Original Item: Only One Available. This is a rare example of the American M1 HD Gas landmine, a metal container holding 1 gallon (4.5 kg) of HD chemical agent intended for area denial by contamination with a persistent agent.
 
There Is No Chemical Agent In This Container. It Has Been Emptied And Cleared for decades.
 
The M1 chemical landmine was a rectangular 1-gallon can fitted with a carrying handle and a threaded cap. The cap was lined with a gasket of cork or rubber and faced with lead foil.

The landmine was filled in the field with persistent agents and known as the Chemical Mine E1. It consists of a simple thin-walled square metal can filled with a mustard agent. Two wires were soldered to the back of the can for attachment of a standardized burster charge or improvised charge made of detonating cord. The two wires are still present. Detonation of the charge would disperse the chemical agent. The standard chemical agent filling was 1 gallon (9.9 pounds) of distilled mustard (HD) or Levenstein mustard (H) as a substitute filling. The cap was lined with a gasket of sock or rubber and faced with lead foil.
 
The chemical mine was a post-WWI development. The chemical mine was first proposed in 1923 but the development was of a sporadic nature through fiscal year 1936 when test samples were prepared. The Chemical Warfare School conducted many tests with chemical landmines prior to 1934. A comprehensive discussion of the military requirements for and the military characteristics of chemical mines was prepared in 1935. The Chemical Landmine E2 was similar but used a round No. 10 fruit readily available in Hawaii.
 
Levinstein mustard (H) is the original mustard (gas) or WWI vintage and is, in reality, a dark colored liquid. A WWII era abbreviation of H which was also used was HS (signifying sulfur mustard), as opposed to HN (or nitrogen mustard) which had been stockpiled by Germany. It contains about 30 percent sulfur impurities, which give it a pronounced odor similar to garlic or horseradish. The impurities lessen the effectiveness of H and lower its freezing point 2 to 5°F. Other properties of H are essentially the same as those for distilled mustard, which is discussed in the following paragraph.