CHEMICAL WARFARE TRAINING IN THE POLISH AIR FORCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000300100018-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 7, 2001
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: December 17, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2001/09/05 : CIA-RDP82-00046R000300100018-8
CONFTDENTTAT
25X1A
COUNTRY Poland
SUVECT Chemical Warfare Training in the Polish
Air Force
DATE OF INFORMATION
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
25X1X
25X1A
REPORT NO.
?MIIIMMMININ111110
DATE DISTR. /1 sdlifs .153
NO. OF PAGES 5
REFERENCES:
25X1A
1. Chemical Warfare Trainin Phase
1!!!!!!ttendin thet Panel Technician Course, from
25X1X a. was given 4o hours of chemical warfare (CIO instruction
25X1X which was under the AF Officer
25X1A uu ruu iecntucai scnoo].at Zamosc 53-02, E 21-47,
The 40-hour CW phase' was broken' doWn, into two 100-minuM11.11
weekly. A 200-minute examination was given at the completion of
the 40 hours. No instruction was given on radiological or bio-
logical warfare.
25X1X received the same instruction while attending the NCO
11111111cal Technician Course during the same period at the school,
25X1X
25X1A
Neither received CW training while stationed with
the Their work-load in their spe-
cial uiu no ieave time ror such training.
b. The instructor for the CW phase was an unidentified Polish AF
administrative first lieutenant, who lectured in Polish. He seemed
to be well qualified.
c. No text books were used for the CW classes; the students took
notes from the lectures. No mention was made of security classi-
fication. The school was well equipped with graphic training aids,
samples of equipment and mannequins. There were no demonstrations
of CW equipment, All training took place in the classroom no,
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practical training was given and no gas chamber waa used. On
dthe'ocdasion a?brief smoke exercise was heldduring whidh a
group of students fired a few smoke candles and grenades.
2. Breakdown of CW Trainini
To the best of their knowledge, the following subjects were covered
in the CW training phase:
a.. Decontamination
Pni 1rn nntamination were depicted on a large Chart.
25X1X remembered only the information mentioned
ue.Low?
(1)
Decontamination of vehicles (tank, truck, etc.) was by'
means of,a portable, pack-type sprayer. On other charts
25X1X
were shown steps in dcontamina1n Mrcraft, USitigHthe
portable sprayer -
ecalled only that-the
process was begun at the nose of the aircraft and continued
back to the cockpit and tail assembly. (Men shown in the
charts wore ordinary duty uniforms and not special cloth-
ing.) The students were also shown a wooden chest (lx
1 x 1.5 m. in size and 100 kg. in weight) which contained
portable decontamination apparatus. There were one Or
two portable, pack-type sprayers, a number of rubbet:hoses,
suits of light-weight protective clothing and othet'atti
cies they couldn't recall. They didn't remember any-nomen-
clature or markings. (Note: Their description of the
chest is almost identical to the Soviet DK-I; that of the
sprayer matched the Soviet RDP-3 exactly.)
(2) Individual -- by means of the IPP-5 and IPP-6 kits. See
subpar 2 c for description.
Armament (weapons, artillery pieces) -- by means of porta-
ble sprayers.
(3)
(4) Clothing -- by boiling.
They were taught nothing about terrain decontamination.
b. War Gases
(1) They could recall only a few details on gases. They
remembered the names of only two types of gases, which were
classified with the others according to physical effects.
They knew Mustard and Lewisite of the Blister gases, and
Adamsite, Phosgene, Di-phosgene and Chloracetophenone from
the Choking gas group. They definitely never heard of
gases with effects differing from those given above,
such as nerve gases.
A wooden cabinet in one of the class halls contained several
smalls amber-colored bottles.(about 75-co. capacity),
filled with liquid gases. Each bottle was labeled; they
remembered only Mustard and Lewisite. The students were
given a sniff from each of the bottles. This was the only
25X1X time .ere exposed to any gas.
(2) They were told that artillery shells, bombs and aircraft
spray tanks could be used to disseminate gases. They never
saw any sort of gas-filled ammunition.
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A graphic training aid was shown them depicting an aircraft
spray tank in detail. Also illustrated was a tWoeengined,
propeller-driven monoplane in flight having one of these
tanks under each ming, with dense, white smoke billowing
out behind. The tank was attachable to any aircraft capable
of carrying bombs. The liquid filling in the tank was called
S-4. They designated the tank by the number -250, and
recalled a similar, but larger, spray tank called -500.
(Note: Their description of the smaller tank was identical
to the Soviet UKhAP-250.)
c. Individual Protective Equipment
(1) Gat Masks -- Each student was issued a gas mask for his
exclusive use which was kept on a shelf
ing halls with his nameplate attached.
described the mask accurately enough for o e en d
e
as a Shlem type. They didn't know if it was of Polish or
Soviet manufacture. (An instructor once told them that the
CW equipment at the school Was largely of Soviet make Or was
Made in Poland from Soviet design.) All of the masks were
old and in poor condition. Some of the facepieces needed
repair. The breakable, glass eyepieces continuously fogged
up when the mask was worn; there was no anti-dim to correct
this condition, The mask size was designated by the numerals
"1", "2", or '3", molded on the lower right portion of the
facepiece jaw.
The carrier was made of green canvas and was divided into
three compartments: one for the facepieces one for the
canister which was set on two Small blocks of wood* and one
for the protective cape .(see subpar c (2)). They-never saw
Any spare parts or repair kits for the masks.
They were told the mask would protect its wearers against
all known war gases. The norm for donning the mask was
eight seconds. ,e
They described the canister as green colored and .did not
remember it having awages. A six or seven-digit number,
meaning unknown, was located on one side, The canister life
was about eight hours
(2) Protective Cape -- They described it as a large, envelope-
shaped paper bag, which was coated With some greasy sub-
stance. They put it on only once or twice. No time was
set; they were to den it as quickly as possible. The cape
was folded and kept in a compartment of the gas mask carrier.
Individual PrOtective Kits, IPP-5 and IPP-6 -- These kits,
which were to be used as blister gas decontaminants, were
shown the students once in clasa. They handled the kits
but did not recall having practical training with them.
They were told the kits would be issued to individual air- 25X1A
men only in case of war. (Note: The descriptions of these
kits exactly matched the IPP-5 and IPP-6 in the secret
manual "Soviet CW Weapons and Equipment",
(4) Protective Clothing -- They were told about only two types'
of protective clothing, both of which were displayed on
mannequins. They never wore either. The clothing, which
was for the use of decontamination personnel, was to give
protection against all war gases. The clothing had numeri-
cal designations, which they didn't remember. They didn't
remember any details concerning the instruction given on
this clothing.
(3)
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(5)
d. Smoke
25X1A
(a) The heavy-weight, all rubber clothing consisted only
of an apron, five-fingered gloves and knee-length
boots. The boots had a pair of strings at the top.
They had no idea as to what other clothes the wearer
might have on, and were positive that the special
clothing consisted only of these items.
(b) The light-weight clothing of oilskin-like material
consisted only of an apron, mitten-type two-fingered
gloves and a pair of boots with tie strings at the
top and bottom. (Note: This is similar to the Soviet
long, oilskin, anti-gas overboot,) These items were
to be worn by front-line troops.
Protective Mat -- They were shown a chart depicting a
Polish soldier advancing by means of a straw mat over an
area contaminated with liquid gas. The mat was wide
enough for him to fire from the prone position.
?
They were given very little instruction on smoke but did see
the following smoke munitions on one or two occasions:
(1)
(2)
Smoke Grenade (see Encl. A) -- Several of these were thrown
to simulate gas. On type emitted white smoke and another,
black. They burned for about four minutes. The smoke was
not toxic. All the grenades were identical in appearance
and without markings.
Smoke Candle (see Encl. A) -- They only saw a picture of
this candle which had an estimated burning time of 15
minutes and gave off a very dense, yellowish-white smoke.
e. Gas Detection
Although taught little about this topic, they were shown a
chart which illustrated an opened kit used by a CW reconnaissance
squad to detect gases and mark off contaminated areas. They
were also shown several small glass vials and litmus papers
which were to be used to detect gases. They were told about,
but not shown, a large quantity of stall yellow flags, having
a black skull and crossbone design, for marking contaminated .
areas. (Note: This is a fairly good description of the Soviet
SkhR-3 kit.)
f. Flame Throwers
Two types of flamethrowers were on display at the school. They
never used them or saw them used. The designations were given
by the instructor.
(1) FOG type -- To be placed in a defensive position. No
further information. (Note: The description matched the
Soviet FO static flamethrower illustrated in the above-
mentioned manual.)
(2) ROKS type -- This was portable with a range of 25-30 m.
The igniter cylinder contained seven or eight cartridges.
They knew nothing about a pressure regulator. (Note: It
seemed exactly the same as the Soviet ROK-2 model, described
in the same manual.)
ENCLOSURE:
A. Polish. Stoke Grenade and Smoke Candle
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Enclosure A
gplish Smoke Grenade and Smoke Candle
Match-head
type igniter
0
Emission hole
SMOKE GRENADE
I
I
0
approx
18 cmo
0
00
.111.14?911???
apLoxg
5 cm.
Body made of yellowish colored paraffined cardboard.
SMOKE CANDLE
,
h41 approx
---4"
Body made of dark green metal
Cover
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