Gary Ziegler Posted June 10, 2020 Share #1 Posted June 10, 2020 I have a group of adhesive bandages that were acquired with several WWII and Korean era First Aid Kits and medical supplies. I would like to know which adhesive bandages are WWII era, which are Korean War era and which, if any, are neither. See attached photo, which I've flipped to make it easier to read them all without twisting your head. Manufacturer's include: A.E. Halperin Company, Inc. American White Cross Laboratories Bauer & Black Davis Emergency Equipment Company Hampton Mfg. Co. Forest City Products, Inc. Johnson & Johnson Madison Company Medical Supply Company Mine Safety Appliances, Parke Davis & Company The Pac-Kit Company, Seamless Rubber Thomas W. Reed Company Your assistance in this is greatly appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
Survival Posted June 10, 2020 Share #2 Posted June 10, 2020 As far as I know the military did not use 3/4" wide bandaids until after WW2. The only 3/4" wide bandaid that I would say could be military would be the white cross brand. I believe all the rest are commercial. As far as the 1" bandaids go the only ones I have seen in WW2 military kits are the Davis, Bays, and Stickbands. Halco, and MSA are probably WW2 era. Not sure if I have seen them in military kits. Pac kit, Stafford labs, MS Co I believe are commercial The 1" J&J ZO is Korean War era and was used in military kits. The WW2 version is a little different Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Ziegler Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted June 10, 2020 According to the WWII US Medical Research Centre, the following companies are listed as WW2 Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers. They are listed under Surgical Dressings and Supplies. These companies include: A. E. Halperin Company, Inc. – Boston, Massachusetts The American White Cross Laboratories, Inc. – New Rochelle, New York – Cape Girardeau, Missouri Bauer & Black, Division of The Kendall Company – Chicago, Illinois Davis Emergency Equipment Company, Inc. – Newark, New Jersey Hampton Manufacturing Company – Carlstadt, New Jersey Johnson & Johnson – New Brunswick, New Jersey – Chicago, Illinois Medical Supply Company – Rockford, Illinois Mine Safety Appliances Company– Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Bay Division, Parke Davis & Company – Bridgeport, Connecticut The Pac-Kit Company – Greenwich, Connecticut The Seamless Rubber Company – New Haven, Connecticut The following 3 companies are not listed as suppliers: Forest City Products, Inc. Madison Company Thomas W. Reed Company Source: https://www.med-dept.com/resources/ww2-medical-equipment-manufacturers-and-suppliers/ Link to post Share on other sites
Survival Posted June 12, 2020 Share #4 Posted June 12, 2020 There were many other manufacturers of adhesive compresses (bandaids) used in WW2 by the military. I'm just referencing the examples in your photo. If you are trying to assemble a WW2 first aid kit as it came originally from the manufacturer the bandaids are usually the hardest item to get right. Obviously the bandaids were the most often used item so they were the most likely to be replaced in the kit. Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Ziegler Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted June 12, 2020 9 hours ago, Survival said: If you are trying to assemble a WW2 first aid kit as it came originally from the manufacturer the bandaids are usually the hardest item to get right. Obviously the bandaids were the most often used item so they were the most likely to be replaced in the kit. I have several M-2 Jungle, Medical, Individual kits dated 1943 to 1945. I would like to know which items are correct for these kits when they originally came from the manufacturer. If items that were used and replaced over time, which ones would be correct as replacements. This is one of the kits I have on hand. Link to post Share on other sites
Survival Posted June 12, 2020 Share #6 Posted June 12, 2020 Technically the Fraziers, Iodine and Atabrine would have five digit stock numbers or no stock numbers for a 1943 kit. I believe they went to 7 digits in mid 1944. I think its OK otherwise. Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Ziegler Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share #7 Posted June 13, 2020 22 hours ago, Survival said: Technically the Fraziers, Iodine and Atabrine would have five digit stock numbers or no stock numbers for a 1943 kit. I believe they went to 7 digits in mid 1944. I think its OK otherwise. Thank you, sir. You are correct. I have two WWII era iodine vials, One has the 5 digit stock number 91118 and one has the 7 digit stock number 9111800 (see photo). According the WWII Medical Research Centre, the 7 digit stock numbers initially appeared in the Army Service Forces Medical Supply Catalog on 1 March 1944. The site states: Medical Item Numbering System: While the United States Army preferred to indicate itemized parts by Stock Number, the Medical Department used Item Numbers. The following series of digits represent the numbering system in use during WW2. During the early phase of WW2, most Item Numbers only had 5 digits. Early 1944 the number of digits increased from 5 to 7. The first digit always indicated the class to which the part belonged, while the other four (i.e. 0001 to 9999) indicated the purchase order within a specific class. The new Army Service Forces Medical Supply Catalog dated 1 March 1944, officially lists the increased series of digits, i.e. 7 instead of only 5; the additional two digits were attributed in order to help identify variants among identical medical items, and the very last two digits were used for this specific purpose (i.e. 00 to 99); when a particular item had no variants, both last digits were always double zero (00). The Medical Supply Catalog, dated 1 March 1944, lists contents with 7-digit Item Numbers. Since this Catalog superseded former publications introduced 1 June 1943, it would imply that the existing system (5-digits) was gradually modified into a 7-digit numbering system over this period, i.e. between mid 1943 and early 1944, give or take a few months … Source: https://www.med-dept.com/articles/background-to-medical-item-numbers/ Link to post Share on other sites
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