WW2 British 24-Hour K-Ration Spam Box (Original)

SKU: BRITISH 24-Hour RATION SPAM BOX

Original/Reproduction: Original

Availability: In-stock

Manufacturer: N/A

Condition: Excellent

Price: $95.00

Seller Type: WW2C

Seller ID: JMW

Return Policy: 3-day inspection and return policy on used guns and accessories.

Description

Original WW2 British 24-Hour Ration Spam Box.

Spam - 1 can, 13.3 ounces

Plain Biscuits - 5, 1.6 ounces

Chocolate - 1 square, 0.5 ounces (vitamin fortified)

Boiled Sweets - 5 pieces (what we call hard candy in the US)

Tea-Milk-Sugar drink mix - 2 packets

Sweet Biscuits - 1, 0.4 ounces

Oatmeal - 1 packet, 1.1 ounces

Meat Broth - 2 large cubes

Chewing Gum - 2 packets, 8 pieces
(the US equivalent is Chiclets)

Latrine Paper - 4 4x9-inch sheets

Paper Matches - 20, 0.2 ounces

Instruction Sheet and Menu Suggestions

Weight Overall: 23.0 ounces

 of Food: 17.4 ounces

History

These were supplied to Commonwealth troops right before the D-Day invasion of France in World War II. Each consisted of a small waxed cardboard box and were issued two per man, per day.  It's worth noting that some of the food in these rations needs to be cooked in order to be palatable (such as oatmeal and soup), but the only way most of the assault troops had to do so were small solid fuel tablet "stoves" that were really only good for warming up a canteen cup of liquid. You simply can't boil water using solid fuel tablets (which are basically alcohol) - there isn't enough heat energy in one tablet, let alone a whole boxful (which nobody had anyway). So a lot of this food was eaten cold, or lukewarm at best. If you felt like eating at all.