British Post WWII Aluminium Mess Tins
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มี.ค. 2022
- A look at the British late war jungle mess tins which became standard issue post-war.
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You could fill them with boiling water and press your trousers. This guarantees a visit to the guardroom at 2200hrs with every bit of kit that can be ironed, and some you wouldn't have believed could be ironed, for a friendly parade with the Provost Staff. Lol.
In the Canadian militia we were issued these but did not use them much. By about 1985-ish we were told that they were hygienic since the thick aluminum would get pitted and that they could not be cleaned reliably.
I used one in the Canadian army in the 80s and 90s that look the same as the aluminum one. we had a web belt pouch for them, but we usually used it for other stuff and stuck our mess tins in our back backs.
I don't think I ever ate out of it either. If we had field rations (IMPs) we ate them out of the package and if we had field kitchens we ate of plastic plates.
My SADF messtins had handles that opened sideways, not overlapping like these. Ours were more like waterbottle cup folding handles.
Aluminium & Stainless steel mess tins available these days call the shape British Pattern. I've just ordered a set here in Australia & am looking forward to using them. Thanks for sharing👍
I love how we still use mess tin designs from WW2 and water bottle designs from the 50s!
If it ain't broke don't fix it!!!!
@Chris Riff-RAF L85 been in servoce with the UK armed forces for more years and fired more rounds in combat than the L1A1. If the modern british soldier needs 7.62mm there is the sharp shooter rifle. Keeping two L4A4 per section might have been a discusion worth having
And that water bottle is based on the US M1910 - nearly antediluvian and still perfectly useable, too. Ain’t broke, don’t fix, and if it is, wrap it in duck tape.
Your steel mess tin would never pass inspection! Get on it!😂 Great video and very informative! Thank you, mate.😊
The current mess tin set is made by TOC (Tools of Coventry) I have a set dated 2006, and my partner's set, hers' is dated 1991, also TOC. The TOC website states they are still in production and are available to the civilian market. TOC has had the MOD contract for this and other items since 1970. They are excellent quality kit, great for camping and bush crafting.
Filling one or other of the mess tins (I don't recall which one) to one of the rivets (again the grey matter fails me) is equal to 1 pint.
Cadets give me a 1945 set and wanted to know a bit more about them
Have a Dutch set in non stick which have been very useful and durable over 20 yrs old now.
I remember an airborne Brit unit who had these and also a lid/frying pan with sliding handle. They also used 44 pattern aluminum canteen cups to make coffee. They seemed to use German, Norwegian and US field gear whichever they felt was best.
Australian army doesn’t use them any more because a study came out saying that the consumption of aluminium particles can be a factor in Alzheimer’s I have no idea how true this is but the army doesn’t use them anymore
That’s been refuted several times over as being fake. Yes, Al does contribute towards Alzheimer’s, but not via eating from Al pots.
I find these quite handy as camping equipment, using postwar Continental versions. The Crusader mess set is somewhat better, but also noticeably more expensive (especially in the States).
One note - the variants with the more rounded corners, while perhaps less efficient for storing boxed rations, are more hygienic than the more squared off corner ones - it is easier to get all the food particles out of the rounder corners, especially when trying to wash up in the field in a hurry.
The only place the US equivalent is superior is when going through the line at an actual field mess, where you're merely using it as a mess tray, not to cook with.
The German style ones are honestly only better for boiling (and a US style metal canteen cup, especially with a lid, is superior for that - so if using a canteen compatible with the US mug, you might as well use the US cup).
I would be rather surprised to find that Cold War British and Commonwealth troops didn't mix and match in much the same way.
Often it wasn't allowed, and it wasn't issued, only airborne and special forces were still issued good bits of kit like the old 44 pattern metal mug where ours were plastic and so we had to boil water for a brew in mess tins only. There were very expensive Crusader cups available from mail order companies in the late 80s, and also mess tin lids which doubled as frying pans, before the Crusader cup and stove became standard issue.
Myself as a civvy who does a fair bit of stealth camping / bushcrafting I now opt for the Dutch Army stainless canteen cup - like the GI cup but a bit more robust so I've heard, and with butterfly handles, with a Pathfinder lid, and one of my 2 Dutch Army stainless mess tins, which is perfect for making hot drinks, mres and even cooking proper food.
I had WW2 mess tins dated 1944 ,issued to me in the late 70's, think I might have them.
That wouldn't surprise me one bit with stores and issues lol.
You could buy a Lid/frying pan, it was non stick and had a pull out handle in the Nineties...... about the time all the Chest rigs and private purchase stuff turned up in the better surplus shops
It worked Ok ... you needed a rag for the thick wire rod handle.
I have one of these, something for a future video perhaps.
The Dutch still issued the stainless version..and the the haversack you mention (mestins inside ) we used it till begin 90...I used the ww2 canvas type in 1989 /1990 as a Dutch conscript
I have stainless steel Dutch versions aswell as the late/post war aluminium. Personally I believe these mess tins are the most versatile mess tins ever made because they can cook things in multiple ways with multiple heat sources unlike some more modern items such as jetboil, which is just a ration pack cooker and little more.
I use them for camping regularly and have struggled to better the light weight, compact design. In fact probably the next best for me it the civi trangia.
Got the dutch as well because I wasnt shure about the alu. I find them quite hard to use at times as they require a lot of fuel to properly cook
@@georgewashington92 I’ve had problems with aluminium mess tins and cups in the past as I found they can oxidise when not in use, which makes everything taste horrible. So I generally go for stainless steel even though it’s heavier etc. Also I’ve known Ali tins to begin to melt if the stove is aloud to heat one area for a long time
I too use stainless Dutch mess tins as well as the Dutch canteen cup, with a civy (Pathfinder) lid for it. I use the Trangia burner only - not the whole nesting pan set and windshield which is bulky and made of aluminium - inside a folding twigstove, a Lixada knockoff. This is the most versatile setup as I can also burn Esbit tablets, Firedragon gel, or wood (twigs or batonned wood pieces) inside the stove, and it's the perfect pot stand/windshield for a Trangia burner.
I have the Dutch stainless steel set. They work well with an Optimus 8R and 99.
i was issued a set in the early 90s ... i asked the QM why we were being issued ww2 era mess tins and not something more modern, ... was told it was because the procurement contract for these was something stupid like 80 or 100 years. (as was common practice back when the contracts were being awarded) ... I believe it was Tony Blairs government that went through many of the old military contracts about bought their way out of them.
You were misinformed - MOD contracts would be for a set number of items produced within a relatively short timeframe. These may then be revised (because prices change) and renewed as required.
Do they still issue these mess tins in the british military?
The Belgian army used messtins very similar to these (if not the same).
The Dutch Army too, made of rvs (roestvrij staal i.e. stainless), have a set, much better than aluminium.
Was there ever a version that was the same shape but shallower, I may be misleading myself in thinking there was and I seem to recall it being called an RAF Pattern? This was a long time ago that I seem to recall somewhere seeing this could have even been pre- internet days.
I have had shallow ones used as a fry pan and used as a lid. The shallow ones weren't issue used to get them on sale in the NAAFI,
@@harry9392 I seem to recall what i'm thinking of was not just a Lid but the pair being shallower.
@@willjohnson1273 the ones I bought were the same as regular mess tins but looked as if they had been cut in half
@@harry9392 Maybe that's what I have seen then.
@@willjohnson1273 had a set I bought in the NAAFI in RAF Aldergrove