German observer with heated face mask ?

[Olham 164]

Central heating in his face mask? Or is it an early headphone cable?

There is a cable going to the cockpit - does anyone know what it is?

[saltysplash 0]

Central heating in his face mask? Or is it an early headphone cable?

There is a cable going to the cockpit - does anyone know what it is?

 

 

its just a Gimp mask

 

I would actually go with your first guess, heating to combat frost at high altitude, wireless headphones where already common in those days and if i remember rightly, didnt they use morse code senders? they didnt really need the return feed into their head phones

 

Im just guessing also

[carrick58 23]

its just a Gimp mask

 

I would actually go with your first guess, heating to combat frost at high altitude, wireless headphones where already common in those days and if i remember rightly, didnt they use morse code senders? they didnt really need the return feed into their head phones

 

Im just guessing also

 

 

Does look like a ski mask Iv seen some like that in Alaska when the wind chill is 30 below zero. However I really dont know

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Heat mask would seem the most likely I guess...... or maybe he's just an UGLY bloke?

[JimAttrill 24]

Is that a flare pistol on the fuselage side behind him?

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Olham, that is definitely one of the heated flight suits and face masks. That is braided, cloth-wrapped, two-lead electrical wiring you are seeing coming from the face mask. Also notice the similar cables to the suit itself. These became common by late war in the the high-alt B/R planes. And yes, that is a fully loaded flare gun rack on the side of the fuselage Jim.

 

BTW, most inter-cockpit communications in WW1 was done with a speaking tube/ear tube system, (or with just plain old-fashioned hand signals), rather than electronic communications.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou