Wanted to share a reproduction I recently made. Its hard to find originals of some of these really early emergency rations, so really the only way to experience them is to try and reproduce them as accurately as possible. The chocolate is from the WWII recipe, the bouillon powder is real, and while not pictured I do have modern dextrose tablets. Its not a very hardy ration, and the late war version is a SERIOUS improvement over what I would consider to be a meager meal at best.
1942 Army Air Corps Bail-Out Ration:
The Army Bailout ration pictured here is the original production version as prescribed by the standards set by the Army Air Corps, not the Quartermaster. While in May of 1942 the Air corps began ordering rations of this type, the Subsistence Research Laboratory, Quartermaster Corps, and Air Transport Service all worked to improve the ration. It was determined that the the single D Ration bar, two boxes of Dextrose Tabs, stick of gum and a bouillon powder packet all stuffed into a plain fiberboard unmarked box was decidedly insufficient for a ration of this type. The revised version,contracted through the Quartermaster and packed by Wrigley in 1943, contained two packages of Dextrose tabs, two 2 oz D Ration bars, two sticks of chewing gum, and one package of bouillon powder packed into a wax sealed carton opened with a pull string.
By 1944 the Bailout kit was totally revised by the Army Air Corps and new standards set for the ration. From this point onward the ration was re-named the "Parachute Emergency Ration" and packed in a key opening tin to withstand pressure and temperature changes during flight. The contents were expanded to include K-2 biscuits, two 2 oz D Ration bars, one 1-ounce fruit bar, a packet each of coffee, lemon, and bouillon powder, seven sugar tablets and three packages of sugar coated gum. This would remain the bailout ration of choice for the Army Air Corps until it was again revised to suit the needs of the Jet Plane era.
My reproductions photo turned black and white to mimic the original photo below.
Photo of Original from Quartermaster Historical Study
1942 U.S. Army Air Corps Bail-Out Ration
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Re: 1942 U.S. Army Air Corps Bail-Out Ration
Wow love the re-creation of the pics you’ve done. Amazing!