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Post by bcraver on Dec 30, 2020 9:36:25 GMT -5
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jcoyle
C/505 Members
Posts: 227
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Post by jcoyle on Dec 30, 2020 10:45:44 GMT -5
May do some just to compare to what I am making. Will be a good learning experience.
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kfrank
Friends and Allies
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Post by kfrank on Dec 30, 2020 13:24:28 GMT -5
Excellent info from Top on making the K Rations. The biggest cost is finding the boxes. Everything else is readily available and labels can easily made DIY. For the Breakfast meal "fruit bar" I use Larabar Cherry Pie bars as they are closest in appearance to the original. But if you make these just for a private tactical, any chewy bar will work. Just get one that you will eat. For anything that you are going to glue I recommend that you use Elmer's Craft Glue. It is thicker and stronger than School Glue but is still non-toxic and cleans up with water.
As Top said, stay away from pop-top cans. Store brand cans of chicken, turkey, tuna almost always meet this criteria and aren't much more than a dollar a can. The Hormel ham is about the only one I've been able to find and is a little more but is a nice meal.
I usually order the Patten Foods boxes as these are useable for D-Day on. The colored "Morale" boxes - referred to that way, because they were made to be more attractive than the plain boxes and some genius in the War Department thought it would be a boost to morale if meals came in nicer boxes - wouldn't have arrived at the front until at least late 1944. I do have a couple sets of them in my personal collection.
For those who don't have the time or patience to make K rations, the C-Ration cans are a quicker and cheaper option. Again, no pop-tops so you will need to get store brand in most cases. Beef stew, spaghetti and meatballs and "beefaroni" are good modern equivalents to common ration options in addition to the Pork and Beans. I have label files for each of these if anyone needs them.
Lastly, I can verify Top's research on the Sterno. While it is close to wartime, it doesn't burn hot enough to cook or boil water. It is slightly better than eating cold out of a C-ration can but it takes a while. There are better options as have been discussed.
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jim
Board Members
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Post by jim on Dec 30, 2020 13:37:15 GMT -5
.... For the Breakfast meal "fruit bar" I use Larabar Cherry Pie bars as they are closest in appearance to the original.... OK, I wasn't going to mention it but.....
As the good Captain mentioned the breakfast meal had the Raspberry "fruit bar".
This is darn easy to make if you can find fruit strips in your local store. They are easy to cut to size and layer into the bar. 90th ID site has the dimensions.
You could put the bar into your canteen cup with a little water and with some heat make a sort of jam to put on your crackers.
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kfrank
Friends and Allies
Posts: 105
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Post by kfrank on Dec 30, 2020 13:41:16 GMT -5
.... For the Breakfast meal "fruit bar" I use Larabar Cherry Pie bars as they are closest in appearance to the original.... OK, I wasn't going to mention it but.....
As the good Captain mentioned the breakfast meal had the Raspberry "fruit bar".
This is darn easy to make if you can find fruit strips in your local store. They are easy to cut to size and layer into the bar. 90th ID site has the dimensions.
You could put the bar into your canteen cup with a little water and with some heat make a sort of jam to put on your crackers.
Thanks Top, I had forgotten about that option although I have tried it in the past. Another option to make a satisfying field ration. |
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jim
Board Members
Posts: 1,167
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Post by jim on Dec 30, 2020 18:43:35 GMT -5
I usually hate Wiki as a reference source but this entry does a good job of explaining the difference between C Rations (WW II and Korea) and MCIs (Meal Combat Individual). I ate a lot of MCIs when I was in and like everybody else called them C Rations - but they were not. They were MCIs.
Many differences between C Rations and MCIs but the biggest was the color of the cans. C Ration cans were a golden color while MCI cans were OD. Pictures at the link.
Just painting a can OD does not make it "period" to WW II.
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jim
Board Members
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Post by jim on Dec 30, 2020 18:56:47 GMT -5
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jim
Board Members
Posts: 1,167
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Post by jim on Dec 31, 2020 5:16:51 GMT -5
SPAM - if you have two cans of heat between you and your buddy you can fry up a can of SPAM in your mess kit. Just make a small trench you can put the cans in, set the fry pan part of your mess kit over it, slice the SPAM thin and fry it.
Makes a little mess in the mess kit but you can clean that up when you get home. |
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Post by bcraver on Jan 1, 2021 15:31:37 GMT -5
Spoke to Todd by email. He thinks he can get a many as 10-15 3 meal sets pulled together but needs to know ASAP. I am willing to place the order and handle pick up in advance of WAR. Please let me know by Sunday, Jan. 3 if you want a set. If you want to fill your own, Greig has great materials. Please let me know ASAP if you want a set.
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Post by bcraver on Jan 4, 2021 18:37:48 GMT -5
Based on lack of responses I will assume no ration orders from Todd. Thanks!
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jim
Board Members
Posts: 1,167
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Post by jim on Jan 10, 2021 6:38:10 GMT -5
A tip on wet boots.
Depending on the weather it could be wet and around freezing.
If your boots get wet during the day and it's going to be very cold to below freezing you have a few options.
1st - (worst option) you can sleep with wet boots, socks and feet. You will not get trench foot in 36 hours but you will be miserable and your feet all soft and wrinkled.
2nd - (best option and most realistic) prior to going to bed pull off your boots and socks, dry your feet, put foot powder on them, then put on a dry pair of socks and then put the boots back on.
3rd - (kind of Farby for a combat zone but...) if you just can't sleep with boots on then do everything as in # 2 except put the boots on and go to bed - BUT if it's going to be around or below freezing you need to sleep with your boots. If they sit out and freeze solid you"ll have a heck of a time in the morning getting them on. Place them under the covers with you somewhere out of the way. They'll stay somewhat warm and easier to get on in the morning
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Post by louisjenkins505 on Jan 10, 2021 6:57:12 GMT -5
In the days that I did campaign CW I used to pull off my boots, wet or otherwise, and place them under my kit and sleep on them. While not an ideal pillow they stayed warm enough and were easy to find in the mornings.
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Post by Daniel Elling on Feb 7, 2021 19:19:06 GMT -5
After this last event I’d love for everyone to revisit this thread and post what worked for them and what could be done to better their own experiences in freezing temps (those who slept in the field especially)
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jim
Board Members
Posts: 1,167
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Post by jim on Feb 7, 2021 20:08:56 GMT -5
Well, you can show everyone at Lugoff how to cook a full can of beans/spaghetti/ravioli without making a mess.  |
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Post by Daniel Elling on Feb 9, 2021 7:31:00 GMT -5
With lugoff coming up I’d love people to review this thread and the links within and start buying/ making what you need! We stood out at enfield for having the most amount of allied troops living on the line from start to ENDEX. And I for one would like to continue that tradition of fielding a squads worth of campaigners, capable of thriving comfortably in period Field conditions.
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