Original Item: Only One Available. During WWI, like all of the involved powers, Austria began to use gas masks in the field to protect from the horrible effects of the newly deployed weapon. Imperial Germany was already producing large numbers of masks, so the Austro-Hungarian army first imported and deployed the M1915 "Gummimaske" fabric gas masks. These were however not really successful due to the delicate nature of the rubberized fabric body.

They then began to import the Imperial German M1917 "Ledermaske" leather gas masks, which were somewhat more effective. The Austro-Hungarian army first deployed these in canvas bags, but that proved unsatisfactory due to damaged masks, so they decided to produce their own cans for transport, as the German Army did. The first cans they produced were "stepped" at the bottom, such as this example. They later moved to a smooth sided canister to reduce production time.

This example is in very good condition, with lots of the original paint, and is fully intact and original. It even has the original canvas carry strap and bottom strap, which are almost always lost. The canvas is somewhat worn and stained, but still solid. There is also a unit marking tag on the lid loop handle, marked 855.

This is the first example of these we have had, and it really is a nice example.