Australian Light Anti-Gas Respirator
Australian Light Anti-Gas Respirator
The Australian Light Anti-Gas Respirator, or ALAG for short, is a respirator developed and produced in the later years of WW2 as a replacement for the Mk IV
and Mk V
General Service Respirators that were used at the time.
The ALAG is based off the similarly named British Light Anti-Gas Respirator. However, what makes the ALAG different is it’s unique 3 tone, and sometimes 2 tone, "Marble" camouflage pattern on the mask that was developed for use in jungle warfare. This pattern was created by mixing green, brown and black batches of rubber together.
Another notable difference between the ALAG and it's British counterpart is the haversack. With the ALAG, the haversack uses a "Lift-A-Dot" system, which is different to the standard Light Anti-Gas Respirator which uses a simple webbing pull tab.
The ALAG was issued with a variety of
accessory's for the mask, such as the Mk.III Anti-Gas
Eye shields, an anti-dimming cloth, gas detector bassards and a anti gas ointment for personal decontamination.
The mask was produced for only a limited amount of time, with it entering production at Commonwealth Ordnance Facility Maribyrnong
in 1943 and ending shortly after in 1944. The face piece for the ALAG was produced by three different rubber companies, Ansell, Spalding and Kenworth. The filter for the ALAG, like for many other Australian Gas Masks, was manufactured at a metal working company known as Willow in Melbourne, Victoria.
3 different generations of the ALAG exist:
MK1: The first model of the ALAG to be issued, uses the same eye pieces as the Mk.IV and Mk.V GSRs and a head harness more akin to the GSR series compared to the British LAG. It uses the same tape around the filter intake that the exhale assembly uses.
MK2: Uses the same eyepieces as the MK1, however it features a new head harness and strap system, with the ALAG now using the regular LAG head harness but with an added 7th filter support strap, which would be connected to a D ring around the filter intake.
MK2/A: The most "popular" ALAG out of the three generations, as most of the previous generations were turned into the MK2/A. Features the upgraded head harness from the MK2, but now with painted and new non-threaded eye pieces.
MK1: The first model of the ALAG to be issued, uses the same eye pieces as the Mk.IV and Mk.V GSRs and a head harness more akin to the GSR series compared to the British LAG. It uses the same tape around the filter intake that the exhale assembly uses.
MK2: Uses the same eyepieces as the MK1, however it features a new head harness and strap system, with the ALAG now using the regular LAG head harness but with an added 7th filter support strap, which would be connected to a D ring around the filter intake.
MK2/A: The most "popular" ALAG out of the three generations, as most of the previous generations were turned into the MK2/A. Features the upgraded head harness from the MK2, but now with painted and new non-threaded eye pieces.
