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Personal
Markings on Gas Masks & Canisters
By
Brian McConnell
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The
following was taken from the Die Neue Feldpost newsletter
& was done so with permission of the publisher.
We would like to thank him for his generosity as well
as thank all those who have contributed to this
article. It is with their efforts, we are able
to share this valuable research with the rest of you.
A German
NCO, about to lead his men on a night patrol,
instructs them to place their gas masks in the platoon
supply wagon before setting out - a seasoned
campaigner, he didn't want "those damn things
banging around". Some time later, the sky
is just starting to brighten when the patrol returns
to collect its gear. As the NCO clambers into
the wagon to begin passing out the masks, one
dopey-looking Landser says,
"That
one's mine: the green one there!", and receives a
bash on the helmet by the NCO.
How does
each man retrieve the correct mask? Imagine the
dangers of getting the wrong one: if a real gas attack
was launched, you might try to put on a mask that
wouldn't fit. A less fatal, but more imminent
danger would be putting on a mask worn earlier by
someone with some contagious disease.
As usual,
the Germans seem to have overlooked nothing when it
came to battle gear. Although we have been
unable to find any official regulations pertaining to
gas mask markings, almost every used mask extant in
today's military collections display some variation on
what appears to have been a common scheme.
Supported by detailed examination of 6 original masks,
we have noticed the following recurring trends:
A.
Owner's name and rank on the bottom of the canister.
We have been told that the name was oriented on the
bottom of the canister so that it could read easily
when slung over the back. We examined more
canisters with this inscription put in pencil than
paint, however.
| B.
Serial number painted on the wide, flat band
on the side of the canister. This
is the number which was also entered into
the soldier's Soldbuch. In every
example we looked at, it was put in the same
position: right-side up on the side of the
canister facing you if you hold it so that
the top hinge is on the left and the latch
is on the right (see diagram).
Early-issue masks are usually in white
paint, later one (especially the rubber M38
types) are often in black. |
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C.
Owner's name and rank on the spare lens holder lid on
the inside of the canister top. Usually,
this takes the form of a typewritten strip of paper,
glued to either the inside or the outside of the lid.
One example (#5), had a pre-printed label inside which
also records a "gas room test".
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D.
Serial Number on the mask itself. Many
masks also have a copy of the serial number
which appears on the lid also painted on the
metal projection into which the filter is
screwed. These painted numbers follow
the same basic trends as the canister
numbers. See diagram for location of
these numbers. |
E.
Owner's name on the mask. Although less
frequent than A through D, above, some
masks are also marked, although there is very little
similarities between the manner and location of the
marking. Some are initials, inked onto the face
of the mask itself, others are printed or sewn labels
on the head straps.
Details of
the various masks I examined are contained in the
following table:
| MASK
# |
NAME
ON BOTTOM |
SERIAL
NUMBER |
NAME
ON LENS LID |
| 1 |
NONE |
'827'
in black paint |
'O.Gren
Binkowska', typewritten on a paper strip,
glued to outside of lid |
| 2 |
'Albert
Armbruster', signed in pencil |
'I/130'
in black paint |
NONE |
| 3 |
'Fritz
Hoffman, 3 Komp.' printed in pencil |
'D62'
in white paint |
'Feldwebel
Fritz Hoffman' in two lines, typewritten on
a paper strip and glued to the inside of the
lid |
| 4 |
'O.Kan.
Küchler' in white paint |
'1432A'
in white paint |
Pre-printed
paper tag, glued to inside of lid.
(see diagram) |
| 5 |
'Pio.
Schuchart' in pencil, a large "B"
in what appears to be orange pencil |
'405'
in black paint |
'Pio.
H. Schuchart' hand printed on a piece of
paper and glued to the inside of lid |
| 6 |
'Wehrmachtsgepack----,
Paris - Montparnasse' and a large
"557" serial number on a
pre-printed paper label |
NONE |
NONE |
The mask
described as number 6, above, represents a mask that
was actually used by the Wehrmacht but not actually
issued to any particular individual. The depot
named on the paper label probably stored a number of
masks for emergency use, or perhaps in anticipation of
later issue to individuals. At any rate, it is
in near mint condition and obviously never used.
Markings on
Masks
| MASK
# |
MODEL |
SERIAL
NUMBER ON SNOUT |
OTHER
MARKINGS ON MASK |
| 1 |
M-38
(rubber) |
NONE |
NONE |
| 2 |
M-38 |
'I/130'
in black paint |
"Kan.
Armbruster Albert L52297', hand-printed in
ink on a yellow rayon ribbon, sewn to neck
strap |
| 3 |
M-30
(rubber-backed canvas) |
'D62'
in white paint |
'F.H.',
hand-printed in ink on the outside of the
front of the mask |
| 4 |
M-30 |
'1432A',
with the numbers in white paint, and the
"A" added later in black |
NONE |
| 5 |
M-30 |
'405'
in black paint |
'H.
Schuchart' factory-embroidered in red on a
white rayon strip, sewn to neck strap |
| 6 |
M-38 |
NONE |
NONE |
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This article has analyzed a limited number
of masks, and I'm sure that collectors and
reenactors alike have additional variations
from these. I do hope, however, to
stimulate some thought when looking at
original pieces and maybe even provide you
with some information for that dopey Kamerad
when he says to you at the next event,
"Hand
me my gas mask, will ya?" (If he
wasn't so dopey, at least he would have
said, "Geben Sie mir meine Gasmaske,
bitte!")
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Sources:
- The Collections of Greg
Woodcook, Eric Toby, and Larue Curren
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