The Chinese Type 65 was designed after the Sino-Soviet split (more specifically, in 1965) and was issued to the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Albania after the country left the Warsaw pact of which China supplied them with the mask, Vietnam (before the Sino-Vietnamese War), North Korea (locally made), and Bolivia. Type 65 often wrongly known as M65, of which, this situation arises the confusion between this mask and the actual M65.
Overview[]
The mask uses a very unusual and awkward one sided cheek filter located on the left side of the mask. The mask's filter is a large egg-shaped filter that can only be replaced with certain tools. The M65 has two Tissot-tubes running underneath both lenses with a small hole on the side facing the nose and mouth to let air flow directly through to the mouth and nose, while eliminating lense-fog all at once. Due to this, the mask utilises no oral nasal cup to prevent fogging. It uses a seven-point head harness (one strap runs to the back of the filter to hold it close to the users head) and is made of a highly elastic fabric with easy to adjust buckles, having both a forward and rear adjusting straps, with a padded leather and fabric triangular shaped head harness pad. The head harness and rubber makes the M65 a very comfortable mask to wear for extended periods of time. The lenses are oddly shaped, resembling small, rounded, angular triangles, with galvanized tin rims. It uses a combination of an exhale valve and voice diaphragm in one assembly. There is a small ring that goes into a large opening on the front of the mask (covered by the plastic threaded voice/exhale valve cover) that has a small, turquoise colored piece of rubber that magnifies the wearer's voice, and small oval cutouts around the outer plastic edge that a thin rubber ring covers, which is the exhale valve. The mask is made of a very soft, and comfortable off-white colored rubber. The mask also comes with a small dark tan container that contains anti-fog inserts and their plastic locking pieces, along with a replacement exhale and voice diaphragm rubber. The cover for the inhale port on the filter case has a molded in communist star, denoting it as a Chinese gas mask.
Bag[]
The mask's haversack is very small, measuring around 18 x 18 cm and has a small pocket in the bottom for storing the small container. The haversack strap is very oversized so it will fit comfortably on any size and shape of body. The masks will come packed in a plastic bag with the size marked on the outside (sizes 1-4). There are two versions of the mask, the early version which has the exhale valve, and filter inhale cover sealed with tough rubber bands, and a later version has the more common metal clamps with snaps.
Service[]
China[]
After the Sino-Soviet split in the early-1960s the Chinese government began to develop its military industry so it could develop its own military equipment without the help of exports from the Soviet Union. As part of this, in late 1964, the Chinese military moved to design a new, gas mask for the People's Liberation Army. They eventually designed what would become the Type 65. It saw frequent use in the military and navy
Vietnam War[]
China sold large numbers of these masks to the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong (VC), who used them throughout the Vietnam War.
Albania[]
After Albania left the Warsaw Pact the Soviet Union stopped to support the Ushtria Popullore Shqiptare (Albanian People's Army) with weapons. But because of the Sino-Soviet split China searched for allies weapons and military equipment (including gas masks like the Type 64, Type 65, TF-1) were provided by them.
North Korea[]
Manfactured locally. The only known clone of this mask, it uses cheap plastic valve covers and grey rubber.
Bolivia[]
The mask was seen being used by the Bolivian riot police.
Gallery[]
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