Chemical Warfare Collection

Porton Down, aerial photograph. This site, in Wiltshire, UK, houses the headquarters of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, an executive Agency of the Ministry of Defence

Hooded British Territorials charging the German Trenches at Loos, September 25th, 1915, 1916. British troops in gas masks charged German trenches at the Battle of Loos on the Western Front

British schoolchildren practicing putting on their gas masks, World War II, 1939-1945 (b / w photo)
6015158 British schoolchildren practicing putting on their gas masks, World War II, 1939-1945 (b/w photo) by English Photographer

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501361 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: WWI Russian Zelinsky-Kummant Gas Mask in a metal case); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2023.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501358 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: German c.1915 Early WWI Commercial Gas Mask); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2023.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501356 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: Early 1915 french gas mask with goggles and case); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501355 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: Early WWI British Experimental Gas Mask); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501357 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: WWI German Gas Chemical Agent Bursting Glass Bottle); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501360 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: German M-1915 Gas Mask Segeltuchtasche in canister with cloth carry bag); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501359 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: M-1917 German Army Spare Gasmask Filter And Pouch); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

World War I , Chemical Warfare
3501354 World War I , Chemical Warfare; Private Collection; (add.info.: WWI British Poisonous Gas Remedy Capsule Tin With Instructions); © Don Troiani. All Rights Reserved 2022.

Fanning gas, 6 June 1918. Creator: Bain News Service
Fanning gas, 6 June 1918 (date created or published later). American soldiers being trained to use Ayrton or trench fan to clear poisonous gases during World War I, Camp Kearny, California.

Respirator for British soldiers, between 1914 and c1915. Creator: Bain News Service
Respirator for British soldiers, between 1914 and c1915. A British soldier wearing a face mask to protect against poison gas, standing with a woman holding another face mask, during World War I.

Les precautions contre les gaz; Tous les masques ajustes, aux betes comme aux gens, la colonne pour Creator: Unknown
Les precautions contre les gaz; Tous les masques ajustes, aux betes comme aux gens, la colonne poursuit sa route, 1917. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919

Les precautions contre les gaz; Les chevaux ont aussi leur appareil special, 1917. Creator: Unknown
Les precautions contre les gaz; Les chevaux ont aussi leur appareil special, 1917. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 1" [L'Illustration, Paris, 1924]

Les precautions contre les gaz; Arrete par un factionnaire muni d'un ecriteau: "Attention, nappe de gaz ", le chef d'une colonne portant des munitions aux batteries en ligne fait

Sur le front d'artois - Feuilles d'Album de Jean Lefort; Masques contre les gaz, 1915 (1916)
Sur le front d'artois - Feuilles d'Album de Jean Lefort; Masques contre les gaz : La cagoule anglaise/Le masque Tambute, 1915. From "Collection de la Guerre IV

Les Gaz Allemands; Photographie publiee par les journaux illustres anglais avec une breve... 1916. Creator: Unknown
Les Gaz Allemands; Photographie publiee par les journaux illustres anglais avec une breve legande disant simplement que le cliche aurait ete pris par un aviateur russe au debut attaque allemande

Les Gaz Allemands; une autre cloche, trouvee dans les decombres d'une eglise de village... 1916. Creator: Unknown
Les Gaz Allemands; une autre cloche, trouvee dans les decombres d'une eglise de village, installee un peu a l'arriere, et don't le son propage l'alarme au loin dans tout un secteur

Les Gaz Allemands; Cloche installee pres d'un abri de guetteur pour lui... 1916. Creator: Unknown
Les Gaz Allemands; Cloche installee pres d'un abri de guetteur pour lui permettre de signaler l'arrivee d'une nappe gazeuse ; des qu'elle sonne

German soldiers asphyxiated by poison gas deployed by them against the Russians but blown back into their own trenches
6000321 German soldiers asphyxiated by poison gas deployed by them against the Russians but blown back into their own trenches by the wind, World War I, 1915 (colour litho) by Damblans

Sailor at the Naval Air Base wears the new type protective clothing... Corpus Christi, Texas, 1942
Sailor at the Naval Air Base wears the new type protective clothing and gas mask designed for use in chemical warfare, Corpus Christi, Texas. These uniforms are lighter than the old type

La bete puante (The Stinking Beast) (colour litho)
981805 La bete puante (The Stinking Beast) (colour litho) by Lanos, Henri (1859-1929); Private Collection; (add.info.: La bete puante (The Stinking Beast)

On an occasion when the German Poison gas assumed a reddish hue
STC292900 On an occasion when the German Poison gas assumed a reddish hue, from The Illustrated War News (colour litho) by Cuneo

Acting Sergeant John Raynes putting his smoke-helmet on Sergeant Ayres following the explosion of a gas shell
976446 Acting Sergeant John Raynes putting his smoke-helmet on Sergeant Ayres following the explosion of a gas shell, 11 October 1915 (litho) by Pearse

Women workers manufacturing gas masks that saved soldiers lives during World War I (b / w photo)
6015388 Women workers manufacturing gas masks that saved soldiers lives during World War I (b/w photo) by English Photographer

WWI German gunners load poison gas shell wearing gas masks on the Western Front
870233 WWI German gunners load poison gas shell wearing gas masks on the Western Front, 1917 (b/w photo) by German Photographer (20th Century); Private Collection; Peter Newark Pictures; German

The gas attack method, intended to drive the enemy from their firm positions (b / w photo)
STC406134 The gas attack method, intended to drive the enemy from their firm positions (b/w photo) by German Photographer (20th Century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; German

Just behind the British frontline. Men of the Scottish regiment get use to wearing their respirators.28th October 1915

The children of Alsace in possession of the French are taught by a military schoolmaster for the time being. They each carry their gas masks some of them here seen drawn up for the visit of Monsieur

Early gas masks, First World War, 1915, (1935). Creator: Unknown
Early gas masks, First World War, 1915, (1935). The Introduction of Chemical Warfare: one of the earliest patterns of gas-masks, pads of cotton-wool soaked in a solution of common washing-soda

German naval troops wearing respirators, First World War, 1915, (1935). Creator: Unknown
German naval troops wearing respirators, First World War, 1915, (1935). The Introduction of Chemical Warfare: German naval troops wearing early types of respirator

Allied victims of a poison gas, temporarily blinded, at a French hospital, World War I, c1915-c1918. On 22 April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres

Slow Asphyxiation, 1916. Artist: Louis Raemaekers
Slow Asphyxiation, 1916. Plate 69 from The Great War: A Neutrals Indictment by Louis Raemaekers. The Dutch graphic artist Louis Raemaekers (1869-1956)

Gas Alarm!, Loos, France, World War I, c1915-c1918. Artist: Realistic Travels Publishers
Gas Alarm!, Loos, France, World War I, c1915-c1918. On 22 April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine gas over a four mile front

British gunners donning masks as protection against German gas shells, World War I, c1914-c1918. The board on the right of the photograph identifies the men as being from the 8th Battery

British troops advancing through gas, Passchandaele, Ypres, Belgium, World War I, c1914-c1918. Stereoscopic card. Detail

Trench warfare, Bourlon Wood, France, World War I, 1914-1918. Artist: Realistic Travels Publishers
Trench warfare, Bourlon Wood, France, World War I, 1914-1918. The soldiers are wearing their gas masks. Stereoscopic card detail

Gunners wearing gas masks, World War I, 1914-1918. Artist: Realistic Travels Publishers
Gunners wearing gas masks, World War I, 1914-1918. The board on the right identifies the men as 8th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, Doadpore Troop. Stereoscopic card detail

Infantry fitted with the latest gas marks and steel helmets, World War I, 1915-1918. The Germans were the first to make use of poison gas on the Western Front, at Ypres in April 1915

British soldiers advancing under cover of gas and smoke, France, World War I, 1916. A break in the German lines is made through to Serre and Thiepval during the Battle of the Somme

Gas protection, France, World War I, 1915. French troops in a trench wearing rudimentary facemasks and goggles. On 22 April 1915 the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine gas over a four mile front

A Chlorine Gas Attack, Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, 1915, (1926). Artist: Lucien Jonas
A Chlorine Gas Attack, Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, 1915, (1926). On 22 April 1915 the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine gas over a four mile front, in the first gas attack of the war

Chemical defence unit (PVChO), USSR, 1930s. Found in the collection of the State Museum of History, Moscow

French Zouave infantry killed by gas, Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, 22 April 1915, (1929)
French Zouave infantry killed by gas, Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, 22 April 1915. On 22 April 1915 the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine gas over a four mile front

Air Raid Precautions, cigarette card, British, 1938. Rendering your refuge room gas-proof: red arrows highlight danger points

Gas mask training, World War II. South African WaF (Womens Auxiliary Air Force) sergeant and instructor fitting a gas mask during a training session in World War II (1939-1945)

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"Unleashing the Invisible Enemy: A Haunting Chronicle of Chemical Warfare" In the depths of secrecy, Porton Down emerges as a clandestine hub for chemical warfare research. An aerial photograph captures its enigmatic presence, shrouded in mystery and intrigue. As World War II looms over Britain, young schoolchildren diligently practice donning their gas masks. The black and white photo serves as a poignant reminder of their innocence lost amidst the horrors that lay ahead from 1939 to 1945. Amidst the chaos of battle at Loos on September 25th, 1915, hooded British Territorials charge fearlessly into German trenches. Their valiant efforts against an unseen enemy epitomize the grim reality faced during this gruesome conflict. Cigarette cards depicting Air Raid Precautions circulate in pre-war Britain in 1938. Little did they know that these precautions would soon become a lifeline against deadly gases unleashed upon unsuspecting soldiers and civilians alike. Irony takes center stage as German soldiers are asphyxiated by their own poison gas blown back into their trenches during World War I in 1915. This color lithograph paints a vivid picture of karma's cruel twist on the battlefield. In Corpus Christi, Texas, circa 1942, a sailor at Naval Air Base dons new protective clothing designed to shield him from chemical threats. Howard Hollem's photograph encapsulates both resilience and vulnerability within one frame. "The Stinking Beast, " or "La bete puante, " becomes synonymous with terror during wartime conflicts. This colorful lithograph symbolizes the malevolent nature of chemical weapons that haunt those who encounter them. A French schoolboy wearing a gas mask stands frozen in time through a black and white photo taken in 1916. His youthful face masked by necessity reflects an era where innocence was overshadowed by survival instincts. Even when German poison gas assumed a reddish hue, its devastating impact remained unchanged.