The S10 CBRN Respirator is a military

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...

that was formerly used within all branches of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, ...

. Following the mask's replacement by the

General Service Respirator The General Service Respirator (GSR) is a military gas mask designed to replace the previous S10 respirator for the British Armed Forces. It was designed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Scott Safety in collaboration with th ...

in 2011, the S10 is now widely available to the public on the

army surplus Military surplus are goods, usually matériel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by t ...

market.

History

Soldier Wearing Full Individual Protection Equiptment And Detector Paper MOD 45150761

The S10 was introduced in 1986 as a replacement for the

S6 NBC Respirator The Service Respirator No. 6 (S6), also known as Respirator NBC S6 No. 1 Mark 1 was a protective gas mask issued to the British Armed Forces. It was developed in the 1950s and issued for general service from 1966 to 1986, when it was replaced by ...

in service from the 1960s, and is manufactured by

Avon Rubber Avon Protection plc is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel. Its corporate headquarters are south of Melksham in Wiltshire ...

. S10s were issued to British nationals in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

during the

1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and were marked by a blue coloured PSM (Primary Speech Module) fitting or a blue painted spot on the forehead. The S10 respirator was originally due to be replaced by the new

(GSR) in 2007, although replacement efforts officially began in 2011 and all S10 Respirators have since been replaced with the GSR. All issued filters for the S10 have expired, the last of which expired in 2014. No new S10 Respirators will be bought.

Characteristics

The mask includes a fail-safe drinking device, a Secondary Speech Transmitter (SST) on the side which a Clansman radio system microphone can be clipped to, and corrective lenses can be fitted to the eyepieces. The mask also contains an inner oro-nasal mask to decrease fogging on the lenses. This mask is fitted with optical insert hooks, and therefore can be used by soldiers who wear glasses.

Variants

Variants include: *SF10, intended for security and

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

use (replaced, at least in SAS service, by the CT12) *AR10 for police forces *N10, a commercial version.

Users

Current

* : As of November 2017. * : S-10 and SF-10 used by the

Special Duties Unit The Special Duties Unit (SDU; ), nicknamed the "Flying Tigers" (), is the elite tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with countering terrorist attacks, hostage rescue, underwater search and recovery, and tackling serious crime i ...

. Being replaced by the MSA Advantage 1000 CBA-RCA. Known to be used by the Police Tactical Unit during anti-riot duties.

Former

* : After using the

in the 1970s, NOCS ( en , Central Security Operations Service) and the Gruppo di Intervento Speciale (GIS) ( en, Special Intervention Group) use the S10 Respirator. To be replaced with FM12. * : Formerly issued to the British Armed Forces, but was replaced in 2011 by the

. It is likely that small stockpiles of S10 masks are kept for research purposes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:S10 CBRN Respirator British Army equipment Gas masks of the United Kingdom