L.702

The L.702 gas mask was produced from 1938 to 1940 by Société Belge de l'Azote. We owe its creation, like many other masks, to the approaching World War II. The increasing demand for this type of equipment forced the previously mentioned Société Belge de l'Azote to design a cheap gas mask for civilians. However, in 1940, when German forces entered Belgium, production was closed and never continued. After the war, some of the copies (interestingly, mine included) were taken away and their cans and sometimes combined filters were repainted green with the intention of using them in civil defense. As for the structure itself, the mask is extremely simple and has only the most important things, the only exception are the anti-sweat pads (visible in photos 9 and 10). The mask was made of very good quality rubber, which to this day seems to be much better than the rubber in, for example, the MC-1 mask, which is over 40 years younger. The masks were produced in sizes 0-5, size 0 was the smallest and 5 was the largest, my mask is size 2.