Cold blood army of two masks full#
Cold blood army of two masks plus#

Cold blood army of two masks full#

Notice the model pictured on the left with a right-mounted canister for left-handed shooters - a feature that would never enter full production. Despite the presence of the upgraded M7 (E7R1) Carrier being procured by Spring of 1944, and the recommendation to finalize the E6R1-3-E7R1 as the M5-11-7 on May 26, 1944, the plan was set back as the large-scale procurement of 398,462 E6-3-7 Assault Masks was set into production after February 1944, with enough available to go into action during the invasion of Normandy, June 1944.Į6-3-7 Army Assault Gas Masks with Poplin Gas Protective Hoods.

Cold blood army of two masks plus#

The E7 Carrier differed little from its prototypical counterpart, and sometime after January 1944, it was recommended that the 4 DOT button fasteners be replaced with 3 'Lift-The-Dot' fasteners, and the carrier be widened by 1/2' width-wise, and 1½' length-wise, resulting in the E7R1 Carrier.Īdditionally, the normal M7 Head Harness was found to insufficiently support the E3 Canister while in use, and so the introduction of a canister-supporting nape strap resulted in the C4 Head Harness, and this plus the introduction of slightly smaller faceblank resulted in the E6R1 Facepiece. On January 21, 1944, the E3R4 was re-designated the E6-3-7 and continued testing until April of 1944. The MIT E4R3-E1R6-E1R3 was given a limited procurement contract of 250,000 specimens on October 15, 1943, where 1,282 masks were delivered in December of that year. The E1R3 Carrier was made of waterproof, cotton duck canvas, coated on both sides with butyl rubber, whose opening flap was rolled uprightly and closed with 4 ball-and-socket type 'DOT' button fasteners along the exterior. The concept which would go on to be developed further was known as the E4R3-E1R6-E1R3 - the E4R3 facepiece design took a standard Class 'B' Gray M3 Service Mask Faceblank, removed the hose stem, a 2' slot cut in the left deflector channel from the outside, and a blanking plug and canister port were re-vulcanized onto the existing faceblank, allowing for the 60mm E1R6 Canister to thread into the side of the mask and the incoming air channeled into the usual deflector tubes without entering from the bottom. The E3R4-E1R6-E1R3 (E6-3-7) Assault Mask, with Class 'B' Gray Rubber Faceblank, typical of experimental early procurement examples. These principles involved a side-mounted canister that integrated with the existing deflector channels of a standard service mask facepiece, the canister being 60mm threaded and replaceable, and the carrier being waterproof and convenient to carry. By June 23, 1943, the bulk of the experimentation was nearing a conclusion and the final pattern for the defining features of an 'assault' mask were realized. Initial MIT concepts for a lightweight 'assault' mask with a side-mounted canister ranged from the creative to the bizarre. Many unique concepts came of MIT's experiments in effort to develop an American side-canister mask, but ultimately one would go on to be developed and adopted as the E6-3-7 Army Assault Gas Mask in 1943, filling the gap for a compact, lightweight mask to be used by amphibious landing teams and paratroopers alike during the upcoming Operation Overlord. Taking note of this, the CWS established a research division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1942 to develop a mask based off this pattern while utilizing the then-standard M2, M3, and M4 Service Mask Faceblanks. V mould was used to create a much more serviceable Mk. Later, the General Service Respirator Mk.

I, which took the profile of the Civilain Duty Respirator, but successfully mounted a small 60mm-threaded replaceable drum canister on the side of the facepiece. In 1941, the British had finalized what would become the Light Anti-Gas Respirator Mk. had dabbled with masks that had canisters mounted in the chin position, but did not hold them to high regard given the inconveniences noticed wearing the mask while lying prone or crawling.

Most of these concepts varied from novel at best to bizarre and impractical at worst, because, at the time, it seemed inconceivable for the American Chemical Warfare Service to develop a mask whose canister was mounted directly to the side of the facepiece without causing leaks. Since the late 1920s, one of the ultimate goals of the American Chemical Warfare Service was the procurement of a specialized mask which reduced the overall weight and size to a convenient package without sacrificing protective quality. Edgewood Arsenal (Final Assembly), Assorted Manufacturers (Hardware)