By 1937, Australia was able to produce all but two of the components, with only the laminated splinterless glass and the activated charcoal being supplied by Britain. To begin with, Britain supplied Australia with components that would be assembled into finished respirators. The Mk III GSR had by now been replaced by the Mk IV GSR and by the early 1930s Australia and Canada were both manufacturing identical copies of the British Mk IV GSR. A lot of time was spent learning the same manufacturing and inspection methods, so that all new equipment would be identical and, if needs be, interchangeable. The idea was for the Commonwealth countries to start manufacturing their own equipment, but to the same specs as the British. In 1927, both Australia and Canada sent teams to Porton Down to learn more about respirator manufacture and anti-gas equipment. In the previous years, Britain had shared its anti-gas technology with the Commonwealth countries in an attempt to unify their standards. The same started to happen with the other countries of the British Empire. As such, the development work at Porton Down was stepped up and the production of respirators was increased. The Munich crisis had clearly demonstrated Germany’s disregard for the Treaty, so the threat of gas being used once again on the battlefield became a very real possibility. Although chemical warfare had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles, by 1938 the British Government had started to prepare for the worst. The article was written by Robert Halvorsen based upon previous knowledge, but details were fact-checked against the .The interwar years had provided Britain with a chance to improve further its respirator designs and to train its forces in the disciplines of anti-gas drills. Losantin decontamination kits were still used until the end of the war.Ī great article on this topic can be found at, a comprehensive website filled with very complete information on the topic. This system used a plastic bottle of pre-mixed decontamination ointment with gauze pads to apply it. Realizing this, the Wehrmacht designed a new system and began issuing it in 1941. This process was cumbersome and time-consuming, both heavily undesirable factors when considering that immediate treatment of blister agent exposure is necessary to significantly counteract the effects of the agent. The paste was then spread on any skin exposed to blister agents using a gauze pad. The soldier was supposed to crush the tablet into a powder, and then add water to turn it into a paste. The first issue decontamination kit was a Bakelite container that held Losantin tablets. The gas cape was often strapped to the side of the canister for ease of use. Some canisters had a lining of aluminum sheet metal. The straps allowed it to be carried at the small of the back, which limited the potential unwieldy nature of the canister, keeping it out of the way for the soldier to use his weapon, go prone, and whatever else was necessary. The inside of the canister lid had a small container for gas mask antifog lens inserts, which in an emergency could also be used to replace broken gas mask lenses. The cleaning cloth was officially kept at the bottom of the canister, and was held down by a spring system designed for the carrier. The canister was waterproof when closed, and protected the mask from being jostled, bumped, and smashed due to its sturdy metal construction. The German gas mask carrier during WWII was a metal canister. Decontamination kits were also issued, in two types. Some were also issued with a rubberized 'gas cape', which was a chemical-resistant sheet that one was supposed to throw over themselves should blister agents be deployed. Every soldier was issued a gas mask, which was kept in a metal canister. Having learned from the chemical warfare of WWI, however, Germany wanted to keep its army protected against chemical warfare. Germany, the Soviet Union, and Britain all had large stockpiles of chemical munitions- the Germans had a slight edge in having the first nerve gases, but knew better than to push chemical warfare into the mix. Germany had an interesting approach to gas protection in WWII.
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