![]() ![]() This prototype was scrapped and the XM27 is considered by collectors, especially the masks made of clear silicone rubber, as some of the rarest gas masks known to exist. It is hypothesized that these were made to illustrate the internal workings of the mask to decision makers and were not intended to be a production model. A few examples of this mask were made with clear silicone rubber. While more comfortable for the wearer, the design was rejected since there was the concern of penetration of liquid persistent chemical warfare agents such as VX. This experimental design was basically an M17 made entirely of grayish-green silicone rubber instead of the black butyl/natural rubber formulation of the basic M17 model. One such variant was the XM27 created in 1966. Experimentation with the design continued throughout the operational life of the mask. The final mask, adopted as the M17, was a slightly modified E13R9. The E13R4 mask had integral cheek-mounted filters and was considered superior since the mask did not require a separate filter connected by a hose and accommodated left and right-handed soldiers without modification. The E13-series masks tested these various configurations. Army experimented with a variety of masks testing various filter technologies many concepts that were tested were ultimately dropped. ![]() PrototypesĮarlier prototype model, possibly an E13R8. As senior inventor and managing engineer of the mask, Dr. Approximately 3.3 million M17A1 and M17A2 masks were produced between 19. After about a decade of testing and development, a mask began production in 1959 as the ABC-M17 (Atomic, Biological, Chemical) with the same standard of protection as the M9 series, although with a longer 24 hour filtering capacity and shooter friendly design. Frank Shanty, a young engineer assigned to the Army Chemical Center, thought of the concept for the M17 mask on a late-night train to Cincinnati, Ohio. Utilizing previous work on canister-less civilian masks and earlier military prototypes, Dr. A voice diaphragm was also a design requirement to aid in battlefield speech communications in a contaminated environment. The internal filter pouch solution was selected to meet this form factor and also eliminated the requirement to have different designs for the left and right-handed service members. In this spirit, new design requirements were drawn up for a compact design that did not have external filter canisters or hose-connected filter elements. ![]() The late 1950s respirator design philosophy emphasized new and innovative solutions to existing and emerging problems. Military planners deemed the M9 as too bulky for modern combat due to the large filter canister mounted on the side of the face blank (although M9 series masks would be used for special purposes well through the mid-1990s). With the proliferation of the G-series and relatively new V-series nerve agents, the US military decided to design a new mask to meet the challenges of these new threats. 12.2 The First Gulf War AKA Desert StormĪfter WWII, and with the cold war between the US and the USSR looming, it was clear to war planners that any future war would quickly escalate from conventional to chemical and biological war.11.20 Mark I Nerve Agent Antidote Kit (NAAK).11.17 M258A1 Personal Decontamination Kit.11.15 M13 Individual Decontamination And Re-Impregnation Kit.11.14 M5 Series Protection and Treatment Set.11.11 Green Laser Protection Eyelenses Outserts.11.7 ABC-M6A2 Field Protective Mask Hood.11.2 Microphone Adapter Assembly For M17A1 Masks.4 Westinghouse Rotary-Actuated Prototype.
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