“Farting” gas mask and zebra cow. 5 strange photos of World War II (7 photos)

Recently I came across an interesting book called Weird War Two, which can be translated as “Strange Second World War”. The author is Peter Taylor, based at the Imperial War Museum in London. For many years he has been photographing the most unusual exhibits of the museum and reconstructing history.





The photographs will show the Second World War from an unusual angle, and behind each of them there is a story.

"Farting" gas mask



Invented especially for children. So that children are not afraid of people wearing gas masks and are not afraid to put them on themselves. In addition to its bright colors, the gas mask made a “farting” sound, which greatly amused the children.

Launch of Paradog





The British Army used dogs extensively during World War II. And not only for the protection of warehouses. They had a special school for training fighting dogs.

The dogs were released before an offensive or special operations. As a rule, not alone - the dogs served as support for the soldiers after landing. They neutralized mines and other traps, and also delivered information about where exactly the enemy was located.

They were nicknamed Paradogs by combining two words - parachute and dog (dog in English).



The dogs were taught to land correctly while controlling the parachute: “front paws up, back paws down.” They were also conditioned to loud noises so that they would not be afraid.

However, the dogs really did not want to jump out of the plane - this was the main problem. They lured them out with a kilogram piece of meat.

zebra cow



Why do you think the farmer dyes her cow to make it look like a zebra?

In Britain, electricity was often cut off during air raids. And the roads were not lit. This coloring, like the bright jackets of traffic police officers, helped to spot the cow on the road. So that the cow doesn’t get lost and a car accident doesn’t happen.

Churchill in a siren costume



Winston Churchill with baby Baron Killen in a stroller.

He is wearing a so-called “siren suit” of his own invention. This is a one-piece suit that you can put on instantly. The suit was worn during air raids. Firstly, it acted as a disguise - it helped to safely reach the shelter, because it was much less noticeable than a business suit. Secondly, it was practical - the shelters were often damp and dirty.

They called it the siren suit because the signal to put it on was... the sound of a siren.

Inflatable tank "Sherman"



The British actively used such dummy tanks during Operation Fortitude. The task was to deceive the Germans so that they would wait for the Allied landings not in Normandy, but in Calais.

Nice layout! For aerial reconnaissance, the tank looks like a real one.

The second important stage of Operation Fortitude was the creation of a network of double agents. The British identified and recruited several key German agents.