S10 NBC Respirator

The S10 CBRN Respirator is a military gas mask that was formerly used within all branches of the British Armed Forces. Following the mask's replacement by the General Service Respirator in 2011, the S10 is now widely available to the public on the army surplus market.

S10 CBRN Respirator
A S10 respirator with a filter
TypeGas mask
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1986–present
Used bySee Users
Production history
ManufacturerAvon
VariantsSee Variants

History
A British soldier with the S10 respirator during Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) warfare exercises

The S10 was introduced in 1986 as a replacement for the S6 NBC Respirator[1] in service from the 1960s, and is manufactured by Avon Rubber.[2] S10s were issued to British nationals in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War 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 General Service Respirator (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.[3]

Characteristics

The mask includes a fail-safe drinking device, a Secondary Speech Transmitter (SST) on the side[4] 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:[1]

  • SF10, intended for security and special forces use (replaced, at least in SAS service, by the CT12)
  • AR10 for police forces
  • N10, a commercial version.

Users
Australian Army Cadets in gas masks

Current

Former
  •  Italy: After using the S6 NBC Respirator in the 1970s, NOCS (English: Central Security Operations Service) and the Gruppo di Intervento Speciale (GIS) (English: Special Intervention Group) use the S10 Respirator. To be replaced with FM12.
  •  United Kingdom: Formerly issued to the British Armed Forces, but was replaced in 2011 by the General Service Respirator. It is likely that small stockpiles of S10 masks are kept for research purposes.[10]

References
  1. "Avon S10". Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  2. "British S6". Gas Mask King. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  3. "General Service Respirator". YouTube. 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  4. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/191519.pdf
  5. "Australia's CBRNE Defense | CBRNe Portal". www.cbrneportal.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  6. "SDUpro Kit". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  7. "INFOGRAPHIC: Flying tigers | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  8. "Equipment". Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  9. "Hong Kong Police riot squad's equipment in detail | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  10. "The UK General Service Respirator" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-02-27.
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