M8 Automatic Chemical Agent Alarm - $740 - (Tacoma, WA)
The M8 Automatic Chemical Alarm system was made for the U.S. Army. The 1967 Arab-Israeli War demonstrated the important need for an automatic field alarm system for detection of nerve agent vapor. In 1968, the Army standardized the M8 (E61) Portable Automatic Chemical Agent Alarm. The four-year development program was one of the most significant accomplishments in chemical defense and corrected a major deficiency that had left U.S. soldiers vulnerable to a surprise nerve agent attack. The M8 Alarm System included the M43 detector unit and the M42 alarm unit. Additional alarms could be connected. The two units together weighed about 10 pounds. The detector used a electrochemical point sampling system that continuously monitored the atmosphere and sounded an audible or visible warning of even very low concentrations of nerve agents. Actual detection occurred when air was passed through an oxime solution surrounding a silver analytical electrode and a platinum reference electrode. Presence of an agent caused a reaction in the solution, which increased the potential between the electrodes. The change in potential, when amplified, triggered the alarm signal. The unit could detect almost all known chemical agents. In 1971, the M8 alarm was reconfigured into ten different configurations for various vehicles and for field and installation use. The versions were numbered M8 (manpack), M10 (fixed emplacement), M11 (truck), M12 (truck), M13 (truck), M14 (armored vehicles), M15 (armored vehicles), M16 (truck), M17 (truck) and M18 (truck). This different numbering system was halted in 1981 and all the alarms were redesignated simply the M8 Alarm. The M8 Alarm was obsoleted in 1996. The items for Sale today are the M43 Detector Unit issued by the U.S. Army 23 Nov 1973 and the field pack battery.
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