After the British medal group I recently purchased, I was inspired to take a brief foray into WWI militaria. With some precious savings left to spend, I decided to pick this up. I’ve wanted one of these for a while, and have been holding out for a set in good condition. I’m pleased to have found one.

This is an example of the M1917 ‘Lederschutzmaske’. In the face of growing shortages of rubber — which led to difficulty in manufacturing sufficient numbers of the M1915 ‘Gummimaske’ — the German Empire introduced this model of mask in 1917. The facepiece, manufactured from sheepskin leather, was treated with oil to make it waterproof and gasproof it. They can be differentiated from the M1918 model of mask by the ’spider web’ over the lenses, as well as their overall thinner appearance.

This example is complete, and in above average condition. There is some rust on the canister — the so-called ‘deep lid’ model — but the metal parts of the mask itself have not suffered terribly from it at all. The sheepskin leather remains as soft and supple as the day it was made, with some light cracking to the lacquer painted around the seam of the mask. Both lenses are clear, if a little discoloured. Not a concern to me, as I don’t plan on wearing it anytime soon!

All straps and harnesses are present and undamaged, to include both the long and short strap on the canister, and the adjustment string, which supports the weight of the filter and prevents it from pulling the mask down and obscuring the wearer’s vision.

The mask appears to have been manufactured in 1918, with a March 1918 date on the filter, and a May date on the lenses. There are no date markings on the mask that I can see, though it does have a ‘2′ inked on the folded edge, indicating a medium size. The filter is fitted with a ‘Schnappdeckel’ clip-on filter. These were introduced in May 1918, and served to prevent the ingress of dust and smoke into the filter, which impaired its abilities to protect the wearer from war gases.

Of additional note is the small paper tag attached to the long neck strap, added by a British soldier upon the mask’s capture. Unfortunately, after many years of storage, it has absorbed the oil used to treat the mask and is illegible.

A very nice — if very smelly! — addition to my collection of gas masks!

Regards, B.B.