AG 15/AG 20

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AG 15/AG 20

Preceded by

Succeeded by

Filter connection

(only on French export)

42mm

Made in

Belgium

Users

Belgium

France

Issued to

Civilians

Civil Defence

Manufacturer

L'Anti-Gaz (facepieces and filters)

Sacic (filters and hoses)

The AG 15/AG 20 series of respirators were Belgian civilian masks made by L'Anti-Gaz. The facepiece was based on the M1934, but it had a double hook system and a threaded inlet-outlet. This series had the government-approved authorisation N.121 in Belgium and N.1911 in France.

Some AG 20 masks were exported and used in a military context.

Mask overview[]

The faceblank was flat moulded into a shape identical to that of the M1934, with smooth rubber on the inside and textured rubber on the outside.

Said faceblank had the following parts attached:

An Inlet-outlet piece
Two eyepieces
A 6-straps system
A sponge septum

The inlet-outlet piece, attached to the mask at the front with a special tension clamp, varied slightly among the variants, but the main parts were always: the body, the exhale valve, the threaded cover for the exhale valve and the threaded inlet. With the exception of the French variant, all inlets also sported an inlet valve, a simple rubber disc. The exhale valve was composed of two parts, a rubber base and a thin disc with a stud to connect to the main part.

The eyepieces were 70mm wide and made of triplex glass. They were affixed to the mask with each lens having a top and a bottom aluminium frame. Anti-fogging lenses were positioned in two possible ways, depending on the variant.

The 6-straps system was attached to the mask in 4 points and a hook on each side of the facepiece that would hook onto the lower two straps. The straps could be either like the M1934 material-wise or just be made of rubber.

The sponge septum on this mask serves the purpose of making contact with the face over the nose and therefore reducing the "dead-space" in the mask, which means reducing the space in which air flows, and in which CO₂can accumulate and tire the user out. This sponge septum is directly glued to the inside of the faceblank.

Facepiece variants[]

Exhale valve cover[]

The cover of the exhale valve could be of two different types:

The early model was round and slightly textured
The late-model was studded, to allow a better grip
Round exhale valve cover
Studded exhale valve cover

Harness[]

There were 3 different types of harness:

Military-style harness, used on earlier models
Rubber straps harness, with a series of studs for length adjustment
Simplified rubber straps harness, without the studs for an even cheaper production cost
Military-style harness
Military-style harness
Simplified rubber straps harness

Thread[]

Most facepieces had a 25 mm thread and an inlet valve, with the exception of the French export variant, which sported a 42 mm thread.

Anti-fogging lenses[]

The anti-fogging lenses could be applied in two ways:

On earlier masks they were fixed with the lenses into the facepiece, making them not removable
On later masks, they were attached to the lenses using metal inserts that could be lifted and allow replacement if needed
E

Kit variants[]

AG 15 kits[]

The AG 15 family comprised of those masks that were used with the filter directly attached to the facepiece.

Tube Carrier[]

The AG 15 could be issued with two tube carriers, either one identical to the AG 5 one on earlier kits, or else, on later models, another one similar to the L.702 one, but with a "L'Anti-Gaz" marking and a different colour.

Small Filter[]

The AG 15 could be issued with four different filters, depending on the variant:

the first and earliest type was the same as early AG 5s, very large and made by L'Anti-Gaz
the second type was also shared with late AG 5s, it made by L'Anti-Gaz, but it was slightly smaller
the third type was made by Sacic, and it was even smaller than the second type
The French type, similar in shape to the third type, had a 42 mm thread and an inlet valve
First type of L'Anti-Gaz filter (left), Second type (right)
Third type filter, made by SACIC
French type filter
Note the inlet valve inside the French type filter

AG 15 Manual[]

A bilingual manual, it varied depending on the variant is was issued with. Pictures may be found in the gallery at the bottom of the page.

Spare valve[]

Early AG 15 kits were sold with a spare exhale valve inside a small round box.

Conversion thread[]

Some AG 15s were issued with a special thread that allowed for 42 mm filters to be used.

AG 20 kits[]

The AG 20 family comprised of those masks that were used with a large filter connected to the facepiece through a hose.

Carrier[]

The AG 20 came with a bag marked "Sacic S.A.". The bag was sectioned in two parts, one for the storage of the mask and hose and the other for the filter, as it had a hole in the bottom so that air could pass through.

Large Filter[]

The filter used was a large Sacic filter, the same used with the E2.

Hose[]

The hose used had a thread on both ends, it had both a Sacic and a L'Anti-Gaz marking.

AG 20 Manual[]

A bilingual manual, it varied depending on the variant is was issued with. Pictures may be found in the gallery at the bottom of the page.

Spare anti-fogging lenses[]

Sometimes spare anti-fogging lenses could be found in a pocket of the bag.

Table[]

Note that the part of the designation in brackets is not official, and it's only there to distinguish the variants.

Designation	Exhale valve cover	Harness	Thread	Anti-fogging lenses	Filter	Carrier	Spare valve	Spare anti-fogging lenses	Conv. thread
AG. 15 (v1)	round	military	25 mm	fixed	small, first type	early tube carrier	yes	no	sometimes
AG. 15 (v2)	studded	military	25 mm	fixed	small, second type	early tube carrier	yes	no	sometimes
AG. 15C (v1)	studded	rubber	25 mm	fixed	small, second type	early tube carrier	yes	no	no
AG. 15C (v2)	studded	rubber	25 mm	removable	small, sacic	late tube carrier	no	no	no
AG. 15C (v3)	studded	rubber, cheap	25 mm	removable	small, sacic	late tube carrier	no	no	no
AG-15 (French export)	studded	rubber	42 mm	removable	French type	late tube carrier	no	no	no
AG. 20C (v1)	studded	rubber	25 mm	removable	large + hose	sacic bag	no	yes	no
AG. 20C (v2)	studded	rubber, cheap	25 mm	removable	large + hose	sacic bag	no	yes	no

Foreign use[]

Spain[]

During the Spanish Civil War, the Republican Army imported gas masks from numerous countries. On November 1936, around 30.000 gas masks were ordered from Belgium, some were AG 15s and others were specially modified Belgian army respirators.

China[]

During the late '30s and early '40s, the KMT army sought to improve its chemical defence, due to the heavy use of gas by the Japanese, and therefore an increased local production was supplemented by considerable import. Because Germany was not available due to wartime shortages, another alternative importer had to be found, and Belgium was chosen. Alongside many L.702s, some AG. 20C and AG. 15C masks were imported too. It's unclear to what scale they were used, whether the facepiece was one made by L'Anti-Gaz or by Sacic and how they ended up in China at all.