Uploaded August 2017 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
This is a shortened version of Horse Gas Masks - M4 and M5, a 1942 training film from the US War Department, shows the proper donning , doffing and storage of military horse respirators. The accompanying US War Department technical manual for the Horse Gas Mask, M4 And M5, 1942 is available at the Internet Archive at archive.org/details/TM3-230 . The entire film (16 min) is also posted to my YouTube channel as Horse Gas Masks US War Department 1942. With the introduction of chemical warfare in World War I, soldiers had to protect both themselves and their animals in order to survive and to fight. Horses and mules breathe through their noses, not through their mouths, so the respirator must only cover their nostrils. Horses eyes are not affected by lacrimators (tear agents), so eye protection initially was not required. The horse gas mask of World War I consisted of a large bag that fit over the horse’s nose and mouth. The horse bit into a canvas mouthpiece and the mask was held to the horse’s face by an elastic band. A canvas frame attached to the mouthpiece held the mask away from the nose so the horse couldn’t suck the mask into its nose. The carrier, a waterproof case, was strapped to the bridle or halter. Because the horse was vital to the U.S. military in the 1920s and 1930s, continuous tests led to mask improvements. Until the late 1930s, the design was based on the original "bag over the nose" type. In the late 1930s, new ideas using separate filters were tried and improved. The M4 horse gas mask adopted in 1941 represented a radical departure from previous masks. Chemical agents were no longer destroyed by chemicals on the mask material but were absorbed by two large cylindrical MI canisters carried on the horse’s shoulders. The M1 canister prevented the rifle from being positioned on the horse’s left shoulder, which meant that the M4 mask was intended for working horses. Two hoses carried air from the filters to a T-connection that combined the airflow and sent it to the mask. The M4 mask was made of rubber and completely enclosed the mouth and nose of the animal. It included a rubber mouthpiece for the horse to bite. A mask carrier hung from the pommel of the horse. Few of these masks were manufactured until the need for horses in the Italian campaign created the need to protect packhorses. The M5 and M4 horse gas masks were identical in all but one aspect--the position of the canisters. On the M5, both canisters hung from the right shoulder of the horse. On the M4, one canister hung from each shoulder. The M5 mask was designed for the Cavalry. The soldier on the horse carried his rifle in the cavalry standard on the horse’s left shoulder. In World War II, 39,159 M4 and M5 horse gas masks were produced. This information is from the article, Military Masks Animals in Chemical Warfare By Major Robert D. Walk at gasmasklexikon.com/Page/USA-Mil-Animals.htm . This film was copied from the US National Archive film library in College Park, Maryland.
This is a shortened version of Horse Gas Masks - M4 and M5, a 1942 training film from the US War Department, shows the proper donning , doffing and storage of military horse respirators. The accompanying US War Department technical manual for the Horse Gas Mask, M4 And M5, 1942 is available at the Internet Archive at archive.org/details/TM3-230 . The entire film (16 min) is also posted to my YouTube channel as Horse Gas Masks US War Department 1942. With the introduction of chemical warfare in World War I, soldiers had to protect both themselves and their animals in order to survive and to fight. Horses and mules breathe through their noses, not through their mouths, so the respirator must only cover their nostrils. Horses eyes are not affected by lacrimators (tear agents), so eye protection initially was not required. The horse gas mask of World War I consisted of a large bag that fit over the horse’s nose and mouth. The horse bit into a canvas mouthpiece and the mask was held to the horse’s face by an elastic band. A canvas frame attached to the mouthpiece held the mask away from the nose so the horse couldn’t suck the mask into its nose. The carrier, a waterproof case, was strapped to the bridle or halter. Because the horse was vital to the U.S. military in the 1920s and 1930s, continuous tests led to mask improvements. Until the late 1930s, the design was based on the original "bag over the nose" type. In the late 1930s, new ideas using separate filters were tried and improved. The M4 horse gas mask adopted in 1941 represented a radical departure from previous masks. Chemical agents were no longer destroyed by chemicals on the mask material but were absorbed by two large cylindrical MI canisters carried on the horse’s shoulders. The M1 canister prevented the rifle from being positioned on the horse’s left shoulder, which meant that the M4 mask was intended for working horses. Two hoses carried air from the filters to a T-connection that combined the airflow and sent it to the mask. The M4 mask was made of rubber and completely enclosed the mouth and nose of the animal. It included a rubber mouthpiece for the horse to bite. A mask carrier hung from the pommel of the horse. Few of these masks were manufactured until the need for horses in the Italian campaign created the need to protect packhorses. The M5 and M4 horse gas masks were identical in all but one aspect--the position of the canisters. On the M5, both canisters hung from the right shoulder of the horse. On the M4, one canister hung from each shoulder. The M5 mask was designed for the Cavalry. The soldier on the horse carried his rifle in the cavalry standard on the horse’s left shoulder. In World War II, 39,159 M4 and M5 horse gas masks were produced. This information is from the article, Military Masks Animals in Chemical Warfare By Major Robert D. Walk at gasmasklexikon.com/Page/USA-Mil-Animals.htm . This film was copied from the US National Archive film library in College Park, Maryland.
