Poland
Polish MP4 "Bulldog" Gas mask
It's called Bulldog because of its nose piece
Price: £9.99 free shipping
Manufacturer: Army surplus
Country of origin: Poland
Model: MP4 respirator
Year of Production: 1978
Description: Unusual and rare polish cold war era gas mask
Inside mask shows a date of 3/78
Roundel showing date of 1978 (upper left segment)
First impressions
Following on from my superb MC-1 purchase recently I quite fancied getting an American M-17 gas mask - the black one you see in all those old Vietnam films. Unfortunately the M-17 is pretty near impossible to get your hands on in the UK unless you know someone who is selling.
Thankfully for me those pesky Soviets managed to successfully copy the American mask and made it available to the Warsaw pact countries. - Cold war stuff is much easier to get hold of and costs virtually nothing.
This design was copied by Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and others with the polish and Czech masks being the best examples according to gas mask officiardos
Production ran up to the early 1990's I believe and so all of the masks and filters will be long out of date.
I saw this particular mask on sale in a known eBay surplus store. This eBay seller is very good on price and speed of postage and I know his stuff is legit.
The mask was on sale for £12.30 with free postage but I managed to barter with him down to a tenner which I felt pleased about.
The parcel arrived in good time and was well packaged. It felt quite heavy, I wasn't really sure what to expect?
What's in the package?
The parcel weighed a ton so what was lurking inside?
Quite a bit as it turns out!
- MP4 Mask
- 2x Filter packs (unopened)
- 2x Protective Lens outserts
- 1x Canister (Anti-fog wipes missing)
- 1x Carry haversack including two different straps.
A spare set of filters
Inside the haversack were two sealed packs of cheek filters, one set was in a silver foil bag and one set was in a green foil bag. At this stage I'm not really sure what each set protect against. I assume silver is for general airborne particles etc and the green could be for chlorine or something? there isn't much information about the filter colour codes to be honest.These filters are commonly known as cheek filters due to where they are situated on the mask. This design is really useful as you don't have to have a big canister stuck in front of your face like other masks.
The filters are a pain in the arse to fit. Once you have wrestled one into the inside of the cheek section you then have to line up the inlet thread and push down the end cap from the outside. It can be quite tricky.
Once one side has been fitted the inside of the mask must be buttoned up in two places with two white plastic rivet things?
Once both the cheek filters are in its probably best to leave them in!
Anti-fog wipes cansiter (without the wipes!) Made in 1977
At the bottom of the haversack inside a pocket was this canister. This should have contained some Anti-fog wipes but there is nothing in here. Dated 1977.
glass outserts for double glazing your mask
Also in the haversack was a plastic bag containing a pair of perspex outserts. These are essentially covers which fit over the gas masks eye pieces which add an extra layer of protection. They are a pain to fit but once they are on they don't come off easily.
Double glazing on your gas mask!
Top quality haversack
And not forgetting the haversack itself. It's really well made and in great condition considering its age. It's loosely based on the M-17 bag I believe. It features reinforced side panels, two different carry straps, good quality press fasteners and an interesting name tag.
Testing
Fitting this mask is quite easy. Unlike the polish MC-1 I review the other week, it's a much better fit all round. It has the same rubber/material adjustment straps as the MC-1 which makes tightening the mask a fast and pain free operation.
In terms of comfort this mask is fantastic. Its very easy to get on and off and doesn't weigh much.
The field of vision through these eye pieces is very good.
So far I have had no problem with the mask fogging up.
I think that could be due to the good tissot tubes under each eye glass which helps to take the condensation away.
During the 3 minute long 'Can of Glade' test the mask helded out very well. No traces of wild jasmine could be detected in the mask. Good for air fresheners then!
*Can of Glade test - sat in the bathroom with the door shut. Spray can of Glade air freshener for quite a bit and see if any aroma can be detected. Not scientific at all
Name tag mystery.
Although this gas mask is new and was never used in anger, it did get issued to someone. A Mr Zbigniew Wilczynski. Who was this man?
According to Wikipedia, Zbigniew Wilczynski was an eminent polish doctor who also became a councillor and a colonel. He recieved many top awards including the gold and silver cross for merit, armed forces gold medal, the merit badge for border protection, bronze and silver medals for national defense and many others. Sadly he died in 1991 How interesting? I wonder if it is the same man? Haha
Rating: ✅✅✅✅✅ 5 out of 5
You really can't grumble paying £10 for this piece of the Warsaw pact. It comfortable, practical and looks pretty cool.
Considered rare, if you see one buy it!