M-30 German WWII Gas Mask with Case

[Aragorn243]

This is my Christmas Present. My wife is getting pretty good at this.

This is not what I went to the auction for but after all the rifles fell through due to a bunch of very crazy people, I looked through the other things. I've been looking at the containers for a few months but not getting one due to either the price which seemed high or the condition which sucked.

This seemed a very happy medium, plus it had the mask which seems to be the rare portion of this combo.

This is an M-30 third model manufactured in 1940 by an unknown manufacturer. It appears there is a G on the inside and an H on the outside, neither is helpful. The same snout is also used on the M-38 which replaced these. The M-30 is rubberized canvas, the M-38 is all rubber. The lenses are bwz 1944.

The can is a long case which was manufactured from 1938 to 1945. It is ggm 1942. It has an aluminum insert which not all do and is D marked which means it is waterproof. I see no gaskets so not sure what makes it waterproof other than being tight. It has a spring-loaded pull latch to keep it closed.

The filter is an FE42 which are taller than the earlier ones and also used on the M-38. It has a cap on the base which looks like fcc or fec.

It is missing it's carrying strap which I'll have to track down.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[browningautorifle]

it had the mask which seems to be the rare portion of this combo.

That's for sure. You almost never see the masks since most discarded theirs and used the case for an extras case.

[Aragorn243]

That's funny because I never gave it much thought. I knew everyone had gas masks, but gas was never used in Europe and troops are always conscious of what they need and don't.

You always picture the Germans with being pretty obedient and not very rebellious, so I looked into it after you said that and you're right. While there isn't much actual evidence to it, the cases are in photos until the end of the war, but no one believes the gas masks are in them any longer. Food, papers, valuables etc., because they are the only waterproof thing they had.

I had just told my wife earlier this evening that most of the masks were missing because US soldiers took them as waterproof containers and tossed the useless masks. Could be a combination of the two I suppose.

I have to figure out which gas masks I have and don't have now. Pretty sure I have a US WWI mask, thinking there might be another but not sure. I have stuff all over the place and don't remember where I put it anymore.

[browningautorifle]

but gas was never used in Europe

Hitler went in thinking it was still WW1 and suffering from his own gas dose experience. The troops catch on quick and once in combat everything changes. The ditches of Poland must have been filled with masks... Good luck finding a correct one. I'll let you know if I see one...

[Flying10uk]

What about the possibility of asbestos in the filter or are you not bothered?

[browningautorifle]

asbestos in the filter

Well, I don't think anyone would intend to actually use one of those old things. I wouldn't even want to use something from my time.

[Aragorn243]

What about the possibility of asbestos in the filter or are you not bothered?

Not worried at all about it. I don't plan on actually using it.

I was more concerned with radiation leaking from the British compass I have but decided as I wasn't going to keep it in my pocket or lick it, I really didn't have much to worry about.

[Flying10uk]

I asked because it has been found that some British WW2 era gas masks, that were tested, were found to have leaked asbestos from the filter into the haversack. Obviously if and when this happens the mask and haversack/container then become hazardous to handle even if not worn.

My understanding is that all sides in WW2 used asbestos in the filters of their gas masks with the exception of Italy. That doesn't mean that every WW2 era gas mask has asbestos in the filter but potentially it could and there is no easy way to identify which ones do contain asbestos and which ones don't.

The above is only my understanding from what I have read online. It is up to people to do their own research on the subject.

To those not fussed about a "little bit of asbestos": I know the dangers of exposure to asbestos all too well because I lost a loved one to a rare form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It was a long slow death with uncontrollable pain that the doctors could nothing about, not even with morphine. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It should be a warning to everyone to take no chances with asbestos. We never got to the bottom of where the exposure occurred but there were a number of possibilities.

[Aragorn243]

Not trying to make lite of it but you have to be exposed to quite a bit of asbestos for it to have an effect. It's in all our older buildings in heating applications, ductwork, insulation, etc, it was used as siding on the outside of my house. There is fryable and non-fryable asbestos with the fryable type being hazardous. You don't even have to bag up the other type to dispose of it.

It's turned into little more than a money maker as businesses specialize in it's removal charging a fortune to do it and then doing nothing special in the process. They do the same thing with lead paint. In the construction business, I've been exposed to both on many occasions. I take some precautions, masks, cleaning up afterwards, etc but I don't get in a full suit for it.

These filters are more dangerous from possible chemical breakdown of the contents than the asbestos that's in it.

You asked if I was worried about it, no, not in the slightest.

[Aragorn243]

So I ordered a carrying strap off IMA until I can get a real one. Not happy with it at all. Not anything like the ones in their sales photos. It's brand new, dark green instead of a faded looking like it's been there look.

So how do I get the look? Bleach? Rubbing it in the dirt afterwards?

I don't do fabric.