Unfortunately, the M2 Mask was not strong enough to combat the increasingly stronger gases that were employed by the Germans on the Western Front in 19. Because of this, air had to be drawn in and exhaled through the pores in the chemical soaked fabric. The mask was much more comfortable to wear than the British SBR as it had no nose-clip or mouthpiece. The mask’s simple lightweight design consisted of twenty layers of muslin cloth chemically treated with sodium thiosulphate with an impermeable outer cover. When worn, it took on the form of a snout and looked not unlike the feedbag of a horse. However, the biggest difference was the fact that it didn’t cover the entire head. The M2 mask was similar in nature to the British PH Helmet. The British Army also utilized the French M2 Gasmask, as more than 6,200,000 masks were issued to members of the BEF from May 1916 to as late as August 1918. The M2 was the French Army’s primary gasmask from April 1916 until August of 1918. Commonly known as the M2 Gasmask, it was adopted by the French Army on Novemand was first used in the spring of 1916. The most significant gasmask issued by the French Army during the Great War was designated the Modèle 1916 Masque à Gaz M2. Officially used as a reserve gasmask by AEF personnel fromĪugust 1917 until may of 1918, and unofficially until the end of the war Photo courtesy of the Rusty Canteen collection Over the Top, by an American Soldier that Went, Arthur Guy Empey, 1918, page 188, 189 It was horrible to see him die, but we were powerless to help him. To change a defective helmet, you take out the new one, hold your breath, pull the old one off, placing the new one over your head, tucking in the loose ends under the collar of your tunic … A company man on our right was too slow in getting his helmet on he sank to the ground, clutching at his throat, and after a few spasmodic twistings, went West (died). He must wear this bag at all times, even while sleeping. Each Tommy carries two of them slung around his shoulder in a waterproof canvas bag. One helmet is good for five hours of the strongest gas. The foul air is exhaled through the tube in the mouth, this tube being so constructed that it prevents the inhaling of the outside air or gas. You breathe through your nose the gas, passing through the cloth helmet, is neutralized by the action of the chemicals. Inside there is a rubber-covered tube which goes in the mouth. There are two windows, or glass eyes in it, through which you can see. An American, who served in the British Army in 1916, recalled what it was like to wear a British PH Helmet:Ī gas or smoke helmet, as it is called, at the best is a vile-smelling thing and it is not long before one gets a violent headache from wearing it … A gas helmet is made of cloth treated with chemicals. Here members of the 11 th Engineer Regiment display their recently issued “Gas Helmets”. 28 : In 1917 any AEF unit operating with British and Commonwealth troops in or near the British sectors of the Western Front were issued a 1917 SBR as the primary gasmask and a British PH Helmet as a reserve mask. 25: British gunners operate their Vickers machine gun while enshrouded in the PH Helmet. It provided little or no protection against the more powerful chemical agents used by the German Army in late 19.When wet the chemical soaked flannel could burn the skin.Its effectiveness deteriorated when exposed to air.Maintaining good visibility was difficult.The mask was claustrophobic to some users.The PH Helmet suffered from the following disadvantages: It was officially withdrawn in February of 1918, but many soldiers continued to carry the “Gas Bag” as an emergency backup in what the British Army called the “Precautionary Zone” or the 5 to 12 miles immediately behind the front lines. After which the PH was relegated as a reserve gasmask and the Tommy’s second line of defense should his SBR fail. The PH Helmet was the principle gasmask used by the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) until it was replaced by the Small Box Regulator (SBR) in the spring of 1917. Although it was officially called the Phenate-Hexamine Helmet, it was generally referred to as the PH Helmet by the British Tommy. In early 1916, another hooded helmet type of respirator similar to the P Helmet, comprised of flannel that was soaked in a phenate-hexamine solution began to be issued. In 1915, British gas officers realized that the Phenate or ‘P” Helmet was no longer able to offer the proper degree of protection to its wearer when the German Army began to deploy more lethal chemical agents in the form of phosgene and hydrogen cyanide gases. Posted to the British sector from the summer of 1917 to 1918 Used as a reserve gasmask by AEF personnel
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