Blue Cross (chemical warfare)

Blue Cross (Blaukreuz) is a World War I chemical warfare agent consisting of diphenylchloroarsine (DA, Clark I), diphenylcyanoarsine (CDA, Clark II), ethyldichloroarsine (Dick), and/or methyldichloroarsine (Methyldick). World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. Diphenylchlorarsine is an odorless harassing agent also known as sneezing gas Clark I and Clark II were the main agents used.

Clark I was used with Green Cross munition earlier; however for the first time it was used as a standalone agent in the night from July 10 to July 11 1917 at Nieuwpoort, Belgium, during the operation Strandfest. Green Cross ( Grünkreuz) is a World War I Chemical warfare agent consisting of Chloropicrin (PS Aquinite Klop Phosgene (CG Collongite Nieuwpoort is a Municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders The artillery munition used as a delivery vehicle contained a large amount of glass spheres closed with a cork and sealed with trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene ( TNT) is a Chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO23CH3 Later N-ethylcarbazole was added. Depending on the caliber, the munition contained between 7 and 120 kilograms of the agent.

Blue Cross is also a generic World War I German marking for artillery shells with chemical payload affecting the upper respiratory tract. [1]

See also