Wwi gas mask bag how to#

The eyepiece is held with the other hand while this is being done. If the eye-pieces become dull they can be cleaned by inserting the forefinger into the pockets alongside the goggles and wiping the inside of the windows.After speaking, immediately replace the mouthpiece and make certain that the nose-clip is properly adjusted.If it is necessary to speak, breathe in deeply, grasp the metal tube outside the mask and carefully remove the mouthpiece from between the lips – care being taken not to move the nose-clip.Do not attempt to speak while wearing the respirator except in case of necessity.Complete the fitting of the mask by pulling it well on over the jaw and by smoothing the edge all round the face.Open the nose clip by pinching from the outside the circular wire spring below the goggles push the clip buttons on to the lower part of the nose and release the spring, making sure that the nostrils are closed.Then start breathing in and out through the tube. Holding the metal mouth tube in the right hand outside the mask, push the rubber mouth piece well into the mouth and draw it forward so that the rubber flange is between the teeth and the lips, and grip the two small rubber projections with the teeth.Push the chin well into the mask and at the same time draw the elastics over the head AS FAR AS THEY WILL GO, i.e.Throw the chin well forward ready to enter the mask. Take the mask out of the satchel and seize it with both hands, the fingers gripping the edge of the mask and both thumbs pointing inwards and upwards UNDER the elastic.Open the haversack by pulling the cover forward, and grip the mask with the right hand.Unfasten the buckle of the tape which keeps the box in the haversack, and lift out the box remove the indiarubber stopper from the bottom and then put the box back in the haversack.Unbutton the snap fasteners, but keep the flap closed towards the body to protect the respirator from wet.Take the coil of whip cord out of the haversack, pass it through the ring pointing to the right of the haversack, round the body, and tie it firmly to the ring pointing to the left of the haversack.Raise the haversack on to the chest by pulling the sling with the left hand until the brass stud on the sling is low enough to button on to the leather tab on the left side of the haversack.Pass the left arm backwards through the sling so that the haversack hangs in front of the body.

Wwi gas mask bag how to#

Veterans Day is November 11 th and marks the 104 th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.Instruction leaflet to explain to soldiers how to use a box respirator for protection during a gas alarm, (Catalogue ref: WO 142/183) Transcriptĭirections of use of small box respirator.Īt ordinary times, the haversack containing the Box Respirator is to be carried slung over the right shoulder, WITH THE FLAP FASTENERS NEXT THE BODY. The United Nations estimates that chemical weapons have caused more than one million casualties since World War I. Sadly, this and other decisions have not banished these weapons to history. Ultimately, 132 nations signed the Geneva Protocol in 1925, banning the use of chemical weapons in warfare. Proponents of chemical warfare argued the tactic was actually a more humane method of warfare than other weaponry. Critics maintained the use of poison gas was inhumane, and caused casualties in civilians and noncombatants because it was impossible to control after its release. The mass death wrought by World War I, thanks in part to chemical warfare, horrified the world. Following this first attack, which killed an estimated 5,000 Allied soldiers and injured thousands more, both sides raced to develop new chemical weapons, as well as defenses against the new tactic of war.įollowing the war, the debate over the ethics of chemical warfare raged. Poison gas was first used as a large-scale weapon in WWI at the Battle of Ypres in 1915 when the Germans released chloride gas on April 22. Henry later donated his gas mask to the Dubuque County Historical Society and lived until 1974. Private Muenster personalized the bag by writing his rank and initials on it and the line, “forget me not, I think of you each day.” The origin of this line and whom Henry may have been referring to is unknown, but we do know that he survived the war and returned to Dubuque.

The kit is contained in a canvas carrying bag and consists of a mask that fits over the eyes and mouth that is connected to a canister, a booklet of instructions, and a tube of repair material. Muenster carried this gas mask kit when he served in the 79 th Division in World War I.

Resources for Historical Societies and MuseumsĪ testament to a horrific aspect of a horrific war, this artifact also speaks to the human desire for remembrance.

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.