The R.S. 35 was a particular mask for the civilian population made of woven metal cloth. It was the 11th gas mask approved by the S.C.M. (Servizio Chimico Militare, chemical military service) on 28 January 1936.
Mask overview[]
The R.S. 35, although similar in setup to the T.35, is quite different in furniture.
The mask is composed of the following parts:
The faceblank is made of woven metallic cloth, a rare choice for Italian mask of the time, and it was advertised as capable of being preserved for an unlimited amount of time, exception made for the valves and the glasses, which can degrade more easily. The metallic cloth was made by pouring molten metal, mostly aluminium and lead, on multiple layers of fabric interspersed with wire mesh. The metal would fill the pores of the fabric, making it gas-tight.
The faceblank has the following parts attached to it:
- the housing for the exhale valve (outlet)
- the metal threaded piece that allows the filter to be screwed in and houses the inlet valve (inlet)
- 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 aluminium threaded piece.
The 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.
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 two aluminium frames, with one being attached to the mask and the other being clamped onto the first, alongside the lenses.
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. There is also an additional strap at the bottom to keep the mask hanging from the neck in case of a gas attack alert
The anti-fogging disks are kept tightly onto the lenses by proprietary metal inserts and serve the purpose of maintaining good visibility.
The "triplex" glass eyepieces are held onto the mask using metal crimps, like most other Italian masks and sports proprietary anti-fogging lenses' clamps. The exhale valve is stored in a small box at the front, which is closed at the front by a lid and is connected to the mask by a metal ring. At the bottom, there is a metal 40 mm thread with its inhale valve. The mask sports a 5 straps head harness and an additional strap .
Filter[]
The filter, coloured yellow, comes wrapped in paper. It has a thread on the bottom to put an additional filter if the main filter runs out, as changing the filter in a contaminated situation was not deemed safe with this mask. The shape of the filter is the same as the T.35 one, with the only difference being the second thread.
Kit[]
The R.S. 35 mask came with the following kit:
- A cardboard box
- One R.S. 35 filter
- A manual, in two possible variants (one longer and the other shorter)
- A small box with a spare exhale valve and anti-fogging lenses, in two possible variants (one made of cardboard and the other made of metal)
R.S. 35 with its kit
R.S. 35 cardboard box
Cardboard spares' container
Front side
Back side
Metal spares' container
Use[]
Italy[]
The R.S. 35 was used by various territorial organizations for civil defence purposes but was also available for sale to civilians.
1937 night-time air-raid protection training[]
R.S. 35 masks can be easily distinguished because of their bright white colour.
Belgium[]
sample text
Manual (shorter variant)[]
8 pages in total.
Manual (longer variant)[]
12 pages in total.
