World War I Poison Gas: Country Trends--United States (1917-18)

poison gas World War I
Figure 1.--The children are the son and daughters of the American Secretary of War. Pictured are Jack Baker and his sisters, Peggy and Betty. Jack received his war gear kit as a Christmas present from his father (December 1917).

As poison gas was a novel new weapon introduced by the Germans during the War, the United States was totally unprepared. The Germans introduced poison gas (1915). The United States which was neutral at the time made not effort to develop its own chemical weapons or defense measure (gas masks). President Wilson was concerned about America's lack of chemical weapons after America entered the War. He instituted a crash program. Teams of chemists worked on chemical weapon at American and Catholic Universities in Washington, D.C. [Tucker] The United States produced about 5.600 t of poison gas during the War, nosly irritant varities. Small quantities of Lachymatory and Vesicant gases were also produced. This was much smaller than the quantities produced by the British and French and especially theGermans who produced about half of thecgas msanufctured during World War I. The Americans not only used the gas they manufactured, but like the British, French manufactured gas. Nor did the Army have gas defense equipment (gas masks) stockpiled for use. The Army placed a rush order for 25,000 masks to be shipped oversees for use by the to the First Division. (May 1917). Time did not permit thecAericans to conduct etensive trials and research. The first American gas masks were based on the British small box respirator (SBR). The British had had 2 years to design an effective mask. This standard British mask used both a noseclip and a mouthpiece. The Army medical department did contact the Interior Departmnt (Bureau of Mines) to assess the British design. The design was finaized (July 1917). A major national effort was organized to produce the masks. Manufacturing took place at Boston, Massachusetts; Brooklyn, New York; and Akron, Ohio. The resulting masks, however, prived inadequate and were rejected by the Army. The facepieces did not keep chloropicrin out. As a result the AEF was issued the British SBR and the French M2 masks. This was an acceptable emergency measure, but the Allies did not have adequate masks for the entire AEF. The Gas Defense Service of the Surgeon General's Department was set up (August 1917). They were ordered to produce 1.1 million masks. Contractors were found for the various components. The Hero Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was responsible for assembling the final masks. The AEF reported about 73,000 gas casualties and nearly 1,500 killed. The casualty/kill rario was substantially lower than the Britis and French. I am not entirely sure why, but suspect it was because tactics to contend with gas had been worked out by the time the AEF was commited in force.

Sources

Tucker, Jonathan B. War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda (Pantheon, 2005), 479p.





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Created: 5:46 AM 3/5/2008
Last updated: 5:46 AM 3/5/2008