Shell Petrol Can Find
 

Found this on Craig's List in New Jersey, USA for $25. Had a friend fetch it for me.

Hoping to use it for early WW2. So what colour should I paint it? Anyone use Tamiya spray cans from the model shop on smal items like these?

Matt

Petrol Tin
 

A nice example that I would not paint.

Also, it would likely be for civilian use in the 20s and 30s. As such, the colors would be red/yellow...a google search shows some in a dark grey with red highlights.

As to model paint, personally I would go with something like the Gillespie military paint in a spray can if need be. I'm not sure the effectiveness of paints meant for plastics on a metal container.

Mathew

If you Google "Shell petrol can" and click on Images you will see hundreds of examples of colors and markings.

Lang

Thanks all. I don't have the can in hand yet as I'm overseas. But my mate says the only markings are "Valor 7 M". Most examples I've seen photos of have a recognizable month-year date stamp beside Valor. But I have no clue on "7 M". Lang, as you've said there are hundreds of examples. But which would be correct? If I ever do a Salvation Army canteen car then I'd use this can for that.

Matt

This photo is ostensibly from shortly after Dunkirk. These cans are distinctly different in design or have all had the spout inexplicably removed. But all carry the Shell embossing.

Matt

Interesting. Perhaps that early in the war the British military were using commercial cans.

I have had dozens on dozens of Cdn POW cans...most directly from the surplus stores that got them directly form the Cdn military. As well, I was picking up POW cans from a military dump in Borden, mixed in with coke bottles from the early 40s. I have never seen a Shell can in Cdn service.

Very interesting picture. I can imagine the Allied troops emptied the cans and then removed to spout to render them useless for the German troops.

Of course they could have set fire to to entire fuel dump, but I've read they tried not to set fire to their equipment as that would draw attention of the German air force - read the excerpt from Farley Mowat’s book The Regiment in CMPs first used in action: June 1940, France.

It is unusual to see so many civilian 2 gallon cans, all of the same type (Shell). Could this be a dump for civilian cans acquired by the German army? I suspect they didn't restrict their pilfering activities to only military assets left behind by the British. Any local civilian fuel supplies would be considered fair game too. :teach:

Not sure about the removal of the spouts though; an axe or bayonet through the side of the can would be much quicker, whilst having the desired effect.

Owen.

Many of them appear to have holes punched into them as well. Perhaps it was both: hole(s) in body and neck broken off.

It seems like it would have been very time consuming to de-militarize that many cans, especially considering that there were tons of other equipment to be demilled. As well, the jerry can, which was far superior, was already in play.

Jerry Can
 

The Jerry Can was only in play by the Germans during the early stages of the war so it is quite possible that this was a BEF fuel dump. Without checking I believe the Allies (US and UK) did not start manufacturing their own versions until 1942.

A bit off-topic but the in the photo, the fellow's boots and gaiters suggest German mountain troops. And what may possibly be a Gebirgsjager patch on his upper right arm?

Owen.

It could also be a picture taken after the fall of France. The German occupying forces then had plenty of time to recycle the equipment and stores they captured.

H.

There would be a ton of brass caps in that lot, certainly a valuable commodity worth more than the usefulness of the cans.

Lang

Agreed Ed...my suggestion was that the effort expended to de-mil the cans was wasted, as the Germans likely would not have used them anyway.

Possible the caps would have been tossed down a well somewhere. The necks were not brass though, and a lot of time was spent ripping those off.