French Civil Defence Items

[douglas2496]

Hi everyone, thought I would show a WW2 French Civil defence Adrian helmet and gas mask.

Doug

[Neil Hever]

C'est magnifique! Never saw these two items before. Helmet appears very close to the military grade. NH

[douglas2496]

Thanks Neil. Is the helmet different in any way from the military issue (apart from the badge obviously)?

[BrodieBartfast]

May have been a similar case as with British Civil Defence helmets, where factory rejects and helmets manufactured from inferior quality steel were used. Don't know how that would be indicated visually, though.

B.B.

[lebus12]

The badge is not the same and the inside is not in leather, in theory. I think the GM is from CZ. Do you have the paper inside? How to use the GM. Hard to find.

[douglas2496]

Thanks for the responses.

Lebus, What is GM and what is CZ? There is no paper inside.

[lebus12]

GM is Gasmasq, CZ =Czechoslovakia.

In France, may of these masqs came from this country.

[Neil Hever]

Here is what I believe to be a text book French military helmet from my collection. Looks pretty much the same as your Civil Defense example. NH

[Alter Musketier]

Very nice items!

Please see here for the "Adrian" in civic use and its differences to the type used by the army:
.: World War Helmets - Les casques Adrian des organismes civils :.
in general/military use:
.: World War Helmets - Casque Adrian modèle 26 :.

With best wishes
alter musketier

[Neil Hever]

Great resource Alter Musketier! I read part of it and determined that with the exception of police and fire services (police et pompiers), the Adrian was used by numerous civil organizations including the Red Cross and Civil Defense. There are some variations in the liners used with cheaper versions used for non-military purposes. NH