Blue Cross shell

The Allies claimed that the German Blue Cross shells were. not effective, and based their opinion upon the fact that the high explosive in the shell did not sufficiently atomize the toxic chemical tAmerican Expeditionary Forces owing to gassing with respiratory-irritant compounds. Deaths from these compounds were very rare. 

Owing to the fact that diphenylcyanarsine was effe< tive in extremely small concentrations (1 10,000,000), it was the agent per excellence for general harassment of troops. Even a few shell, scattered over a wide urea compelled all troops therein to mask and thus groatly hampered their combat efficiency and effectii eness. It was thus particularly effective against artillery and Blue Cross shell were largely employed in < ountcrbattery fire. 

Notwithstanding that the German Blue Cross shell did nut dispi rse its ehcmienl contents in a very efficient form, the. Allies wen so impressed with the possibilities of DA and CD. that they immediately started to work to devise the most effective means for their employment againsl I he Germans. 

Blue Cross shell and expected extremely important result, hoping to force the removal of the mask and permit casualties to be readily produced by other gases. 

Organobismuth compounds are extremely toxic. BiPh2X is a more powerful chemical warfare agent than AsPh2Cl, which is known as blue-cross shell gas. Several organometallic compounds of Bi are used for bactericidal and fungicidal applications [7]. 

As regards Blue Cross shell, there is no doubt that the enemy over-estimated their value their gas effect was small on our troops and no fatal cases of poisoning are known to have resulted from them so that the loss of explosive effect resulting from the inclusion of the chlor-arsines in the filling was not justified. ... 

Blaukreuz (Blue Cross—German WWI Shell) Diphenylchloroarsine (50-100%), and N-Ethylcarbazole (0-50%) Mixture with or without Phenyldichloroarsine (Solvent) ... 

Blue Cross No. 1 (German WWI Shell) Phenyldichloroarsine (60-50%) and Diphenylchloroarsine (40-50%) Mixture ... 

The first of the lung-injurant agents to appear in the World War was phcnyldiehlorarwine. ThU gas was first used by the Gerniaas in September, 1917, with, and as a solvent for, diphenylcyauarsine (Clark 2) in Blue Cross I artillery shell, and later by the French in a mixture with 40 per cent cUphcnylchlorarsine, knowm as Sternite. ... 

This compound is primarily a toxic lung injurant and is therefore treated in Chap. VII, page 165. In addition to its lung-injurant effect, however, it also exerts a considerable respiratory-irritant action, and for that reason, was used by the Germans in Blue Cross 1" shell in mixture with, and as a solvent for, diphenylcyanarsine. 

The concept of a mask breaker is sound, but the German design for its weapon failed to disseminate the agent into the air. Instead, most of the solid diphenylchloroarsine merely fell to the ground harmlessly in the area surrounding the explosion of its shell. In the rush to get blue cross agent shells into use, the German military failed to test... 

Remains of acorns of red oak, Quercus rubra, after gray squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis) have been feeding on them. Top row. cross section of acorn, with radicle barely visible at apical pole at the bottom. Middle row. Parts of acorns left behind by squirrels. They discard apical pole (with radicle visible). Such pieces are later consumed by birds such as blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata). Bottom row. pieces of acorn shells. Photo D. MiiUer-Schwarze... 

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