Sergeant Niemelä with his submachine gun men. Rytynoja, July 21, 1941.

SA-kuva 29053

Squad

Finnish soldier wearing "full" gas protection suit, probably Continuation War.  This is an unusual image, at least as far as I am aware.  Gear of this sort had the obvious disadvantage of modern chemo-bio protection suits; it was restraining and cumbersome to fight in.  However, it would have provided pretty decent protection against the types of gas used in combat up to this time.  The gasmask would have protected against smothering and irritant gases such as chlorine and mustard gas.  The mask, along with the rest of the suit would have protected most of the body against mustard gas, which, if inhaled, could effectively liquefy the lungs, and offered many other dangers that did not require it to be inhaled.  Such a suit, however, would have offered little protection against chemical nerve agents, the earliest of which were appearing in military arsenals around this time.  Fortunate that nobody was brave/foolish enough to use them ... JR.

Great gas - Finland

Finnish sergeant with Suomi M31 submachine gun. Häsälä, July 25, 1941.

SA-kuva 27883