The following WWII intelligence report on German antigas clothing was originally published in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 15, Dec. 31, 1942. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

GERMAN HEAVY ANTIGAS CLOTHING A sample of German heavy-type antigas clothing has been captured and examined. The outfit consists of three pieces: jacket with attached hood, trousers, and gloves, each article being simple in design and construction. a. Jacket The jacket is seamed, and cut in more or less conventional fashion with single but ample overlap on the chest. It is loose-fitting, but is provided with a substantial rubber belt at the waist, and is worn over the trousers. The hood is also of the usual design, and attached to the jacket at the neck band. It carries two side-flaps which join under the chin. These flaps, used in conjunction with the gas mask, provide an approximately vapor-tight joint. At the wrist, the sleeves are provided with fitting bands consisting of rubber-covered steel wires. These bands fit under the gauntlet of the glove to produce a vapor-tight joint. b. Trousers The trousers, which are the overall type, are also seamed and of normal cut. They are of ample proportions and allow bending without much movement of material. Provision is made for drawing them in at the waist. The trouser legs terminate in molded-rubber fitting bands which are of such dimensions as to suggest that they fit over a half-length rubber boot. c. Material The material of all the above garments (trousers, jacket, and hood) is of fabric, heavily rubberized on both sides. Their total weight is 7 3/4 pounds. One point worthy of special note is the almost complete absence of metal parts. d. Gloves The gloves are of thick gray molded rubber without fabric reinforcement. They are provided with four fingers and thumb. The weight of each glove is 4.9 ounces. e. Performance The resistance of this suit to liquid vesicants is of a high order, being approximately 1 1/2 hours against mustard and considerably longer against lewisite. For the gloves, the figures are about 3 hours against mustard and more than 6 hours against lewisite. Tests on the seams showed that they were as resistant as the rest of the garment, which is in striking contrast to the German light antigas suit. The aim of the designer appears to have been to obtain a high degree of protection from liquid and vapor for a reasonable length of time, and in this respect he has reportedly been very successful. The suit, however, is completely lacking in ventilation, which tends to restrict the time of wearing in hot climates to extremely short periods.

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