Greek gas mask and helmet display

[stray_dog]

Hi all!

Browsing through some old books, I stumbled upon this relatively known photo of a Rheinmetall 37mm AA gun of the Greek Army.



The crew are wearing M34/39 helmets and an unnamed German export type gas mask, also used by Bulgaria. The face piece looks generally like the GM30, with the use of glass instead of plastic in the glasses and a long corrugated tube, resembling the tube of GM24. The filter is also looking like a short version of the GM24 one. The Greek Army had ordered 201.000 British and German gas masks of different types during the 1936-1940 period.

So, I tried to combine a small size 55 M34/39 helmet with a small size 1 gas mask of the above type and thought I 'd share it here. I hope you 'll find it interesting!

Best regards,
Giorgos

[blinky]

Outstanding!

[Uncle Goose]

Great catch, the Greek gasmasks are very difficult to get hold of. They were made by Dräger but they did not put any recognizable marking on them, this was normal procedure for export gas masks made by Dräger.

[stray_dog]

Thanks for the comments, I 'm glad you found it interesting!

Originally Posted by Uncle Goose

Great catch, the Greek gasmasks are very difficult to get hold of. They were made by Dräger but they did not put any recognizable marking on them, this was normal procedure for export gas masks made by Dräger.

Indeed, a number of GM30 masks was produced by Dräger, but it seems that Auer also got a deal for export pieces, as this example is a 1939 Auer one. More photos of it can be found here: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=greek+gas

Greek gas masks are indeed quite difficult to find, I have seen only 3 examples of this type, one GM30 and a British made one for sale here in Greece, in about 8 years. Although the number of 201.000 pieces looks huge, it seems that they never left the army (and if they did, they maybe never left post-war Civil Defense). The carrying cases are the rarest piece, though...

Best regards,
Giorgos

[Uncle Goose]

Very interesting to know Auer also exported, I was always under the impression that Auer rarely exported gasmasks but it seems that they did export a whole lot too.

[giorgios]

Originally Posted by stray_dog

Thanks for the comments, I 'm glad you found it interesting!



Indeed, a number of GM30 masks was produced by Dräger, but it seems that Auer also got a deal for export pieces, as this example is a 1939 Auer one. More photos of it can be found here: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ight=greek+gas

Greek gas masks are indeed quite difficult to find, I have seen only 3 examples of this type, one GM30 and a British made one for sale here in Greece, in about 8 years. Although the number of 201.000 pieces looks huge, it seems that they never left the army (and if they did, they maybe never left post-war Civil Defense). The carrying cases are the rarest piece, though...

Best regards,
Giorgos

I have one complete with the carrying case

[stray_dog]

Originally Posted by giorgios

I have one complete with the carrying case

Hi!

Can you post some photos of it? I 've only ever seen one carrying case!

Best regards,
Giorgos