Type 27

二七式

ニ七式軍用防毒面具

Type 27

Type 27 military anti-gas mask

Also

大東亜戦争戦利防毒面 (Greater East Asia War Loot Gas Mask)

戦利品防毒面 (Loot gas mask)

Preceded by	Succeeded by
Type 24 Type 26

Filter connection
40mm DIN

Made in

British Hong Kong

Period

1938-late 40s

Users

Republic of China

Japan

Issued to

國民革命軍 (Chinese National Revolutionary Army)

Japanese civil defence

Manufacturer

Jiehe Steel Factory, Hong kong branch (捷和鋼鐵廠, 香港分廠)

Security industry co., ltd. (保安實業股份有限公司)

CHICO, Strong China industry (強華實業公司)

Jianmin Company (堅民公司)

Private chemical company (民営化学工業所)

The Type 27 (with 27 being the year of the Chinese Republic, corresponding to 1938) was a military gas mask used by the National Revolutionary Army during the defence of Canton and later Hong Kong. The facepiece is a licensed variant of the Czechoslovak FM-3.

Linguistic note: Chinese text from this particular era and zone of China is read from right to left. For the convenience of the reader, when reported in the article it's always written from left to right.

Mask overview[]

The Type 27 didn't differ much from the FM-3 it originated from, being made of moulded gray rubber and having the same furniture; the biggest differences are the markings and the peripheral seal, which is made of fabric. Inside the facepiece there's a tag with the symbol of the arrow and gear for the Chinese Arsenal. The round triplex eyepieces are held by black painted steel eyepieces. The valve housing is made of bakelite and clamped to the faceblank with a single metal strip; the cover bears the producer's marking. The inlet piece sports an inlet valve and a small Tissot-deflector which only allows the air to go upwards, defogging the eyepieces when inhaling. The harness has 6 elastic straps and a non-elastic carry strap, each strap is connected to metal buckles moulded inside the faceblank; there is a clamped metal part on the end of each strap which stops it in the buckle. There are two slabs on the back where the straps connect to and the harness can be adjusted by two pull tabs.

Type 27 video

Kit[]

The kit consisted of the following elements:

Mask
Bag
Filter
Rubber cover for the filter
Spare exhale valve in a tin
Anti-fogging paste and cloth in a second tin
Exhale valve disassembly tool
Manual

The bag, made of thick fabric, has a single strap, a button to close the external flap and another one for closing two protective flaps on the inside. There's a total of 3 pockets, one on the outside and two on the inside, in which the accessories would be placed.

The filter and its rubber cover bear the producer's markings along with the Chinese Arsenal symbol. Captured filters have a strip of paper attached over the original one, covering part of the markings.

Background and markings[]

The Type 27 saw mass production between numerous companies in the Hong Kong area, some of which operated in Canton before the Japanese operation in October 1938. The confirmed -or at the very least mentioned- producers are the following:

CHICO, Strong China industry (強華實業公司). The masks produced by this company are today the most common. The exhale valve cover is marked with the word "CHICO" inside a globe with the ideograms "強華" (Strong China). These masks also have the word "CHICO" on one side and on the top of the filter. The inside also bears the text "保安" (security) in a shield, like the company Security industry co., which is likely the patent holder for the licensed design. Some masks marked "CHICO" on the side have the "保安" (security) symbol on the exhale valve cover.
Security industry co., ltd. (保安實業股份有限公司). It's unclear whether this company produced any masks or parts for the Type 27, but its marking, the word "保安" (security) in a shield, is present in most if not all masks and one of the manuals for the Type 27 was printed by this company.
Jiehe Steel Factory, Hong kong branch (捷和鋼鐵廠, 香港分廠). The Type 27 is present on advertisements from this company, but since no mask with Jiehe's markings has been found, it's unclear whether this company marked its mask, produced only some parts or perhaps just retailed them.
Jianmin Company (堅民公司). This company, originally located in Canton, was moved to Hong Kong due to the Japanese invasion. The masks produced by this producer are marked on the exhale valve cover with a symbol of a man playing the flute along with the text "堅民商標" (Jianmin trademark). Inside, there is the "保安" (security) symbol on one side and the date and serial number on the other side.
Private chemical company (民営化学工業所) (unconfirmed). This company is only mentioned in one source.

It's important to note that parts of the mask may or may not have been imported from western countries.

Japanese use[]

After the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in December 1941, the stocks of Type 27s were seized on a factory-to-factory basis, and after that, they were sent to Japan where they would be sold to civilians by the Air Defense Research Institute of the Ministry of Interior and the Imperial Japanese Air Defense association. These masks would be known as "Greater East Asia War Loot Gas Mask" (争戦利防毒面) or simply "Loot gas mask" (戦利品防毒面). The markings on the filter cite a person named "Tsuneji", possibly Tsuneji Rikitake, professor of the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.