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The P helmet, PH helmet and PHG helmet were early types of gas mask
Gas mask

A gas mask is a mask worn over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling "airborne pollutants" and toxic gasses. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face....
 issued by the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 in the First World War, to protect troops against chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
, phosgene
Phosgene

Phosgene is the chemical compound with the chemical formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I, but it is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in organic synthesis....
 and tear gases. Rather than having a separate filter for removing the toxic chemicals, they consisted of a gas-permeable hood worn over the head which was treated with chemicals.

The P (or Phenate) Helmet, officially called the Tube Helmet, appeared in July 1915, replacing the simpler Hypo Helmet
Hypo helmet

The Hypo helmet or British Smoke Hood was an early British First World War gas mask.Following the first German chlorine gas attack on the Western Front, at Ypres, on 22 April 1915, the British quickly equipped their troops with cotton mouth pads for protection....
.






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Vickers Machine Gun Crew With Gas Masks
The P helmet, PH helmet and PHG helmet were early types of gas mask
Gas mask

A gas mask is a mask worn over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling "airborne pollutants" and toxic gasses. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face....
 issued by the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 in the First World War, to protect troops against chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
, phosgene
Phosgene

Phosgene is the chemical compound with the chemical formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I, but it is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in organic synthesis....
 and tear gases. Rather than having a separate filter for removing the toxic chemicals, they consisted of a gas-permeable hood worn over the head which was treated with chemicals.

The P (or Phenate) Helmet, officially called the Tube Helmet, appeared in July 1915, replacing the simpler Hypo Helmet
Hypo helmet

The Hypo helmet or British Smoke Hood was an early British First World War gas mask.Following the first German chlorine gas attack on the Western Front, at Ypres, on 22 April 1915, the British quickly equipped their troops with cotton mouth pads for protection....
. It featured two mica
Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic with a tendency towards pseudo-hexagonal crystals and are similar in chemical composition....
 eyepieces instead of the single visor of its predecessor, and added an exhaust valve fed from a metal tube which the wearer held in his mouth. The exhaust valve was needed because a double layer of flannel – one treated and one not – was needed because the solution attacked the fabric.

It had flannel layers of cloth-dipped in sodium phenolate and glycerin and protected against chlorine and phosgene, but not against tear gas. Around 9 million were made.

The PH Helmet (Phenate Hexamine) replaced it in October 1915, and added hexamethylene tetramine, which greatly improved protection against phosgene and added protection against hydrocyanic acid
Hydrogen cyanide

Hydrogen cyanide is a chemical compound with chemical formula HCN. A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water is called hydrocyanic acid. Hydrogen cyanide is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and highly volatility liquid that boiling slightly above room temperature at 26 Celsius ....
. Around 14 million were made and it remained in service until the end of the war by which time it was relegated to second line use.

The PHG Helmet appeared in January 1916 and was similar to the PH Helmet but had a facepiece made of rubber sponge to add protection against tear gas. Around one and a half million were produced in 1916-1917.

It was finally superseded by the small box respirator in February 1916, which was much more satisfactory against high concentrations of phosgene or lachrymators.

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