Dräger Heeres Sauerstoff Schutzgerät or HSS gerät 1916
This successor to the Draeger Tübben Selbstretter was a significantly more modern system. You will see from the operation that this is a lung controlled rebreather. With 7.5 kilos it is a technically high quality unit equipped with a cooling system and directional valves. The HSS apparatus designed in 1915 was marketed by dräger in 1916 and was produced in thousands.
The device was worn on the hip and provided protection for 45 minutes even in medium to heavy work. The unit was used on a large scale against gas attacks in the First World War.
The unit had a breathing hose designed in such a way that it could also be connected to common German gas masks with a screw connection in order to protect the face optimally.
The device, which later in 1924 developed into a back mounted respirator after the war, was used in various ways: it could be used with a nose clip and mask, with a harness or full face mask.
Therebreathersite was founded by Jan Willem Bech in 1999. After a diving career of many years, he decided to start technical diving in 1999. He immediately noticed that at that time there was almost no website that contained the history of closed breathing systems. The start for the website led to a huge collection that offered about 1,300 pages of information until 2019. In 2019, a fresh start was made with the website now freely available online for everyone. Therebreathersite is a source of information for divers, researchers, technicians and students. I hope you enjoy browsing the content!