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UK rations question

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 7:27 pm
by rationtin440
Sorry guys, for some reason this did not post, my 'puter is having issues again :cry: but I'm wondering; do the UK 24 Hour rations still come with a folding stove or are they using an FRH-type of system now? Thanks for any replies.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 9:26 pm
by cavguy
I am pretty sure I have seen some of the newer 12 hour ration packs that have a FRH type heater. But the 24 hour ration packs do not, at least the one from 2012 I had last did not.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:16 am
by housil
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rationtin440 wrote:do the UK 24 Hour rations still come with a folding stove or are they using an FRH-type of system now? Thanks for any replies.
Did they ever come with one?
All the ORPs I have never had a cooker with it. I have multi climate ones, they neither have any heat source. The"tommy cooker" I have, came separatly.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:33 am
by rationtin440
Thanks for replies, guys. I think I may have solved the mystery here. I just read the description of the British rations in the international rations on the homepage of mreinfo.com and it mentioned about British soldiers being issued a folding stove with fuel. For some reason I thought that each 24 hour ration came with one, the way the French RCIRs do.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 12:47 pm
by elandil
rationtin440 wrote:Thanks for replies, guys. I think I may have solved the mystery here. I just read the description of the British rations in the international rations on the homepage of mreinfo.com and it mentioned about British soldiers being issued a folding stove with fuel. For some reason I thought that each 24 hour ration came with one, the way the French RCIRs do.
Reading some of the biographies/autobiographies of british soldiers, they usually sent a batch of cookers with every 5th or 6th ration replenishment, iirc.

Personally, i've always wondered what the difference between a "tommy cooker" and an esbit stove was.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:22 pm
by rationtin440
Well elandil, this may wander off-topic a bit, and my apologies, but from WW2 history books I've read, the "tommy cooker" was so named for a couple reasons; during WW2 the fuel for the UK stoves was a couple brands, Tommy's and Blackie's. The other reason, or so it was claimed, had something to do with the effects of German anti-tank weapons on British armor, with the visible effects being similar to the reliability of the flame on the cooker itself. (kinda like the "Ronson" lighter).

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:24 pm
by rationtin440
Sorry for forgetting this part, but I believe the Esbit refers to the name of the company that produced/produces the fuel and the stoves for the Bundeswehr rations.

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:51 am
by dirtbag
The US M4 Sherman (used by Brits and Yanks) was known as either a "Tommy" cooker, or a Zippo (After the Zippo lighter ads, "Lights every time"...)
WE lost a heck of a lot of good people to thin armor and a lousey gun!!!

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 8:40 am
by housil
elandil wrote: Personally, i've always wondered what the difference between a "tommy cooker" and an esbit stove was.
Left you see my (never used) UK "Tommy Cooker" vs.
TC4.jpg
right my (often used) German "ESBIT" cooker.

As rationtin440 mentioned, the name "ESBIT" is for the company that made them, starting in 1936.
So "ESBIT" is for: Erich Schumms Brennstoff in Tablettenform" (= Erich Schumms fuel in tablets shape)

I can´t recall from where I got mine from... I´m just sure he didn´t come with any ration.
TC1.jpg
TC2.jpg
Outer package with instructions

The fuel tablets come in a waxed box
TC3.jpg
Do the UKs have a canteen cup that fit´s in this opening?

Re: UK rations question

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 11:24 am
by Norton
:D
housil wrote: Do the UKs have a canteen cup that fit´s in this opening?
They had P 1944 and P 1958 with canteen cup stored with canteen body.
They have a fancy set these days called Crusader :lol:

The troops with WW 1 wool covered water bottle has to store a enameled cup somewhere else :idea: