History[]
After the first world war, like many countries, Finland devolved a cheap gas mask for civilians in the event of a gas attack. Finland produced these masks in the thousands until they came up with the M/38, a mask similar to the German VM-37.
Overview of the mask.[]
The facepiece[]
The mask is very simplistic in its construction: it is made out of orange gum rubber coated in dark grey stockinette. The mask relies on anti fogging soap for defogging. There are no outlet or inlet valve, so the user would be both breathing in and out of the filter. Inside the facepiece right below the head tab, there is manufacturing markings. There are also markings present on the outside. The mask's lenses are held on by wire and tape, which matches the color of the stockinette. This method of wire and tape is also used to keep the filter threading in place.
The filter[]
The filter sports a proprietary thread, and can be removed. The air gets in the filter through a series of small holes at the bottom. There is no particulate layer and therefore also no asbestos, but separate dust filters were available and asbestos may be present in them.
The head harness[]
The head harness is a five point head harness, it has long adjustable black straps looped through buckles embedded between the stockinette and the rubber.
The kit.[]
The kit was as followed
- The facepiece
- The filter
- The manual
- Antifogging soap
- The carrying canister.
Gallery[]
