anti-flash gear
{{Short description|Fire-resistant personal protective equipment}}
{{For|the personal protective equipment used against electrical arc flash|Arc flash#Arc flash protection equipment}}
Image:Action stations Falklands 1982.JPG Sailors during the Falklands War wearing anti-flash gear]]
Image:US Navy Flash Gear.jpg sailors at their ship's helm wear flash gear during an exercise.]]
Anti-flash gear, also known simply as flash gear, is basic personal protective equipment consisting of a fire-resistant hood and fire-resistant gloves, nowadays often made of Nomex.
Anti-flash gear protects to the head, neck, face and hands from short-duration flame exposure and heat. This equipment is donned by shipboard navy personnel whenever a fire breaks out or during periods of heightened readiness.{{cite book | title = NAVEDTRA 14057, Damage Controlman | publisher = Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Training Center | date = 2001-04-01 | url = http://www.dcfpnavymil.org/Library/dcpubs/NAVEDTRA14057.pdf }}
History
Anti-flash gear was introduced in the Royal Navy following the Battle of Jutland during the First World War,{{cite book |author=Hough, Richard |date=1983 |title=The Great War at Sea, 1914-1918 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192158710 |page=223}} when a number of British warships had been destroyed or damaged by flash from burning cordite propellant passing through the shell handling room into the magazine. It was found that the anti-flash hoods and gloves were more effective if flame-proofed with borax or boric acid.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1YhAQAAIAAJ&q=anti-flash+gear+borax |title=Australia in the war of 1939-1945: Ser. 5. Medical, Volume 4 |publisher=Australian War Memorial |date=1961 |page=122}}
References
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External links
- {{cite web |ref={{harvid|IWMSAS|1944}}
|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30092812 |title=Anti-flash balaclava helmet in IWM Collection |publisher=iwm.org.uk |date= |accessdate=7 December 2017}}
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