S.I.P. 1

The S.I.P. 1 is Pirelli's first hooded mask, designed to be easily donned. It was used by industries and civilians.

Mask overview

The mask is composed of the following parts:

The faceblank, made of thin moulded rubber (either white or black), covers the entirety of the head and 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 inlet valve
• the eyepieces

The inlet 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, which can be either 30mm or 40mm.

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 inspected and possibly replaced by unscrewing the lid of its housing. The exhale valve design varies with each variant of this mask.

The eyepieces are made of cellulose acetate and they are affixed to the mask through aluminium frames.

White variant

S.I.P. 1
Società italiana Pirelli 1
Preceded by
Succeeded by	P.C. 32 Black S.I.P. 1 S.I.P. 2
Filter	Dirin
Filter connection	30mm 40mm DIN
Made in	Italy
Issued to	Industry
Manufacturer	Pirelli

The first variant of the S.I.P. 1 was made of white rubber, with a gear-like thread and either a 30mm inlet thread for the earliest production or 40mm DIN for later ones. They would be sold with either a commercial kit or a standard civilian one later on.

30mm white S.I.P. 1 represented in an UNPA snakes and ladders game

White rubber S.I.P. 1 remains. Note that this particular type of rubber couldn't be preserved as well as other types Pirelli used.

Parts of the kit

Thread and inlet valve in a 40mm sample

Exhale valve cover

Black variant

S.I.P. 1
Società italiana Pirelli 1
Preceded by	White S.I.P. 1
Succeeded by	Rifugio L.B. Rifugio L.B./V.N. S.I.P. 2
Filter	Dirzepo Dirin
Filter connection	40mm DIN
Made in	Italy
Period	1934-1945
Issued to	Civilians Industry
Manufacturer	Pirelli

The rubber used was black instead of white, the thread used was always 40mm DIN and the exhale valve cover was circular. These masks could be sold with a standard civilian kit, a dutch civilian kit or alternatively with a commercial kit.

S.I.P. 1 marking

S.I.P. 1 compared to S.I.P. 3

S.I.P. 1 from the front

S.I.P. 1 tube

Chilling on the gondola with S.I.P. 1 gas masks

Follow up

Kits

Commercial kit

These masks would be issued with a Dirin filter for either industrial or civilian use, alongside usually a carrier, anti-fogging soap, a spare exhale valve and a leaflet explaining how to operate the mask (these could all purchased separately to the discretion of the buyer).

In 1933 a facepiece cost 17 lire, while in 1934 it cost 18 lire.

S

Civilian kit

The S.I.P. 1 was the 1^st gas mask approved by the S.C.M. (Servizio Chimico Militare, chemical military service) on 26 May 1934.

The fixed price was 48 lire.

The kit consisted of the following:

• The mask
• Either an early Pirelli Dirin civilian filter or a Dirzepo (with Pir. 35 filters being a possibility)
• A Pirelli carrier
• Anti-fogging soap
• One spare exhale valve
• A brown training thread (occasionally)
• A manual

S.I.P. 1 with a partially incomplete kit

Parts of the kit of a S.I.P. 1. Note the training thread

Dutch export kit

A number of S.I.P. 1s were exported to the Netherlands by Loos & Co, which sold them with a Czech 40mm filter, a carrier and a leaflet. The mask had a gasket added to its inlet thread to allow the use of Dutch filters.

Dutch export S.I.P. 1 from Filip Van den Berghe's collection

Manuals

Leaflet

S.C.M. manual

Incomplete gallery

References

• Gianmichele Erre's collection
• Filip Van Den Berghe's collection
• POLE34's collection