Rare WWI USN / Marine Corps MK1 Gas Mask 1917
Price: Sold
WWI USN / MARINE CORPS 1917 MK1 GAS MASK – rubberized linen; perfect lenses and straps; intact rubber mouthpiece & nose clips inside (see pics 7-8); Rare seldom seen Original
Background: The US Navy/Marine Corps Mark-I was one of the earliest masks made by the United States military, not to be confused with the later optical Mark-I made in WWII. These short lived masks were manufacturing around 1917-1918. The mask was designed to take the elements of the British Small Box Respirator and the German Gummischutzmaske and make a comfortable and mobile mask during the First World War. Similar to the Gummischutzmaske, the Mark-I was issued in a metal canister. However unlike the German mask, the Mark-I used a wide rubber flapper type exhale valve that protruded from the filter inlet stem. Like the British, the Navy Mouth Canister mask used nose clips and a snorkel like mouth piece on the inside; a rare short-lived WWI era mask in superb condition.
