The Pr.C.33 was an Italian civilian mask used mostly for propaganda. It's the successor to the T.32, and it's structurally identical.
Mask overview[]
The mask is composed of the following parts:
The faceblank, made of moulded rubber, has the following parts attached to it:
- the housing for the exhale valve
- the metal threaded piece that allows the filter to be screwed in and houses the intake valve
- the eyepieces
- the straps
The inhale valve allows filtered air in from the filter and does not allow exhaled air to go back out from the filter again. Said rubber valve is housed in the metal threaded piece.
The VD 25 exhale valve allows exhaled air to go outside and prevents poisoned air to get in. It's made of rubber, it opens under the light pressure of exhaling and closes hermetically under the negative pressure produced by the inhalation. It can be easily inspected and possibly replaced by unscrewing the lid of its housing. In particular, its shape resembles that of the P.C. 30 ones.
The eyepieces are made of "Triplex" glass, which itself is composed of two glass layers and a thin sheet of cellulose. This kind of glass prevents poisoned air to get into the mask even after being hit, as only the outside layer of glass would be shattered and the other two layers would maintain the seal. The glasses are affixed to the mask through aluminium frames.
The elastic harness has the goal to keep the mask tightly onto the face. It is composed of 5 adjustable straps (a top one, two elastic temple ones and two elastic cheek ones) attached to the facepiece, and they gather into a nape pad.
The anti-fogging disks are kept tightly onto the lenses by metal inserts and serve the purpose of maintaining good visibility.
Filter[]
The filter was a small cylinder filled with blocking substances, derived from industrial Dirin filter. It was used with this mask and the P.C. 32.
Kit[]
The mask came in a metal tube with its filter, an instructional pamphlet and a small box with a spare exhale valve and anti-fogging lenses.
History[]
The Pr.C.33 was used mostly for propaganda purposes, being featured in various propaganda shorts from before the T.35 widespread adoption, which quickly fazed out of service the Pr.C. 33. The mask was also used by various civil defence organizations and youth organizations.
Pr.C.33 instructional pamphlet[]
