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Home made K rations


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post-32632-1310427750.jpg I haven't finished the labeling on the C-ration crate Yet but here they are.

 

That looks great. Sure makes me wish i had a wood planer.

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That looks great. Sure makes me wish i had a wood planer.

Actually the K-Ration box is just a re-purposed apple box and the C-ration crate a wine bottle box with the labels removed.

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pic2

 

Not bad for a Post War K ration...

 

Moral boxes I steer clear away from for a Wartime ration.... The wooden spoon, the grape and orange came in 1945, I suspect, like the famous cereal bar re-enactors like to use, in August 1945, as the War ended (and had been over in Europe for some months), and never, ever did the P38 come in the K ration, or the C (or the wooden spoon - in the C)... I've discussed the OD coating on the cans elsewhere, the when for example, and they never had beans...

 

For a decent guide to the contents of a K ration, take a look at this:

Scan0128.jpg

 

For Wartime K rations, I stick with the plain brown boxes, though interestingly, here's a photo of an original in my possession, which looking at the colour, flys in the face of "I got an original*, that's the way they where":

kration-1.jpg

 

* Or a photo...

 

 

Here's my own K ration:

finish1.jpg

 

finish2.jpg

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pic3

 

 

Good job but get rid of the VD "logo" type matches.. Logo/ advertisement matches were not in rations..

 

The books packed in rations were in tan/grey paper and OD. The printing reminded the soldier about Humidity, keep in waterproof bag, hiding your trash & the later malaria warning.

 

Kration

Collector U.S. combat rations 1905-1945

K's, C's, Ten & one, Five in one, Mountain..

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ww2reproductions

The moral boxes were use in WW2 there are photos to show them being used and I would say sometime just before to just after Christmas 44/45.

 

+++ for paratroopers you can use them for all of WW2 as they had the new gear even before it was invented+++ :lol:

+++ and USMC on Guadalcannal in 1942 as seen in PACIFIC+++ :think:

 

When I find the photo I will post it

However go with the plain boxes for the most part.

For all you k-ration crate makers dont forget to allow for the cardboard box that went inside the wooden crate and for the moral crates there was also tarpaper lining as well !

Leo

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i use the type of can opener that just cuts the top of so you can reseal it.

 

Can you post a website that sells these can openers or show us a picture, I would like to get one, I've done a search on the net and can't find one.

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Can you post a website that sells these can openers or show us a picture, I would like to get one, I've done a search on the net and can't find one.

Here is a pic of the one i have. I got it at Bed bath and beyond. I think is was $15. works great.post-48053-1310600780.jpg

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Thanks jumpwings, that's some great info. I do have some of the early style plain K ration boxes. I only use the morale boxes for sep 44 or later events. So you say the can would be a gold color other than the od?

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I've heard about them famous photos, or photo, some guy mentioned a few years ago he had one of GIs in Bastogne, but have yet to see them/it... Ye will though, see plenty of plain boxes, people forget they produced millions a month, in fact, (and i'm going by memory here) they peaked at 24million one month (October 1943?), they had so much "combat" rations, that they stored them in huge freezer compartments, and where still issued after the War... The QMC historical studies mentions that "In May 1944 it was said that the new package was going into full production" etc..

 

Now don't tell me a manufacturer who has in stock, waiting to package the product, in this case millions of K rations, that the new one is now ordered and he has to print out millions of new ones and discard the old ones, ever seen the Gong Show? You got it, they used up all the old stock first, and that includes the times when the new one came along, eventually came along...

 

Now, if ye want to crowbar into your WWII impression some nice shiney and dead fashionable "moral" K ration boxes, go ahead, ye'll look fantastic!!

EDIT, I'm gonna wear some dark green OD webbing on my North African Campaign set up and no one can say anything, coz I've got a photo...

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Armed 2 tha Teeth

Here are a few, including the infamous Bastogne picture (from RobL's photobucket).

 

post-763-1310671696.jpg

 

Both of these are of the 100th ID in Spring 1945.

post-763-1310671734.jpg

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Here's 1 more. I know I have seen several others - just dont have them handy. Will post as I dig them out. Theres one standing out in my mind of a guy stuffing a morale box into a 43 shovel cover.

post-3887-1310677932.jpg

post-3887-1310677940.jpg

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Thanks for posting up the pics. Never seen any of them before.

 

Ok here is tonight's attempts at some more home made K rations. Think these turned out better. Plus i made the inner boxes, and then waxed them. Just used some Gulf Wax from the local store.

 

DSCN0771.jpg

DSCN0772.jpg

DSCN0775.jpg

DSCN0776.jpg

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Thanks for the photos guys, it's amazing, asked for them years ago, and it takes a bit of pressure to get them :w00t: ...

 

Nice to see the date stamped on the flipside, can't argue wi that, can one?

 

Something to consider, someone showed me a photo of a GI in the aluetians and he was wearing a hooded poncho, which didn't exist apparently, and once seen a photo of FSSF chaps and it was listed as "troops inspecting German bunker in Normandy", the Force never where there... And another showing airborne during D-day, in fact, the book listed the wrong D-Day...

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Armed 2 tha Teeth
Nice to see the date stamped on the flipside, can't argue wi that, can one?

 

Something to consider, someone showed me a photo of a GI in the aluetians and he was wearing a hooded poncho, which didn't exist apparently, and once seen a photo of FSSF chaps and it was listed as "troops inspecting German bunker in Normandy", the Force never where there... And another showing airborne during D-day, in fact, the book listed the wrong D-Day...

 

Jumpwings,

 

Here is the caption to the one I posted. The entire picture can be viewed on our website here:

http://www.menofthecentury.com/wp-content/...y/100490016.jpg

post-763-1310743369.jpg

 

The other was taken from the Marshall Foundation site and can be seen here, it is labeled as the 398th IR Medical Company near Muesenthal, Germany:

http://marshallfoundation.org/documents/Mu...alSamCahoon.pdf

 

Morale rations were issued in WWII. I suggest you look at this thread on the UK reenactors board. Morale boxes in the Summer of 1944.

http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/view...=81&t=69677

 

Here is the original and caption, miscaptioning seems unlikely here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosnormandie/820610669/

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  • 2 weeks later...

K rats look good, anyone have a source for the meat can sleeves? I have printer templates for everything except the meat can sleeves.

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