British made cans

[David]

The following British manufacturers of cans are known:

SPC, BMB, AMC, RTMP, VM, W6W, SUC, F&L, MPB, ROC, EWB.

If you have a WW2 dated British can that is made by a company that is not on the list please add the name in a reply to this message.

Greetz

David

[Robin]

I have a 1943 dated W/l\D marked can that has no makers mark.

[lucakiki]

So do I

[lucakiki]

I just wanted to pump up this post,so it can combined with the list that Philippe sent,and if he likes to he can make it another sticky list, that can be of reference for any interested guy,just as I hoped for the U.S. and German lists..

[West Aussie]

Out of my collection of 70 different Jerry cans, could I add to the British manufacturers already mentioned........ SEM. FM. ABL. ABP. RG. NG. FKF.(?) PSC. W&W. RTB. RTB,CP&F.
Brose & Co Coburg. (?)

I have collected cans dated between 1940 & 1968, from some 30 manufacturers, information on these manufacturers would be interesting to me

BMB = Stands for Beams Motor Bodies, an English car company (?) W&W = Willow & Willow tinware makers

[lucakiki]

Guest,thank you for your info.I awonder if the Manufacturers you kindly reported are all WWII,or if some arealso post war.While at the subject,would Philippe,who submitted the biggest list,put it in a Sicky post so it can be a reference for us all,just as the Geman and U.S. lists?

[Adrian Hardgrave]

Hi,

Just a quick comment. BMB were a major producer of Jerry Cans in the UK (they produced other items too, most notably the Airborne steel helmet).

I've noticed on a couple of posts, and web sites, that the full name of the company is often given as "Beams" or "Beans" motor bodies. In order to stop the rot (hey, everything you read on the internet is true, right?) , I'll just add this:

BMB is Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd, of Dagenham, Essex. They were a US owned firm that produced bodies for several car manufacturers, starting in the UK in the 1930's. Eventually most of their output went to Ford of Dagenham, who bought the firm outright in 1953.

OK?

Cordialement,

Adrian

[Andym2]

These are still in production, current holder of the MOD contract are Sealey with their JC20G model. Now they are metricated and it is a 20 Litre model priced at GBP29.32.

[Andym2]

If you use a British Jerry can you also need the spout that goes with it.

No spout means lots of gas all over your feet, as the air tube welded inside the can mouth does not let enough air in, and as a result it always "burps" as you pour.

Also for some reason the British designers built a can that does not readily fit the gas filler of any known vehicle. And they wonder why they lost their Empire!

[David]

The British simply copied the entire can (including the mouth) from the original German design. However, I have never seen or heard of a German-made spout for their cans. Perhaps they only used funnels?

Greetz

David

[Andym2]

Here is some input from an old friend who was a REME SgtMjr in the 40's.

"Both photographic evidence and logical considerations clearly speak against the use of petrol barrels. Have you ever tried to load a barrel full of petrol on a truck with pretty high ground clearance without using a forklift?

It should also be noted that vehicle fuel throughout the war was issued to British troops in the dreaded 'Flimsy' cans, stowed four in a small wooden crate.

While every Allied quartermaster was more than happy when a German supply depot was seized and a couple hundred Jerrycans fell into his hands (the Jerrycan being the only useful design for carrying petrol in those days, and still being used to this day).

There was also a War Office Memorandum that dictated that all cans containing fluids must be painted according to an approved list. I cannot lay my hands on a copy anymore, and memory is failing me. But I do remeber that Black or Black with a white X was drinking water. Green and Blue were lubricating oils. Yellow was primarily for foodstuff, cooking oils, vinegar etc. Red was always dangerous or corrosive fluids, with a number of coloured X's to indicate particular contents. Petrol was for the most part shipped in unpainted cans. Of course the rules were rarely followed once in a field location.

As an aside, we would often use a flimsy of petrol to chill a beer. Bury the beer bottle 18" into the sand, pour all the 4 gallons of petrol over the hole and wait 30 minutes, for evaporation, not icy cold but very refreshing, and highly illegal.

The current NATO Jerrycan was designed as a combination of the original German design, and as a result of having to develop airdrop cans. Neither the Jerrycans or the earlier "flimsies" were suitable for air-dropping. Firstly their rectangular shape would have required a new type of drop container to be designed and secondly it was found jerrycans could split open if hard contact with the ground was made (flimsies werent even suitable for consideration).

To supply remote outposts and irregular friendlies, a new type of can was required that would both fit inside an air-drop canister and be strong enough to withstand a parachute landing.

In 1943 the new design was finalised and production began. Due to the specialised nature of the can, it appears that the government contract issued in 1943 was of sufficient size that no more were made in later years. Note that the cap was borrowed from the German design, and later with a squaring of the shape became the standard of the NATO can."

[P Bellamy]

To add to the previous post, the photo is of one of our 3 fuel cans. They were found in a farm in France a few years ago, if I remember correctly. The farmer had only just stripped off the original paint, and resprayed them in the sand colour seen in the photo, to "tidy them up for sale".
I'll have a look and get the details of the stamping from the bottom soon. There are a number of photos of this can on our web-page here: http://www.summerof44.org.uk/Menu/Equipment/Fuelcan.htm
3 of these plus the rubberised horsehair padding fit in the MkII CLE canister, also known as the drop canister.

The RAF still have a hangar full of these CLE canisters, all 1943/44 production.
The last recorded use I have for them was during the Gulf War, when they were dropped into Iraq with supplies for the SAS forward units.

All the best

[Dom K.]

HI Everyone . Brose & Co, Coburg . Manufactured cans for the Wehermact , I have one dated 1943 . I suspect the company fell into the hands of the British ( I used to have a British can by this manufactuer dated 1945 ). ABP , mentioned in the British list , Is this the same company as the german ABP ? . Dom .

[Dave41]

Don't forget that we in Australia made the German/ British type Jerry Can and they were also made in South Africa

Actually they are easier to transfer fuel to a vehicle than the US type as the pourer has a lip which can rest on the vehicle's tank filler spout

[armydriver]

I just obtained a Britsh can manufactured by W6W dated 1944 but has a metal tag rivited to the handle indicating what type of fuel it is to hold, along with a paper sticky tag with benzenecannister in different languages. Any information please. The tag indicates with a B that it is to hold benezene.