wearing gas masks.

 

There's a rather well-known photo of a burial detail wearing masks on Tarawa.

 

You can find it here, first photo on the page: http://www.tarawaontheweb.org/cemetary.htm

[knd643]

I posted this question on the USMFs facebook page and one guy posted a good amount of pictures with Marines carrying gas mask bags and he posted this really cool photo of a Marine wearing a gas mask.

[robinb]

That is a great photo. He's only wearing the face mask as a shield against the bazooka's back blast. The hose is cut off just below the mask.

[DukeNougat3d]

I posted this question on the USMFs facebook page and one guy posted a good amount of pictures with Marines carrying gas mask bags and he posted this really cool photo of a Marine wearing a gas mask.

Interesting to nose the hose appears to be cut on this marine's mask - it was common practice for M1 'Bazooka' Crews to wear gas masks while the weapon was in use to protect their faces from the heat of the rocket leaving the tube. Many troops like the one pictured often cut away any parts of the mask not necessary to protect against heat. The photo below shows a very early Class 'B' Grey Rubber M3-10A1-6 Lightweight Service Mask (fully intact, no less) being used for the same purpose.

[BC312]

Reading the Rocket TM manuals, the rocket motors usual burn out before they have left the tube so you don't see a smoke trail from launcher to target. Because of the low velocity of the rocket you can just about see the rocket in flight to target. If the rockets are cold during firing then the rocket is still burning out passed the tube causing blast back which would be unpleasant to the firer, If the rocket is left in the hot sun and the motor is warmed up to around or over 120f then the rocket motor burns faster to a point that the motor bursts if it gets hotter, hence the reason for the wire binding of 20 inches around the motor area where the motor is fired to protect the guy firing the launcher, plus the reason to keep the rockets in the shipping tube till actual use depending on conditions.