Small box respirator

The small box respirator was the initial compact version of the recent gas mask. In late 1916, the respirator was introduced by the British with the purpose to provide reliable protection against chlorine and phosgene gas.[1] The respirator offered a first line of defense against the gas. A later and more toxic gas, Mustard Gas, was created by Germans and was a vesicant that burnt the skin of individuals that were exposed to it.[2] Death rates were high with exposure to both the mixed phosgene chlorine and mustard gas, however with soldiers having readily available access to the small box respirator, death rates had lowered significantly.[3] Light and reasonably fitting, the respirator was a key piece of equipment to readily protect the respiratory health of soldiers on the battlefield.

A British soldier wearing the Small Box Respirator during World War I

References
  1. Brauch, Hans Günter (1982). Der chemische Alptraum, oder, gibt es einen C-Waffen-Krieg in Europa? [The Chemical Nightmare, or, is there a Chemical Weapons War in Europe?] (in German). Germany: Dietz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8012-0079-4.
  2. Mojtba, Satkin (2017). "The Quality of Life of Mustard Gas Victims: A Systematic Review". Tanaffos. 16 (2): 115–126. PMC 5749324. PMID 29308076.
  3. Jones, Edgar (December 2016). "Terror Weapons: The British Experience of Gas and Its Treatment in the First World War". War in History. 21 (3): 355–375. doi:10.1177/0968344513510248. PMC 5131841. PMID 27917027.
  4. "Small Box Respirator : Lieutenant E C Dockar, 43 Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force". Australian War Memorial.
  5. Fitzgerald, Gerald J. (April 2008). "Chemical warfare and medical response during World War I". American Journal of Public Health. 98 (4): 611–625. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.11930. PMC 2376985. PMID 18356568.
  6. "PH Helmet respirator : British Army". Australian War Memorial.
  7. Joy. "Historical Aspects of Medical Defense". Historical Aspects of Medical Defense: 97 – via ncbi.
  8. Haber, L.F (June 1988). "The Poisonous Cloud, L.F. Haber. 1986. Oxford University Press, NY. 415 pages. Index. ISBN: 0-19-858142-4. $62.00". Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society. 8 (3): 415. doi:10.1177/0270467688008003105.
  9. Cook, Tim (1998). "Through Clouded Eyes: Gas Masks and the Canadian Corps in the First World War". Through Clouded Eyes: Gas Masks and the Canadian Corps in the First World War. 47.
  10. "The Man Who Invented the First Gas Mask". Smithsonian.
  11. "Black Veil respirator : British Army". Australian War Memorial.
  12. "Gas masks in World War One". The History Learning Site. March 2015.
  13. "'Hypo' helmet respirator : British Army". Australian War Memorial.
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