A.N.P. T31 Gas Mask
From the Collection: A French Gas Mask from the Second World War
The mask with attached filter along with an issue cardboard cannister and canvas shoulder bag
As the Second World War loomed in the 1930s the French Army was undergoing a vast program of modernization of their equipment and weaponry. This included their personal respirators, or gas masks, as there was a general expectation that chemical weapons would likely be used in a coming conflict as they had in the previous. The French standard issue infantry mask was the ANP T31, or Appareil Normal de Protection T1931, which was essentially the same ARS used during the Great War with an updated filter system.
The ink stamps on the mask itself
The ANP T31 was made mainly of canvas, which was rubberized and treated with an anti-blister compound to neutralize gas. A complicated system of canvas shrouded springs and flexible straps allowed the mask to attach to the face, sealed by a ring of leather along the seams. The filter cannister was attached to the faceplate with a flexible corrugated rubber hose, in a manner similar to the British designs from the last war, as opposed to directly onto the faceplate as with the older ARS. A rubbler faceplate is present on the inside of the mask around the eyepieces, and a metal respirator assembly is present below the mouth.
The markings on the base of the filter cannister
The mask was carried in a canvas shoulder bag, and the filter would be left in this bag when the mask was worn, theoretically less obstructive than the face mounted type as well as better distrubute weight. The filter was either a small can, as seen here, or a larger box model commonly used with the artillerymen model. Like many of the era, it was made with various toxic compounds, including possibly asbestos, and is not safe for general use.
Thankfully, chemical weapons were never deployed during the conflict (barring some Japanese use against Chinese civilians), and masks such as the ANP T31 never had to see use beyond drills.
A French soldier with an ANP T31 slung over his shoulder in its bag