Technical Manual (TM 3-4240-230-12) M10 Acid & Organic Vapors Gas Mask
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Technical Manual (TM 3-4240-230-12) M10 Acid & Vapors Gas Mask
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This Technical Manual TM 3-4240-230-12 covers the M10 Acid and Organic Vapors Gas Mask and is dated January 1962. For collectors of U.S. Army technical manuals, Chemical Corps material, Cold War protective equipment, and military safety-support literature, this is a highly specialized period reference tied to one of the Army’s lesser-seen noncombat protective masks. The M10 is documented in later Army references as a distinct special-purpose mask, separate from the M9A1, M11A1, and M12 mask families.
The M10 Acid and Organic Vapors Gas Mask
The M10 was a noncombat gas mask intended for military and civilian personnel handling chemicals that gave off toxic acid and organic vapors. Army references describe it as providing protection against chemicals such as chlorine, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene or sulfuric oxide, and carbon tetrachloride, with the important limitation that concentrations were not to exceed 2 percent and the atmosphere had to contain sufficient oxygen to support life. That makes the M10 especially relevant to collectors interested in industrial-military safety equipment, toxic-material handling, and Cold War chemical-defense support systems rather than standard battlefield protective masks.
Because of its title and role, the M10 occupies an unusual niche in U.S. military protective equipment history. It was not a general field chemical-biological mask for combat use. Instead, it belonged to the family of special-purpose masks used in controlled support, storage, escort, and handling environments where exposure to industrial or hazardous vapors was a concern. Later Army equipment data sheets also list the M10 Mask, Gas: Acid and Organic Vapors as a recognized but deleted item, which adds further historical interest for collectors focused on discontinued Cold War-era equipment.
What This Manual Covers
As the official technical manual for the M10, TM 3-4240-230-12 belongs to the Army documentation set used to identify, understand, and support this mask in service. For collectors and researchers, manuals in this category are especially useful for:
- nomenclature and identification
- technical and historical reference
- handling and service-use context
- mask-specific documentation within the broader Chemical Corps literature
- restoration, display, and archival research
The value here is not just the date and title. It is the fact that this manual is tied to a specific, less-common U.S. military protective mask with a clearly defined special-purpose role.
Historical Significance
The date January 1962 places this publication in the early Cold War period, when the U.S. military maintained extensive technical literature for chemical defense, hazardous-material handling, respiratory protection, and specialized support equipment. The M10 stands out because it reflects a time when the Army fielded purpose-built masks for very specific toxic-vapor environments rather than relying only on general-purpose protective masks. For collectors and historians, that makes this manual relevant to Cold War technical documentation, Chemical Corps history, special-purpose gas masks, and military protective equipment used outside direct combat roles.
About This Manual
This listing is for Technical Manual TM 3-4240-230-12 for the M10 Acid and Organic Vapors Gas Mask, dated January 1962.
It is especially well suited for:
- U.S. Army technical manual collections
- Chemical Corps and protective-equipment displays
- Cold War military paper collections
- museum exhibits on military safety and hazardous-material support systems
- archive and research libraries focused on U.S. military technical publications
Because manuals were working documents, surviving examples are valued not only for their content, but also for their connection to real military documentation, safety procedures, and service-era equipment support.
Why This Manual Matters
Many military manuals focus on weapons, vehicles, or standard combat gear. This one documents a much more specialized category of Army equipment: a noncombat mask for acid and organic vapors. That makes it especially useful for collectors who want to preserve the broader technical and logistical picture of Cold War military readiness rather than only front-line hardware.
For collectors, it is a strong stand-alone Cold War technical manual with a specialized subject focus. For researchers, it provides a useful reference point for Army protective-mask documentation and hazardous-vapor protection. For museums, it helps explain the less-visible side of military safety and chemical-handling operations.
Ideal For
This manual is a strong fit for:
- U.S. Army technical manual collections
- Cold War Chemical Corps displays
- protective mask and respiratory-equipment collections
- museum and archival reference libraries
- collectors of military paperwork and dated technical publications
Approx length 10", Approx width 8", Approx height .2", Approx weight .2lbs.
Pictures are stock images of our inventory. Unless otherwise noted, you will not be receiving the exact item shown in the pictures. The pictures are representative of the item's general condition. The item you receive might be slightly better, or worse, condition than was shown in the pictures.
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