Experimental white canteen?

[Cpl LaBonte]

I bought this white canteen at a thrift store today. I have never seen a white one and cant find any info about it, not even a picture. Could the R&D be for research and development?

[Texas36th]

I have a OD dated 1976 with the same markings. I believe that R& D stand for the manufacture. I don't know why yours is white.

[PriorityOne]

I always thought these were civilian. Those one piece caps and the thinker 1976 canteens would make me believe a civilian company got a mold and sold these.

[Steve B.]

The arctic canteens we used in 1979 were metal with a white plastic cap and a dark OD cover. I can't see any advantage to a standard canteen in white. That thing would freeze into a canteen-shaped ice cube in an hour or so.

[Rolf]

The arctic canteens we used in 1979 were metal with a white plastic cap and a dark OD cover. I can't see any advantage to a standard canteen in white. That thing would freeze into a canteen-shaped ice cube in an hour or so.

 

And split it from stem to stern as my buddy found out with an OD canteen in Alaska.

Since we were only issued a single canteen we would buy the surplus aluminum canteens and carry them inside our parkas for extra water. We wouldn't fill them all the up but if they froze we could set them directly on the Yuke to thaw. Dehydration is a real problem in the Arctic.

 

[decontrol215]

I have very a similar canteen, mine is a little more of a "transparent" white, if that makes sense. It's dated 1966 and came with a 2 piece OD cap which I don't think is original to the canteen. It does however match an OD 1966 canteen I have in every way except for the color. I was thinking it could possibly be a chaplain item, that's just speculation though. I'll try and post a picture of it.

[Third Herd]

I think the white canteens were made for the civilian market, the first time I saw them the store had a ton of them. They were also made in black, tan, and pink.

[Manchu Warrior]

The arctic canteens we used in 1979 were metal with a white plastic cap and a dark OD cover. I can't see any advantage to a standard canteen in white. That thing would freeze into a canteen-shaped ice cube in an hour or so.

 

Is this the one you are talking about? The canteen is dated 1967 and it looks as if it was never used and it was wrapped in plastic and the card was stuck inside. As you can see the canteen was same repacked the year you used one.

[Martinjmpr]

I think those are civilian market canteens and I think they came in other colors, too. I remember seeing them at surplus stores in the 1970's and 80's.

[Steve B.]

Is this the one you are talking about? The canteen is dated 1967 and it looks as if it was never used and it was wrapped in plastic and the card was stuck inside. As you can see the canteen was same repacked the year you used one.

canteen 001.JPG canteen 003.JPG

That's the one! They worked pretty well, but sometimes the water would get up into the neck & freeze. The standard plastic canteens only worked if worn inside the parka as mentioned.

[M60 Driver]

I was always able to purchase cases of commercial OD, white, and black canteens for my surplus store from a number of vendors all marked as above.

[jgawne]

consider 1976 is just after Vietnam pretty much ended, so I suspect that the makers suddenly had a massive drop in govt sales and were looking for a way to sell more canteens.

[hbtcoveralls]

I worked at an Army Navy store in the 80s and you could order new plastic canteens in OD, red, white, and blue. This is a made for civilian canteen, the two piece construction confirms it

Tom Bowers