Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 397:
Description
WWII German Luftwaffe Model 10-6701-1 Pilot’s Oxygen Mask by Auer-Gesellschaft AG, marked ‘bwz’, complete with corrugated supply hose, two-point elasticized harness, and bayonet-style clothing clip. Offered here is an original World War II Luftwaffe aircrew oxygen mask, Model 10-6701-1, manufactured by Auer-Gesellschaft AG of Berlin under the wartime ordnance code ‘bwz’. The mask retains its molded black rubber facepiece, chamois lining, corrugated supply hose, and bayonet-style connector with attached clothing clip, and represents the improved two-point harness pattern that superseded the earlier, bulkier three-point 10-67 and HM-15 series masks. Introduced as Luftwaffe operations pushed increasingly into high altitude, the 10-6701 mask was engineered as a lighter, more ergonomic alternative for fighter pilots flying the Bf 109 and Fw 190, and for bomber crews enduring long sorties above 4,000 meters, where supplemental oxygen was essential to sustained consciousness and effectiveness. Its two-point attachment system was purpose-built to mate with the stud fittings found on Luftwaffe flight helmets such as the LKp N101 summer mesh pattern and the LKp W101 winter pattern, allowing quicker donning and a more secure, adjustable fit than the older three-point designs it replaced. Auer-Gesellschaft, one of Germany’s principal manufacturers of protective breathing apparatus for both military aviation and civil defense, produced these masks in volume through the mid-to-late war years, and surviving examples bearing the ‘bwz’ code remain consistently sought by collectors of Luftwaffe flight equipment as tangible relics of the air war fought over Western Europe and beyond. The mask’s molded black rubber facepiece bears the raised model designation ‘6701-1’ on one side and the ‘bwz’ code stamped into the opposite housing, both clearly legible in the photographs. A chamois or leather lining follows the interior face-contact area, showing only light handling soil, with the exhalation valve assembly visible at the front of the facepiece. Tan elasticized webbing straps form the two-point harness, retaining their metal adjustment slides and a functioning nickel-plated spring-clip quick-release fitting, with light fraying and expected loss of elasticity consistent with age. The black corrugated rubber supply hose remains intact and flexible, terminating in a brass and alloy bayonet-style connector stamped with the same ‘bwz’ code, to which the small hinged clothing clip remains attached, showing mild surface oxidation on the metal fittings. The straps are replacements The molded rubber facepiece has held its form well for its age, displaying good overall integrity without major cracking, crumbling, or catastrophic dry rot, though close inspection shows the natural fine surface creasing typical of wartime rubber compounds of this vintage. The webbing, hose, and connector all present as a matched, original set consistent with period Luftwaffe production standards. A well-marked and structurally complete example of Luftwaffe flight equipment whose surviving harness, hose, and clothing clip make its cockpit function and manufacturing origin immediately legible to the collector.
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