Japanese Air Defense Gas Mask, Type 16th Year, Model A

Japanese Air Defense Gas Mask, Type 16th Year, Model A. Note canvas pouch for carrying around everywhere. The earliest of these types was made of a thick canvas type material as opposed to rubber which was used for later versions. The mask had a head harness made of wide fabric straps which were adjustable around the chin area on each side. It featured a single plastic eye shield and a small fixed filter cartridge on the front of the face piece. This configuration was used on at least two other Japanese civilian gas masks during the war. Thousands of these masks were issued to civilians in case of chemical attack or for firefighting.