An immediate response was cotton wool wrapped in muslin, issued to the troops by May 1. The German army successfully used poison gas for the first time against Allied troops at the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium on April 22, 1915. The First World War brought about the first need for mass-produced gas masks on both sides because of extensive use of chemical weapons. First World War German soldiers with gas masks, 1916 In addition, moist sponges were inserted at the end of the hoses in order to better filter the air. It was a simple device consisting of a cotton hood with two hoses which hung down to the floor, allowing the wearer to breathe the safer air found there. Another early design was the 'Safety Hood and Smoke Protector' invented by Garrett Morgan in 1912, and patented in 1914. patent #6,529 issued to Haslett, described the first 'Inhaler or Lung Protector' that filtered dust from the air.Įarly versions were constructed by the Scottish chemist John Stenhouse in 1854 and the physicist John Tyndall in the 1870s. First Facts states that a 'gas mask resembling the modern type' was patented by Lewis Phectic Haslett of Louisville, Kentucky, who received a patent on June 12, 1849. Haslett, a device that contained elements that allowed breathing through a nose and mouthpiece, inhalation of air through a bulb-shaped filter, and a vent to exhale air back into the atmosphere. The forerunner to the modern gas mask was invented in 1847 by Lewis P. Primitive respirator examples were used by miners and introduced by Alexander von Humboldt in 1799, when he worked as a mining engineer in Prussia. In 1785, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier invented a respirator. The book of Ingenious Devices published in 850 by the Banū Mūsā brothers describes a gas mask which allowed the wearer to breathe safely in a toxic environment. History and development Early breathing devices Īccording to Popular Mechanics, 'The common sponge was used in ancient Greece as a gas mask.' Some masks have one or two compact air filter containers screwed onto inlets, while others have a large air filtration container connected to the gas mask via a hose that is sometimes confused with an air-supplied respirator in which an alternate supply of fresh air (oxygen tanks) is delivered. Later, stronger polycarbonate came into use. Panoramic lenses were not popular until the 1930s, but there are some examples of those being used even during the war (Austro-Hungarian 15M). The later Triplex lens style (a cellulose acetate lens sandwiched between glass ones) became more popular, and alongside plain cellulose acetate they became the standard into the 1930s. Glass and mica were quite brittle and needed frequent replacement. The first gas masks mostly used circular lenses made of glass, mica or cellulose acetate to allow vision. Many filters provide protection from both types. Filters against specific chemical agents can last up to 20 hours.Īirborne toxic materials may be gaseous (for example, chlorine or mustard gas), or particulates (such as biological agents). Most combined gas mask filters will last around 8 hours in a biological or chemical situation. The gas mask only protects the user from digesting, inhaling, and contact through the eyes (many agents affect through eye contact). Most gas masks are also respirators, though the word gas mask is often used to refer to military equipment (such as a field protective mask), the scope used in this article. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Army soldier ( USAWC photo) Indian muleteers and mule wearing gas masks, France, FebruA Polish SzM-41M KF gas mask, used from the 1950s through to the 1980sĪ gas mask is an item of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases.

1915 Zelinsky–Kummant protivogaz, designed in 1915, was one of the first modern-type full-head protection gas masks with a detachable filter and eyelet glasses, shown here worn by U.S. A typical industrial-grade gas mask for hazardous chemicals and dust A World War I British P Helmet c. For peacetime uses, including masks designed to filter gasses and particles, see elastomeric respirator. For the mask used to inhale the gas through, see Mask § Functional masks.

Ww1 german gas mask straps