Israeli "Battle Rations" update

[Treesuit]

They may however just be boxes of commercial cans.

Hmmm...yeah, that was my guess as well. Judging from the size on them.

They are a 4 man ration so they may have originated for AFV crews

Hmmm..I did see another early picture, maybe here on this thread, of a early manot krav being used in 1973 Yom Kippur War. Just showed a giant can of turkey and noodles, fresh vegetables, bread, etc. But the caption read the Manot Krav was designed for Sherman tank crews. Sherman tank crews used 5 people, and the MK was for 4? I guessing the MK was intended slowly for AFV crews but I have no idea when the IDF got Sherman tanks and when they were phased out. I know the IDF still uses M113's in their inventory, though they're special modified. I think M113's are mostly in the combat engineer units.

BB, any help on this hypothesis?

[donaldjcheek]

TS & BB

The original MK was designed for 5 men - that being the number of men in a Sherman tank crew.

If you will look at the picture earlier in this thread, the MK box is clearly marked with a 5, not a 4. It contained loof, turkey & noodles, and sardines. As late as 1982 (1st Lebanon War), long afte the Sherman had been phased out, the IDF was using the 5-man MK. They also supplied it to their Lebanese Christian Militia allies, and one of the things that tied the Christians to the Sabra & Shatila massacre was the empty MK cans they left at the scene.

The MK was definitely in use during the '67 Six-Day War. In her biography, "Israel Diary: June 1967," Yael Dayan writes of loading her jeep with supplies.

"... and boxes of rations. Canned meat, sardines, and loaves of bread for 5 men..."

[biscuits brown]

yep, 5 not 4.

A 5 in 1 type is the most flexible type for any group ration I think.

[Treesuit]

BB,

One thing is where did the loaves of bread usually come from? A mobile kitchen, dining facility? Or baked in some offshoot oven or over a fire? I saw a photo where there looked to be a civilian commercial loaf of bread with a MK.

[donaldjcheek]

TS

Did a little research and came up with the following.

One Manot Krav box measures 6 3/4 in x 11 3/4 in x 5 1/2 in (17 cm x 30 cm x 14 cm) and weighs nearly 7 lbs (3170 g). Feeds 4 men for one day when supplemented with 2 loaves of bread. This adds 2 1/2 lbs (1140 g) to the ration, for a total of 9 1/2 lbs (4310 g) per daily ration.

12 MREs (daily ration for 4 men) occupies a box 17 1/4 in long x 9 1/2 in high x 10 1/2 in wide (42 cm x 27 cm x 24 cm) and weighs an average 20 - 22 lbs (9 - 10 kg).

Attached are two photos showing the relative size of the MK box.

Concerning the bread, as far as I can tell it is all local purchase. Apparently, the IDF also supplies unleavened bread (Matzoh?) on Sabbath instead of sliced bread.

[Treesuit]

Has the MK gone thorugh any menu change like the US and UK? Or have they stll stuck with the same menu or food items?

[biscuits brown]

Ts there seems to be a lot of continiuity of the ration contents. Its the box and packaging of the contents that seem to have changed. There are some pics of old a new MK rations on the rationworld site.

The Sherman M50 AND M51 were indeed used in 1973 by reservist units. The last M50-51s were given to Chile and the SLA in the late 70s. The Chilean M51s designated M60 still seem to be in the Chilean inventory.

And in case you are thinking what could a Sherman do in 1973,

M51 Isherman

The answer is quite a lot. That gun could knock out all current early 70s Sov MBTs using HEAT ammo at 2km.

[OtisRNeedleman]

TS & BB

The original MK was designed for 5 men - that being the number of men in a Sherman tank crew.

If you will look at the picture earlier in this thread, the MK box is clearly marked with a 5, not a 4. It contained loof, turkey & noodles, and sardines. As late as 1982 (1st Lebanon War), long afte the Sherman had been phased out, the IDF was using the 5-man MK. They also supplied it to their Lebanese Christian Militia allies, and one of the things that tied the Christians to the Sabra & Shatila massacre was the empty MK cans they left at the scene.

The MK was definitely in use during the '67 Six-Day War. In her biography, "Israel Diary: June 1967," Yael Dayan writes of loading her jeep with supplies.

"... and boxes of rations. Canned meat, sardines, and loaves of bread for 5 men..."

Nice ASA patch. I'm prior USAFSS/ESC/AFIC, etc. Spent four years at Goodbuddy in the 80's.

[donaldjcheek]

Contacted a veteran of the '73 Yom Kippur war (an American-Israeli who flew back to Israel to fight) and here's what he had to say.

The battle ration came in a cardboard box made in Newark, New Jersey. It held:
-a can of LUF (Israeli SPAM)
-a large can of Turkey & Noodles or some type of stew
-a large can of corn (prized possession!)
-a couple of tins of sardines
-packet of hard candy
-1 large or 2 small cans of dessert fruit
-a small folding can opener
-drink mix powder
-hard biscuits
-several heat tablets

By the way, I also found out why the IDF issues 8 dining packets (knife & fork) for 12 meals (not 4, not 12) in the modern MK. The plastic ware is issued for kosher purposes, one set to be used with meat products and one to be used with dairy products.

[biscuits brown]

Right. That would make a lot of sense.

So does that mean the entire 73 MK was of US origin, or just the carton and maybe a few items. certainly not the luf I would assume.

BTW luf sounds like a tinned voosht which sounds very like it in salami form. Either plain or with garlic. Sliced and fried, served with mashed potato and brine pickled cucumbers (haimisha) and or kraut, its a Jewish comfort classic. Blooms does a good one in the UK.