THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 191V. 



Gas Defense Equipment and the Rubber Industry 



/\\ Major C. R. Johnson, Chemical Warfare Service, United Slates Army. 



Fig. 1. — Types of Gas Masks Used 



German Armies. 



tvpe used bv L'. .S. Army through. 

 17. American A. T. mask, all r 

 in limited production at end of wai 

 .'^igned. This mask embodied the 



:hod put mto practice after initial gas 

 i-d this mask. 8. British "P. H." helii 

 rd type used by British Army. 10. F: 

 artillery mask designed by tissot. IJ 



vy mask. 14. American Nayy mask, fi 

 ar. 16. The improved design developed 

 sk in limited productioi: at end of war. 

 merican "Model 1919'' mask, improved 1 

 itures of 17 and 18 and was extremely 



Designed by Major Con 



;n„^;^ 



THE War Department made heroic demands upon the rubber 

 industry for rubber materials required in gas defense 

 equipment and it is gratifying to be able to state that this 

 industry heroically met those requirements. During the period 

 of our participation in the war the rubber industry furnished 

 products to the Gas Defense Division to the value of $12,671,461, 

 comprising the following commodities and quantities : 



Commodity. Quantity. 



Face fabric 1 .060,000 yards 



Band fabric J.S2,580 yards 



Lining fabric 21.170 yards 



Impermeable fabric 2')b.S<m yards 



Strapping 43.100 yards 



Kubberized stockinet 1 i'^.biM yards 



Nose- pads 9.210.000 pieces 



Deflectors 645,000 pieces 



C. E. hoods 2.317,000 pieces 



K. T. hoods 2.448 pieces 



A. T. Hoods 364.400 pieces 



Flexible'hose 7.070.000 pieces 



Mouth-pieces 7.550.000 pieces 



flutter valves 8.500,000 pieces 



Flutter valves (English tvpe) 8.50,000 pieces 



Quantity. 

 12,8001.000 pieces 

 1,120,000 pieces 

 1,378,000 pieces 



2,500 pounds 

 4,000.000 pieces 

 18,700.000 pieces 

 700,000 pieces 

 103,700 yards 

 14,666.550 yards 

 4.106,300 yards 



The purpose of this article is to point out the great importance 

 of rubber in the gas mask, to show the intimate connection of the 

 rubber industry with the development and production of this 

 most necessary equipment, and to furnish some technical in- 

 formation acquired in gas-mask production, which may be of 

 future value to the industry. 



It can be stated that rubber was universally used in all types 

 of masks. This is illustrated most effectively in Figure 1 in 

 which every respirator, except the very earliest English 

 emergency type, used rubber in various ways. The Germans 



Editor's Note.— Before the war. Major Johnson was chief chemist of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., . 

 the Sanitary Corps, National Army, in Tanuary, 1918, with rank of captain and was assigned to the Gas Defense S 

 assignments; rubber part procurement: development of Akron Tissot mask; officer in charge Long Island labor 

 Division, Chemical Warfare Service. In October, 1918, he " ' 



