The topic of this article is under research and may be incorrect in its current state.
This article is about masks made utilizing Leyland's license of the Mk. IV General Service Respirator in interwar Czechoslovakia, be it military or civilian. The civilian masks were both sold to civilians in dedicated shops, and stocked in CPO (Civilní Protiletecká Obrana - 30s Czechoslovak Civil Defence) shelters.
Produced models and manufacturers[]
Vz.35 (various)[]
The Plynová maska Vzor 1935 (Gasmask, model of 1935) was a military version of the Leyland license gasmask, produced by Fatra, Chema, Kudrnáč and Optimit. Put into service in 1935 with the Czechoslovak Army, some served up until the end of the war with either the fascist Slovak State, the single Czechoslovak army unit that the protectorate was allowed to have, or captured and put into use with Luftschutz. Upon manufacture, every mask was checked by Military Chemical Department, just like every mask in Czechoslovakia at that time, and received a proofstamp, either on the forehead, or on the right cheek, with the maker being stamped on the bottom of the chin, and molded inside at nose height. Even to the mask was in production since 1935, most of them are from 1938, when the Czechoslovak government finally realized how much of a threat the Third Reich could be.
The valve assembly is made from aluminum, painted in a dark gray paint. Earlier models have the thread pointing directly downwards, while later ones point forward at a slight angle. The eyepieces are made from three layers of glass held together with translucent glue. As with most masks from that period and place, the intake valve is in the filter, rather than in the mask. The eyepiece rims are sprayed with the same color, just like the harness buckles. The harness buckles are molded into the faceblank itself, with the places they're molded into also covered with stockinette, thus making it very hard to repair if a buckle was to tear out of the faceblank. The headharness is a fairly simple 6 point design, made out of elastic in the color of the mask, with all 6 points being sown onto a cloth headpad (also in the color of the mask). In case of the Fatra made ones, the inside was bright orange. The mask was made in 3 sizes, with 1 being the largest, and 3 being the smallest.
The Vz.35 gasmask kit consists of the Vz.35 gasmask, a Vz.35 haversack, a Vz.27 filter, and antifog soap, which is wrapped in waxpaper and stored in a small rectangular aluminum box.
The Vz.35 haversack is divided in the middle, thus having two pockets, one for the mask, the other for the filter, to which the mask is connected via a hose that is covered with brown stockenite, whilst also having a small side pocket for the container with the antifog soap. Inside the haversack, there's a small internal pocket on each side, containing chemicals to protect against yprite. The Vz.27 filter has a 42mm thread on the top, which is usually covered by a brownish red filter cap, to protect against moisture. On the bottom, the filter is taped up with cloth tape, which is supposed to be torn off before use. By 1939, 1,408,098 masks have been manufactured.
FM-2 (Fatra)[]
The FM-2 the most common civilian Leyland license mask. It comes in 3 sizes, just like the Vz.35. The mask is almost identical, except for the color, that being different shades of gray. The head harness is also very similar, except instead of the straps being sown onto the headpad, they go through holes cut into it, and now it's made out of thick rubber. The straps are made out of either grey or dark brown elastic, however the way they're attached to the mask remains identical. The masks also have a proofmark on them, with the model being stamped on the bottom of the chin, and also inside at nose height. The inside is either gray, green or bright orange. The mask was sold in multiple different tins varying in height, color (green, grey, blueish green), closing system, etc.. It usually came with an EF-2 (Eckhardt Filtr – 2 ).
The kit contained:
- Mask
- Filter
- Carrier
- Anti-fogging soap
- Short manual
FM-2B (Fatra)[]
Unusual version of the Fatra FM-2 which has not been covered with stockenite. Other than that, it's just like all the other ones.
"Samaritánská" (Fatra)[]
It was yet another civilian Leyland, however this one was actually unique. The straps were dark brown, whilst the facepiece was light gray. Some of them had "Samarit" written on their left cheek. It was intended for civil guard leaders and samaritans. The kit consisted of the military haversack, and a big Techna oval filter connected via a hose.
K1/KM-1 and K2 (Kudrnáč)[]
K1/KM-1 and K2 were both civilian Leyland masks made by the company Kudrnáč & Co. Most masks known are marked "K2" on the inside and "K1" or "KM-1" on the chin. These masks did not generally differ from the other models and each others, with the sizing being the same, the inside being also bright orange, and the make and model being marked on the bottom of the chin, and inside at nose height. Earlier masks were sold under the brand Kudrnáč , whilst the latter ones were sold under a dedicated brand, also owned by J. Kudrcan, Ypra. The mask was sold in two kits - a "service" one, and a "samaritan" one. The service kit consisted of a small filter, a carrier tin, a manual, and antifog soap, and cost 151 kc new. The samaritan kit consisted of a large filter, a hose, a haversack, antifog soap, and a briefcase, costing 245,50 kc new.
Optimit O-11/Op.-M-2 (Optimit)[]
Yet another civilian Leyland license, this time made by Optimit. It is green from the inside, which is very unique. Other than that, quite standard. Sold in tall oval grey tins.
Leyland (Pála)[]
Also quite regular, however different with the kit. It was usually issued in in tall oval green tins with a golden "Pála" logo on the side and the top, along with a pala filter which bore the same logo.
Viktorit Antiplyn (Viktoria Brno)[]
Made by a small company based in Brno, Viktoria. Usually sold with either Eckhardt or Mars filters. Orange or red on the inside, grey on the outside. Kit consisted of a tall tin sporting the company logo in red, a filter, and a company branded manual.
TM-1 (Techna)[]
Techna's own Leyland clone. Color is bordering purplish grey. Issued with the TF-1a (Techna Filtr – 1)
Unknown model (Antonín Englberth & Co.)[]
Model unknown, distributed by Antonín Englberth. Seems to have some kind of a seam around the edges in the stockenite.
Chema S (Chema)[]
Civilian version made by Chema, sold in either military haversacks, or chema tins. It differs from all the others by being covered with stockenite of a noticeably lighter gray.
Salus S (Salus)[]
Not many produced, very small company.
M-1 (Mars a.s.)[]
Orange on the inside, brownish grey stockenite on the outside, mars stamp on the chin.
OPT (Optimit, Fatra)[]
A facepiece based on the VZ.35 intended for the Heeres-Atmer KG120 rebreather, used by the Czechoslovak army, and the Wehrmacht. The valve assembly has been swapped out for a flat piece of metal with a small thread in the middle for the breathing apparatus to screw into. It is a military Vz.35 facepiece, thus it has the ginger color. It has a regular military 6 point harness with a cloth headpad. The connector part was either painted blue, or grey. Its predecessor was the E1 while its successor was the DM3.
Service[]
Czechoslovakia[]
Československá armáda (Czechoslovak Army)
The Vz.35 was issued to the army alongside with the Vz.33. Upon being annexed by the German Reich in 1939, most masks were seized by the occupation army, whilst a small increment remained in service with the protectorate army. After the war, the masks were not repossessed, and thus Czechoslovakia was left with about 50,000 (out of 1,500,000 which they had in 1939). It was then used along with a selection of various masks, namely the Vz.30N and Vz.38N, ShM-41, O-8-GP and the Mk.IV GSR. In 1945, GuZu restarts the production of Vz.35 military masks (alongside GM38s), makes an unknown amount. This renewed production wouldn't stop until 1951, when the army decided that it needs an overall standardization of their gear (until this time, the Czechoslovak Army used basically anything it could gather). This whole notion led to a new pattern of Y straps, belt, magazine pouches, helmet, rifle, uniform, boots, backpack, breadbag, canteen, bayonet, camouflage coveralls, and, most important of all, a new gasmask, the M52, which was a direct license of the ShM-41, of which the Czechoslovak army already owned over 200,000. After that, some remained in service with the CPO. Either with the original 42mm filters, or fitted with a 40mm adaptor, and issued with a CF-II-50 filter. This setup worked since the CF-II-50 was made for a CO-1, which was a postwar production FM-3, and thus, also had the intake valve in the filter, rather than in the mask.
Civilians
Civilian models were both available for purchase by civilians, and stocked in CPO (Civilní Protiletecká Obrana) shelters by the state.
Slovak Republic[]
Ozbrojené sily Slovenskej Republiky (Slovak Army)
Upon detaching itself from the suddenly annexed nation of Czechoslovakia, the Slovak army retained whatever gear its soldiers had, along with the Vz.35 gasmask. In Slovak service, it remained in it's standard haversack and was worn on the left side, attached to the belt with two loops, with another carry strap around the neck and shoulder, whilst also being strapped down by the belt (as mentioned by the P-I-2 directive about combat infantry training). The mask was used alongside the Vz.23, Vz.27 and Vz.33 masks (since the Slovak state had a shortage of the most modern, Vz.35 mask).
Spain[]
Bando republicano (SCW Republicans)
Ejército de Tierra (Spanish Army)
During May of 1937, deep in the Spanish Civil War, the Republican forces imported around 50,000 Czech gas masks. The most common imported masks were the Leyland licensed ones produced by Fatra: some were Vz.35s and Samaritánskás, but for the most part, they were FM-2s with dedicated carriers, Eckhardt filters specially made for this pattern of masks and a stick of anti-fogging soap. A copy of this pattern of mask was produced in the province of Castellón.
After the end of the War, the mask was adopted as the "Fatra" model in its 42mm iteration (including both imported masks and local production), and furthermore a "Fatra-A" model was devised, modified to accept 40mm DIN filters. These masks last mentioned had their furniture painted olive green over the existing colour and the thread would be converted by inserting a 40mm directly inside the existing thread and by adding a rubber gasket with an inlet valve (since the filters, namely newly made CMP post-War filter and recovered Nationalist ones used didn't have an inlet valve like the Czech ones).
Netherlands[]
Civilians
In The Netherlands, probably FM-2 masks were imported by G.L. Loos & Co. Fabrieken N.V. as Fatra Dienstmasker, officially called Rijkskeur 025.
Germany[]
Reichsluftschutzbund (Nazi pre-Civil Defence
)
Civilians
After the German occupation of the Czech lands the Protectorate government sold all unneeded gas masks to the Germans and for a brief time some companies, like Kudrnáč and Optimit produced masks for the occupiers. Because of these reasons the mask was very common in the German Reichsluftschutzbund (civil defense) thus it got its official designation, DM.1 (German: Dienstmaske 1 - Service mask 1) and it got its RL number too, RL1-39/45. Masks produced during the occupation don't have official Czech stamps just the manufacturer's and German acceptance stamps, like the RL and WaA.
Hungary[]
Légoltalmi liga (pre-Civil Defence)
Civilians
In Hungary the mask was used by Légoltalmi liga (civil defense), most likely because after the First Vienna Award and Slovak–Hungarian War (1938), the army captured some Vz.35 in southern Slovakia. Before the war, the Czechoslovak government printed brochures for the Hungarians living in southern Slovakia featuring the mask.
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Italy[]
Italian Army or other entities
A number of captured Czech Vz.35s made their way to fascist Italy, passing through Germany. The use that these masks were put to is unknown, most likely military. Although it's not known how many of these masks were delivered, it was enough for the Ministry of War to warrant the printing of a dedicated manual in 1942.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia[]
Main article:M-2
Licensed copy, made by Nebojša. The masks were locally produced and the filters were imported.
References[]
- http://www.gasmasklexikon.com/Page/Start01.htm
- http://www.gasmaska.cz/program/zobraz_sbirka.php?region=3&muta=a
- http://www.gasmaska.stranky1.cz/nova-stranka-7899/
- Spanish use: GUERRA QUIMICA EN ESPAÑA 1921-1945, https://muntanyesdelaguerra.blogspot.com/2015/01/el-aliento-del-diablo-defensa-antigas.html
- Dutch use: https://gasmaskers.jimdofree.com/gasmaskers-met-rijkskeurmerk-021-050/
- Hungarian use: https://filmhiradokonline.hu/watch.php?id=5647
- German use: http://www.gasmasklexikon.com/Page/Start01.htm
- Gianmichele Erre's collection
- JeromeZP's collection
- Researched by: Richard Kmoch (Policajt23)