Stirrup Hand Pump
This simple piece of equipment was more often than not a German incendiary bomb's first point of contact with Britain's fire defence. Tests in 1937 had shown that a hand-pump known as the 'Bantum' was effective in helping to extingiuish incendiary bombs. However, this type was too heavy and cumbersome and deemed too expensive (£3-4) for most householders to buy. Therefore, a simplified, suitable design was developed, culminating in 1938 with the common design illustrated. It cost 12 shillings and sixpence (although local authorities sold them to the public for £1), and, because it had a foot support to keep it steady in use, it became known as the 'stirrup' pump. [1]
A 25ft length of hose with a special brass nozzle was used with the pump. The nozzle was adjustable to produce either a spray or jet of water, with a range of 15ft and 30ft respectively, controlled by a sliding plate.
The nozzle is shown at left, set to spray. Pushing the button seen on the right would slide the plate across, making the nozzle aperture larger, creating a jet.
The jet was for use against normal fire, the spray for burning incendiary bombs. If a jet was used on a bomb, it would scatter burning drops of molten magnesium with the risk of them hitting the operator and setting fire to any combustable material they landed on.
The original procedure was to use the jet first to put out fires caused by the bomb, and to cool the atmosphere before using the spray on the bomb itself. However, experience later proved that if the risk was minimal, then using the jet on the bomb was better, as it burned it out quicker, and burning magnesium was found to bounce off the skin without burning it. [2]
Using water on an incendiary bomb did not extinguish it; in fact, the aim was to cause the bomb to burn out faster, thus eliminating the risk of further fires. The water contained hydrogen and more oxygen for the bomb to consume, causing it to burn out in about a minute as opposed to the 10-15 minutes the bomb would burn for if left unchecked. About 5-6 gallons of water were required to deal with an incendiary bomb and any fires it might have caused.
The stirrup pump story did not end in 1945, nor was it restricted to Civil Defence; the example seen at left is actually a military pump dated 1981!
The role of the stirrup pump cannot be overstated; easy to use and maintain, it allowed any able-bodied person to tackle an incendiary bomb that would overwise threaten lives and property. The Official History says: "the stirrup pump must rank with the civilian gas-mask as one of the chief protective instruments evolved for the use of British civilians in the Second World War." [3]
Minimax Soda-acid fire extinguisher
This fire extinguisher was of the soda-acid type, using a chemical reaction of bicarbonate of soda with sulphuric acid to produce a mixture of water, carbon dioxide and sulphate of soda, forced through the nozzle under pressure. [4]
To use, the extinguisher was held by the handle and the plunger on the base struck on the floor (or other hard surface) to break a glass bottle and release the acid. When the extinguisher was held horizontally, the chemical reaction took place, forcing the jet to a range of about 30-40 feet. Holding the extinguisher vertical again would turn off the jet.
However, Air Raid Precautions Handbook No.9 of 1939 stated:
"The average soda acid extinguisher is of the 2-gallon type, and this would in many cases be insufficient to deal both with the bomb and the resultant fire. In thick smoke it would be necessary to keep close to the ground, which would make an extinguisher difficult to handle. Moreover, it would be dangerous to use some of the extinguishers designed for special purposes. For example, carbon tetrachloride, which is used in some, might generate phosgene in contact with the burning magnesium." [5]
The fear that using an extinguisher on an incendiary bomb might give off phosgene (a deadly war gas) possibly affected sales of Minimax extinguishers (despite them not using carbon tetrachloride), so an additional label was pasted on the body, as seen below.
This was to clarify that it was safe to use it against German incendiary bombs, and possibly as a result of complaints, an amended reprint of Handbook No.9 in June 1940 amended the first sentence of the passage above: "The average soda acid extinguisher is of the 2-gallon type. A single one of this type would not as a rule be capable of dealing with the bomb and the resultant fire." [6]
Minimax also took out a two-page advertisement on the opening pages of A.R.P. Training Manual No.1 Basic Training in Air Raid Precautions in June 1940, with the section concerning their extinguisher headed 'A Reliable Protection', explaining that it was "a most effective appliance for tackling fires caused by Incendiary Bombs: No poisionous gases or noxious fumes." [7]
The main irony, though, is that while the company urged people to buy their products to use against German incendiary bombs, the Minimax parent company was actually German!
Chillington 'ARPAX'
The 'ARPAX' was manufactured by the Chillington Tool Company Limited of Wolverhampton and is notable for its rubber handle, subject to a patent applied for in June 1938 and finally granted in December 1939. [8]
Being encased in a tough rubber, the handle was claimed to be less liable to catch fire or break than the traditional wooden types, and would also protect the user from potentially fatal shocks if he or she happened to accidentally cut through electric cables. To this end, moulded into the handle was the comforting phrase 'TESTED 20.000 VOLTS'.
On the other side of the handle are details of the patent; earlier manufactures (presumably prior to December 1939 when the full patent was granted) bear the legend 'PRO PAT 19242 - 38', while later ones bear 'PATENT No. 515767'.
As can be seen, variants exist; the top example is the standard type, the middle one being identical except that about 7cm of the rubber coating has been removed (after manufacture, judging by saw marks in the rubber), exposing part of the tang. Why this was done is not clear, but it appears to have been a common practice.
The final variant has an extended cutting edge that runs down to the shaft, and bearing Air Ministry markings, was of the type carried in RAF aircraft to help crews cut their way out of wreckage. One famous photograph shows airborne troops in the doorway of their glider prior to D-Day, a soldier holding one of these axes. Whether they were issued to Civil Defence units as well is not known, but the latter frequently were first to arrive at crashed aircraft, and so the odd axe might have been 'borrowed'!
Siebe Gorman 'Salvus' Mk.VI Breathing Apparatus
The Salvus was a self-contained oxygen breathing apparatus manufactured by Siebe Gorman & Co. of London. Originally designed in the first decade of the 20th century, the apparatus was intended for use in atmospheres such as those in mines and other enclosed spaces, where heavy concentrations of gas could build up. [9]
An early type of the Salvus was actually issued to machine gunners on the Western Front in 1915 as an interrim protection against gas. However, it is believed that these sets were never actually used against war gas. [10]
The example seen here is the Mk.VI, and probably dates to the 1930's-early 1940's. The cooler box is marked 'NFS', indicating its use by the National Fire Service.
Designed to last 30 minutes in an irrespirable atmosphere, the Salvus regenerated the wearer's exhaled air by removing the carbon dioxide and topping up the oxygen content.
The photo at left shows the Salvus dismounted from its canvas frame and leather/webbing harness. The apparatus works as follows:
The wearer opens the cylinder valve (1) to allow oxygen from the oxygen bottle (2) to flow through the automatic pressure reducing valve (3). This takes the high pressure oxygen and feeds it into the breathing bag (4) at a constant rate. Meanwhile, the wearer exhales through the mouthpiece (5), the stale air passing through the cooler (6) and the CO2 absorbent canister (7), where the carbon dioxide is removed. The air then passes into the breathing bag where the oxygen deficiency is made good by the supply from the bottle. Upon the next inhalation, refreshed air from the breathing bag travels back through the circuit, through the cooler, (designed to reduce the temperture of the air, which has increased as a result of having the CO2 removed), to the wearer. If the pressure reducing valve malfunctioned, the bypass valve (8) could be opened briefly to let high-pressure oxygen to pass directly into the breathing bag. If the bag ever became over-inflated, excess air was released through the pressure relief valve (9). A pressure gauge (10), read using a small mirror, indicated how much oxygen (and time) was left.
References
- O'Brien, T. Civil Defence 1955. London:HMSO p.177
- Air Raid Precautions Handbook No.14 1942. p16
- O'Brien op. cit.
- McAdam, R. and Davidson, D. Mine Rescue Work 1955. p114
- Air Raid Precautions Handbook No.9 1939. p16
- Air Raid Precautions Handbook No.9 (amended reprint) 1940. p16
- Air Raid Precautions Training Manual No.1 June 1940.
- Patent Specifcation GB515767, accepted 13 December 1939.
- Davis, R. Breathing in Irrespirable Atmospheres c.1948 London: St Catherine's Press
- Transcript of notes dictated by Colonel Cummins on effects of and protection from gas attacks. 1917. WO 142/266