Overview
- Brief Narrative
- United States Army issued handheld insecticide dusting gun, Model 142, of the type used by US troops to delouse concentration camp survivors after liberation in 1945. The standard issued material used by the US Army for louse control was 10% DDT powder. Louse powder was placed in the canister and released through a pressurized hose. Air passes through the canister and the air tube tip when the control is pushed down. The powder was blown between the underwear and the skin, down the neck of the shirt, up the sleeves and into the trousers in as many directions as possible.
- Date
-
manufacture:
1944
use: approximately 1945 May
- Geography
-
manufacture:
Saint Paul (Minn.)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the United States Department of Agriculture ARS Medical and Veterinary Entomology Research Lab
- Markings
- handle base, right side, embossed vertically : Model No. 142 CONTRACT NO . / DUST GUN – 1944 W – 12 – 036 - OM11424
handle base, left side, embossed vertically : DOBBINS MFG. CO. / NO. ST. PAUL . MINN – ELKHART. IND - Contributor
-
Manufacturer:
Dobbins Manufacturing Company
Distributor: United States. Army
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Tools and Equipment
- Category
-
Farming equipment
- Object Type
-
Dust guns (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Green painted, silver colored, metal canister with a vertical seam and circular screw top lid. Attached to the lid top is a flat, metal bar with arched ends. Attached to the lid interior is a curved, semi-oval perforated metal filter. A tubelike spray nozzle is soldered to the top of the canister and extends over the lid. At the flat end of the canister is a cylindrical handle with a flat triangular base. An air tube extends from the canister and inserts into an opening near the upper edge of the handle base. It has a pointed tip to release air. There is a rod with a metal spring and circular end button which, when pressed down, releases air into the attached metal air tube that extends through a hole on the lower edge of the handle. The canister has paint loss, scratches, corrosion and adhesive residue from previously attached labels. It is missing the pressurized hose attachment.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm) | Depth: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal, paint
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The insecticide duster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Kenneth H. Posey, ex officio, for the United States Department of Agriculture ARS Medical and Veterinary Entomology Research Lab.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-08-16 11:04:35
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn514808
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Also in United States Department of Agriculture ARS Medical and Veterinary Entomology Research Lab collection
The collection consists of two United States Army issued insecticide dusters of the type used in the concentration camps immediately following liberation during and after World War II.
Date: 1944-1945
US Army plunger-type insecticide duster for delousing concentration camp survivors and soldiers
Object
United States Army issued hand pump insecticide duster of the type used by US troops to delouse concentration camp survivors after liberation in 1945. The standard issued material used by the US Army for louse control was 10% DDT powder. Louse powder was placed in the canister and released through the spray nozzle when the hand pump was depressed. The powder was blown between the underwear and the skin, down the neck of the shirt, up the sleeves and into the trousers in as many directions as possible.
