It provided little or no protection against the more powerful chemical agents used by the German Army in late 19. When wet the chemical soaked flannel could burn the skin. Its effectiveness deteriorated when exposed to air. Maintaining good visibility was difficult. The mask was claustrophobic to some users. The PH Helmet suffered from the following disadvantages: It was officially withdrawn in February of 1918, but many soldiers continued to carry the “Gas Bag” as an emergency backup in what the British Army called the “Precautionary Zone” or the 5 to 12 miles immediately behind the front lines. After which the PH was relegated as a reserve gasmask and the Tommy’s second line of defense should his SBR fail. The PH Helmet was the principle gasmask used by the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) until it was replaced by the Small Box Regulator (SBR) in the spring of 1917. Although it was officially called the Phenate-Hexamine Helmet, it was generally referred to as the PH Helmet by the British Tommy. In early 1916, another hooded helmet type of respirator similar to the P Helmet, comprised of flannel that was soaked in a phenate-hexamine solution began to be issued. In 1915, British gas officers realized that the Phenate or ‘P” Helmet was no longer able to offer the proper degree of protection to its wearer when the German Army began to deploy more lethal chemical agents in the form of phosgene and hydrogen cyanide gases. 
Posted to the British sector from the summer of 1917 to 1918
Used as a reserve gasmask by AEF personnel
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