In order to protect the flutter valve from injury and from contact with objects which might interfere with its proper functioning, the later types of valve were provided with a guard of stamped sheet metal.
Canisters
During the development of the facepiece, as discussed above, the American canister underwent changes in design which have been designated as A to L. These changes were noted by the different colored paints applied to the exterior of the canister.
Type A canister was exactly like the British model then in use, except that it was made one inch longer because it was realized that the early absorbents were of poor quality. The canister was made of beaded tin plate and was 18 cm. high. The area of the flattened oval section was 65 sq. cm. In the bottom was a fine wire dome 3.4 cm. high. The valve in the bottom was integral with the bottom of the container, there being no removable plug for the insertion of the check valve. The absorbents were held in place by a heavy wire screen on top and by two rectangular springs.
Fig. 56.—American Canister, Type A.
Inhaled air entered through the circular valve at the bottom of the canister, passed through the absorbents and through a small nipple at the top.
The filling consisted of 60 per cent by volume of wood charcoal, developed by the National Carbon Co., and 40 per cent of green soda lime, developed and manufactured by the General Chemical Company, Easton, Pa. The entire volume amounted to 660 cc. The early experiments with this volume of absorbent showed that ⅖ soda-lime was the minimum amount that could be used and still furnish adequate protection against the then known war gases. It was, therefore, decided to use ⅖ soda-lime and ⅗ charcoal by volume and this proportion has been adhered to in all of the later types of canisters. It is interesting to note that these figures have been fully substantiated by the later experimental work on canister filling.
The charcoal and soda-lime were not mixed but arranged in five layers of equal volume, each layer, therefore, containing 20 per cent of the total volume. The layers were separated by screens of crinoline. At the top was inserted a layer of terry cloth, a layer of gray flannel, and two steel wire screens. The cloth kept the fine particles of chemicals from being drawn into the throat of the person wearing the mask.
This canister furnished very good protection against chlorine and hydrocyanic acid and was fairly efficient against phosgene, but it was useless against chloropicrin. These canisters were never used at the front, but served a very useful purpose as experimental canisters and in training troops.