Rations! Rations! Ration! The one stop thread about German Rations of WWII.

[Simon O.]

A bottle of 1928 vintage Pol Roger champagne.

for a really interesting story about this champagne and this vintage in particular, read this story

http://www.polroger.co.uk/?id=38&Sir+Winston+Churchill

[Theoderich]

Originally Posted by Simon Orchard

Conserve jar [p.96]. Quite a common find, these are also found in green glass.

That`s a milk bottle! Nice

[Simon O.]

Originally Posted by Theoderich

That`s a milk bottle! Nice

no it's a conserve jar the base is even stamped Normalkonserve, 900CCM.

[djpool]

Simons correct its the 900 CCM jar used for fruit products. It was evaluated in the original US report and approved as standard packaging in 1942.

Simon great stuff! Jim

Originally Posted by Simon Orchard

no it's a conserve jar the base is even stamped Normalkonserve, 900CCM.

[Theoderich]

Maybe it was used for fruit products in ww2 , these kind of cans were normally milk bottles here in germany! I`am glad if these were used as german rations, because i have some of them ...

Best regards
Dirk

[Patatrac]

Hi all,
My little contribution.
Original Knäckebrot.
Regards.
Patrick.

[djpool]

Patrick,

Outstanding! Finally a good picture of an original Batschieder Knackebrot carton! Would it be possible to get your permission to use the pictures in higher definiton if possible. If its okay could you E mail me at:

pzrgtgd@hotmail.com

Regards Jim

Originally Posted by Patatrac

Hi all,
My little contribution.
Original Knäckebrot.
Regards.
Patrick.

[djpool]

This can was captioned as being Polish in the book. As it turns out it’s a standard 200 Gram can of pork, which was corrected in the update file. When we got the can we were thrown off by the stamp R.St.14 which we hadn’t encountered before. That and the fact that our source thought it was Polish led us to the wrong conclusion. As I read the book it dawned on me that this style of can was actually discussed in the original US Army report.
13. Beef Roast. Three samples were tested.A. (Sample 1). This product appeared to be roast beef. Two cans, 4 x 4.625 inches and 3 x 2.312 inches in sizewere examined. The drained weight of the former was found to be 20 ounces and that of the latter eight ounces. The gravy was very thick and there was a great deal of rendered fat present. The product appeared to have been ground through a 1.5 inch plate. Its appearance and flavor indicated that it was a cold pack. The vacuum on the larger can was zero and that on the smaller one was approximately 4.5 (obviously a mistake probably .5 inches). The labels read as follows: Authors' notes. The information does not fit the template. 400 x 410 4288 T 135 R-F 8206 300 x 205-DIN-PAPKU000 RSTSSR 200 130


One of the things we point out is that the analysts who did the study had a difficult time reading the stamps off the cans and there were a lot of errors. Plus they tended to run the information together, but over time we were able to figure out most of the codes. Once we figured out that the can was German we tackled the R.St. 14.stamp. As it turns out, it’s simple the code for a type of galvanized or drawn steel. The can in the Ration report probably read something like this:
Bottom lid: 300 x 205(Possible the size of the “blank” used to make the body of the can)
DIN-PAPKU000(DIN PACKUNG??)
Top lid:RSTSS(R.St.?? the code for a type of galvanized or drawn steel )R 200 (Beef 200 g) 130(Either a date or manufacturers code)
The can is the same size as the one described in the report.It only had one lid and the codes are as follows:
S-36- (Pork 1936)
GW -Unknown but possible the manufacturers code or additional identifier for the steel.
R.St. 14.- code for a type of galvanized or drawn steel

[djpool]

Some collectors are skeptical that this type of package is actually wartime. We didn’t find any evidence to suggest they are postwar. However since they aren’t dated there is no way to confirm it either way. However the US Army evaluated several packages of these soups and described three types of overwrap paper used in packaging them: Wet Waxed Paper, Dry Waxed Paper and Light Weight Chip Paper. The example shown is overwrapped in Light Weight Chip Paper. >>

[BergführerKiser]

Here are some photos that I dug up at the National Archives that seem to have been shot for a training manual on the field kitchen:

[BergführerKiser]

A wartime Agfa color slide of a Gebirgsjäger Hauptmann eating some bread ration:

[BergführerKiser]

Here's the große Kochkiste, primarily used by Gebirgsjägers...the whole kit mounts on the side of a packsaddle:

[BergführerKiser]

A Gebirgsjäger distributing rations for his Gruppe:

[djpool]

Patrick,

Very nice pictures. I love the clarity of the field Kitchen pictures.You can clearly see the standard issue cans, bulk storage crates for meat and dehydrated vegetables. The use of the plain paper bag for the coffee is also nice.

Here is another 900ccm bottle for fruit products, this time in green. I also posted a comparison of the 900ccm bottle alongside some milk bottles. You can clearly see the major differences: the opening of the 900 ccm bottle is wider to facilitate the filling and emptying of the contents and while milk bottle tended to be made of smooth, clear glass; the 900 ccm bottles are opaque and have a stipled finish.Jim

[djpool]

This is probably the most controversial item in the book, a wine bottle marked for the Waffen-SS. Tom and I are convinced of its originality, but were certain it might raise a few eye brows. The Army was responsible for providing rations to all branches of the military except the Navy. However when it came to local purchase and Marketenderwaren (kantine/PX) items the Army was unable to prevent the SS and LW from wandering off the range. Of course beer and wine products are categorized as Marketenderwaren. Beer and wine products were authorized as part of the soldier’s daily ration; which meant that these products were split up into normal rations, which were free to the soldier and sold through the units kantine as well. Alchohol products supplied by the Army for the Army, SS and LW are sometimes marked Wehrmacht Marketenderware. We know that the LW procured beer for their troops which are marked “Eigentum der Luftwaffe”. In the case of the SS wine everything seems to point to its originality. The BADO winery existed and the label itself is fairly standard with the exception that it was produced as a “Special” run. Nothing points to the bottle being SS except that it was purchased through the office of the Zentralmarketenderei Der Waffen SS, Berlin. Tom and I weren’t able to establish with 100% certainty that the office existed. We did find the biography of an SS soldier who worked there though. If any of the members can shed more light on this office it would be greatly appreciated. Regards Jim >>