Testing of gas on rifles

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Good morning all!

Several weeks ago Chris and I were discussing the effects of poison gas on firearms during the Great War. He mentioned there was some discussion about this on here. I said if I came across any Army Ordnance reports concerning the tests I would be happy to share.

I understand slightly off topic but posted posted with permission. Also, being that it is in English and the core information should be the same and carry over.

Hope this helps,

 

[OnlyMil]

Very cool find. I personally appreciate this source is American and therefore in English lol. I wonder if they used 1903s or 1917s, but that is besides the point. Goes to show a nice coat of oil is all you really need to keep your guns running and the rust at bay. Hopefully won't be encountering any chlorine nowadays unless it's in a pool.

I was also today years old that "Cosmoline" predates anything Soviet by at least 50 years. Always thought it was some Soviet miracle substance (Cosmo = Soviet, akin to Cosmonaut).

 

[chrisftk]

Thanks for posting this Andrew! I was happy when you showed me these. This effect was observed and has been discussed here, but testing documents are great to have. The comment about eating the bluing was particularly interesting.

Probably never going to conclusively prove anything, but here are a few rifles this has come up on:
Thread '1916 Danzig gg block' https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/1916-danzig-gg-block.56360/

Thread 'Spandau 1915 Possible Gas Corrosion (?)' https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/spandau-1915-possible-gas-corrosion.49508/

Thread 'Matching 1915 CGH War Horse' https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/matching-1915-cgh-war-horse.42456/

Sidebar: @SmokeEaterPilot is a close personal friend of mine for 25+ years. He is also one of the best in the business for US research and very reasonable fees. Hit him up if you have any SRS hits or general inquires. He's A+.

 

[mauser1908]

Good morning all!

Several weeks ago Chris and I were discussing the effects of poison gas on firearms during the Great War. He mentioned there was some discussion about this on here. I said if I came across any Army Ordnance reports concerning the tests I would be happy to share.

I understand slightly off topic but posted posted with permission. Also, being that it is in English and the core information should be the same and carry over.

Hope this helps,

Who is this dood?

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Who is this dood?

A friend and colleague pointed out that Preussner was a fairly well known competitive marksman in the pre-war era. Winning the USMC cup in 1917. Long story short, the Ordnance Department recruited a lot of well known officers that were involved in marksmanship and musketry to help instruct and sell the M1917 to the troops as they were about to join the AEF and join the fight in Europe.

Fighting in the same theater and in the same battlefield conditions, the Germans and Americans would face similar problems concerning their small arms. This is just one may carry over to some discussions you guys may encounter over here (effects of gas on metal parts).

 

[PatickD]

This was was an extremely interesting read. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[ottodog8]

Very interesting. Gas is highly corrosive. If you look at WW1 German gas masks, most of them have rust coming through the filters, because they were actually used and exposed to gas.