The other day I found my grandfather's old Navy Sea Chest from WWII. I found multiple very interesting item and could not put a finger on this one. It would be great if anyone knew what this mask might have been. I believe this mask is Japanese since all of the other items are. Mask picture by DukeOfEarl82 - Photobucket
Hmmm it's a little unclear, perhaps a gunners mask from the navy? Any chance you might take a photo of someone wearing it? It might help with ID, but it would also be a bit of a giggle.
Sorry, but I didn't take it because my grandmother wasn't there, and I didn't want to take any of the items from her house without her permission.
The face mask was an alternative to the veil. Let me just say it saw very, very limited use by both the Army and SS. It was issued with the Splinter Camo Parka/pants. Most likely, it was a German item, or a Japanese item based off of a German item.
Months later, I have found a bit more information on this mask. It appears as if this is an extreme cold weather mask issued by the U.S Navy for deckhands during the war. Not sure why my grandfather had two, or any as he was an officer on a troop transport ship (I think it was one of those), not something like a carrier. Anyway, case mostly solved .