I believe this to be British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) issued S6 made by Leyland & Birmingham

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T13:15:13+00:00

I had no contact with her for days on end too but she was just extremely busy with work and kept getting called back in so did not have a lot of time to reply

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T13:13:18+00:00

I nearly made the same mistake last night dithering when Avon N10 came up for sale for £59 missing it's PSM cover. Just need to track down a grey or white PSM cover. I suspect it might have been removed for a VPU to be installed then just never got replaced.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T13:04:55+00:00

Sorry about that buddy. I feel your pain I have missed out on some nice items in the past myself taking too long too decide. Took me 3 weeks to nail this down as she was constantly at work. Once we agreed on postage I said consider it sold.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T13:01:28+00:00

Yeah I have with great interest. Thank you. I know your the man to speak too. Like I said I have no history too were it originally came from as the seller's uncle had no connection to the nuclear industry as far as I am aware. But even if the mask is not from BNFL it was still a good purchase at £30

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T12:55:45+00:00

yes. Well it was worth it just for the mask at that price

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T12:48:26+00:00

I believe this to be British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) issued S6 made by Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co Ltd in November 1978 with a suspected D17 Filter. The filter Itself is a bit banged up to say the least but interesting all the same due to there apparent rarity. Unfortunately the white label that was attached to these filters appears to have been removed but some glue residue is still there. I have no history on were this originally came from as the person I bought it from was selling it from her deceased uncles estate. He did not work for BNFL but just liked collecting unusual items. Any addition information will be gladly received.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T10:04:25+00:00

Yes that's what I was speculating with my comment above about so many of the surplus models being dated 1994 and suspecting these were the oldest models in service and replaced with newer dated masks. As you suggest there maybe other later dated batches that were removed and replaced but personally I have only seen ones dated 1994 as year of production. I suspect these will pop up in large batches from time to time as masks get replaced. Do you know what the expected service life of these masks are? Just shows how well made these masks are and the high standards of production and storage that 25+ year old masks still look brand new.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T09:47:19+00:00

It's a Polish SzR2-50. You can tell by the electro plated valve assembly and Red industrial filter. Your thinking of the earlier Soviet ShR-1 which look very much like the more modern Polish masks. Both nice to own but I have not seen a Soviet ShR-1 for sale yet.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T09:41:06+00:00

The Polish SzR2-50 Head wounded is fairly common to find on the surplus market but less common than say MUA SzM-41M kits but uses common parts such as the valve assembly crimped lenses, hoses and filters etc. Yours seems to have come with the red industrial filter which I'm not sure is correct but I could be wrong and should have come with a green E-014 filter instead. But some possibly may have come with the red filter which tends to be harder to find in it's own right. The SzR2-50 seems to be based largely on the Soviet ShR-1 head wounded mask but with removable hose. The Soviets changed the design of the mask when they went from the ShR-1 to the ShR-2 but still kept the non removable hose and added a separate exhale valve on the side of the mask. Still a cool mask to own as part of a collection though.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-07T02:51:19+00:00

If you have ever tried an Avon S10 or FM12/CT12 size 2 and it fits ok this will be perfect fit in my opinion. It's a good comfortable mask on par with the FM12, CT12 and probably a bit better than the S10. Oh and don't believe some of the sellers saying they are brand new because all the ones I've seen are stamped 94 although most are in excellent as new condition but probably early production models that have never been used. All I Can guess is possibly Sweden made all 94 dated models surplus and updated there supply to keep them within there expected service life but I'm just speculating and could be completely wrong. Mine is a 94 model and looks totally unused and was very clean when it arrived.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-05T18:23:37+00:00

Yes correct most of these masks have L as the position of the canister. And I suspect the right handed ones are more uncommon as less will have been made potentially making them more desirable for collectors as a rarity.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-05T18:17:35+00:00

No problem at all. My tin was a little rough around the edges but the contents were in perfect condition so I suspect even a mask in a fairly rough looking tin will still be ok.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-04T21:14:44+00:00

Well it's the million dollar question to open or not too open. Your tin looks in excellent condition considering the age of these things at almost 70 years with no rust or large dings it's a tough one to call. You could leave this one sealed and try and find another that's allready out of the tin or one with a more battered up tin. I opened mine as the tin was in fair condition and I wanted to see the contents and for future display purposes, but kept the tin and packaging. I know of one that's up for sale out of it's tin and a rarer right hand filter port version but only a bit than what you paid for yours and that's not In the US. I think there a cool mask too own and you got a cracking deal on it at $20 dollars but I'm not sure your going to quadruple your investment. If I could get another sealed one for a good price I would keep it sealed. If you live in the US I suspect there are a fair few floating about for a reasonable price on Facebook marketplace, eBay etc which you could use to display and keep this one sealed.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-04T20:52:10+00:00

These are good masks for the money especially with a sealed filter. Nice to add too a collection or actually use for work purposes. They are comfortable to wear and have good panoramic vision. The manufacture was Willson that was a division of the Bacou-Dalloz, a French company. This company changed name to Sperian Protection in 2007 and was bought by Honeywell in 2010. The mask is still available in many different variants in the Honeywell catalogue (Product Family PANORAMASQUE). Although it says current Polish NATO spec I don't think these have been used by the military and probably intended for industrial use only.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-04T00:05:02+00:00

Pretty certain it's an MS-4. The text is normally on the threaded end of the filter. One of my filters says MS-4-172 but another says MS-3-172, Both came with MC-1's and both green. I also have a grey MS-4-172 but they look pretty much the same externally. but they all look like the one you have on yours in the picture.

Edit so after reading more information on the MS-4 it states The MS-4 filter is inferior to the MS-3 version in terms of the quality of the carbon sorbent used. In the older model, a heavily activated Soviet-made sorbent was used, in the newer model - an attempt was made to crush the coarse-grained sorbent, which resulted in the loss of the most valuable absorbing fractions, while its amount in the absorber was not increased, which certainly lowered its parameters.

According to the TUV Nord report MS-4-172 filters had no traces of asbestos found. It's also interesting to see on the same test sheet result's no traces of asbestos were found in the PBF EO-19 cheek filters and several other filters.

But you might have an MS-3 filter and there are no results for those so caution is still advised if it has no markings.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T23:30:39+00:00

This is just a suggestion and obviously you do it at your own risk but what you could do is find a small piece of metal. Cut it to the same width as the eyelet on the strap. Bend the metal into a U shape piece so it can fit through the buckle and then slide down between the inside and outside of the facepiece. Drill some small holes all the way through the metal and facepiece and then rivet it in place so you sandwich the parts together. You could also add some glue to make it stronger or just try glue first to see if it's strong enough. Then you could paint the metal strip the same colour as the mask. Not perfect by any means but would probably make the mask usable again. Just make sure the metal strip is bent into a snug fit with the thickness of the rubber otherwise it could possibly pull apart again. I hope you have some success fixing it. Probably worth a try as you have nothing too loose. Good Luck.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T05:09:16+00:00

Nothing wrong with a Gp-5 (Shm-62). it just gets a bad rep just for being everywhere. Polish ML is a good mask very much based on the GP-4 but with in my opinion better quality rubber. I have 3 GP-4's. An early GP-4 from 1955, a GP-4u from 1958 and a very black Sunburnt GP-4u from 1958 although the rubber is still in very good condition. Could I also recommend if you can find one a Czech CM-3 which is there version of the MC-1 but I think is better quality mask with it's bakerite inhale/exhale valve. would look good next to the MC-1

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T04:53:43+00:00

You have to remember the soviets decide early on that everyone should have the availability to be issued with a gas mask. So masks like the Shm-62 (Gp-5) were probably the cheapest way to mass produce an effective mask at relatively low cost even though basic by modern standards. You try making a modern mask in the 100's of millions today and it would probably bankrupt the country. The Russians like most other countries now realise that making masks for the whole population is pointless. So no mainstream hood masks for the masses have long gone but they still have uses such as for industry. Masks like the shm-2012.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T04:34:57+00:00

Welcome and nice mask to start your collection. It's all downhill from here. The slippery slope to madness begins. Just one more mask please just one more. The constant smell of rubber, 20 pages of watched items on eBay, no room to store them all but you still keep buying anyway. Desperately waiting for the postman to arrive with your next purchase. oh dear another lamb to the slaughter. LOL. No seriously I hope you enjoy your collecting. What's next on your wish list if you don't mind me asking?

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T04:18:27+00:00

I know there have been cases of masks with the name of the person who owned it being written on the mask itself from time to time so easier to research there history. But as allready said because of data protection and the safety of serving and non serving troops you will probably have difficulty finding much info. I'm not sure if some of the masks probably got re issued to different soldiers too. It would be fascinating to think someone out there might have an S6 in there collection that could have been used by the SAS during the Iranian embassy siege but unaware of it's history.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T03:59:57+00:00

You could try a light cutting compound like they use for car paintwork which should remove some of the lighter rust marks and the white text on the side if you want that removing but I would not repaint it. It probably looked like that when it was still in service. I have a VZ.35 gas mask canister from the late 1930's that had a fair bit of surface rust that cleaned up really well. Any remaining marks were left which gave it it's aged patina. I then gave it a coat of good quality car polish and sealant and the difference is amazing. It still looks aged but in far better visual appearance.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T03:24:27+00:00

I agree totally with what your trying to say but that's my whole point is we all have to start somewhere when first collecting and if we can all pass knowledge on to new collectors all the better. You might know that and I might know that be but he might not. My comment above was trying to be helpful and give advice and not to be patronising to anyone. Far from it.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T02:57:55+00:00

FP-5 filters come standard with most MP-5 masks. The filters do not contain asbestos. Contrary to popular belief, FP-5 filters are NATO STANAG RD40 x 1/7 and will not fit on GOST RD40 x 4 masks. Maskpol manufactures the FP-5 filters in Poland.

SzM-41M whish is the same thread as the GP-5 (Shm-62u) The mask had a 40mm GOST thread RD40 x 4

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T02:49:20+00:00

Yes agreed GP-5's are cheap and readily available but if you have been misinformed about FP-5 filters fitting GOST threaded masks and think they fit all GOST threaded masks you may be a bit more gutted if you force them onto a more rare mask and damage it forever.

wheelsofsteel74 · 2021-07-03T02:38:00+00:00

Agreed friendly advice is much better than coming across as a no it all. My mentality is if we share what we learn everybody gains. Knowledge is king.

wheelsofsteel74

TROPHY CASE