M14 Tank Gas Mask

Armored vehicle crews are provided with a gas protective system on a group basis. The first successful system of that type was the M14 Tank Gas Mask, part of the M8 Three-Man Tank Collective Protector.

Mask, Protective, Field, M14 for tank use.
Mask, Protective, Field, M14 for tank use.

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M14 Tank Protective Gas Mask

After many years of experimentation and pilot models, Experimental Model 26 (E26R1) was adopted in 1953 as the M8 Three-Man Tank Collective Protector. The system for a tank with three crew members was composed of three M14 Tank Masks along with the M2 Air Purifier, a nine foot M6 Tank Protector Hose, and two six foot M7 Tank Protector Hoses.

The M14 Tank Mask facepiece was made of molded rubber with a single plastic lens. The mask hose connected to the M2 Air Purifier and an integrated cable connected a microphone to the armored vehicle's communication system. The M14 Tank Mask could be disconnected from the M2 Air Purifier and used with an M11 Canister as a stand-alone gas mask.

In addition to the original M14 Tank Gas Mask, the black rubber facepiece was redesigned to become the M14A1 Tank Mask, standardized 6 May 1960. The M14A1 also included a simplified lens assembly and provision for a new nosecup. After additional improvements, the M14 Tank Gas Mask was redesignated the M14A2 in 1961. The M14 series of tank as masks was replaced by the M25 Mask, Chemical-Biological, Tank in 1963.

Like the Gas Mask, M9, the Mask, Protective, Tank M14 (and M14A1, M14A2) was packaged in a hermetically sealed olive drab can.

Besides tanks, the M8 Collective Protector and its M14 Tank Gas Masks was installed in other armored vehicles. For example, the kit for M113 APC includes the M8A3 gas-particulate unit with the M2A2 air purifier plus flexible hoses to fit M14A1 Tank Gas Masks of the driver and commander and up to two others.

The Mask, Protective, Field, M14, For Tank Use is described by Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) Engineering Standard MIL-M-14329 dated 28 June 1956.

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