Mk 2 Carrier water can

[Stewart Loy]

I thought that they were called 'bails'.

The thingermagigger that holds the cap to the can - so it is there when you are done pouring the gas out. The cotter pin holds the chain to the can, and the flip up 'bail' allows the cap to rotate. A small washer passes thru the bail and is captivated by another cotter pin.

I have attached a snap of the 2 in the basement.


Stewart

[Ed Storey]

White and Grey were the only two colours used for water cans, there was no Olive Drab. The reason is that these two distinctive colours were used so that the can would not get mixed up with petrol.

[Lauren Child]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

White and Grey were the only two colours used for water cans, there was no Olive Drab. The reason is that these two distinctive colours were used so that the can would not get mixed up with petrol.

I'm sure I've got a green 2gal water can somewhere. I had wondered how it had got through the war without being painted though.

I've seen pictures of jerry cans where only the handle or cross was painted white.

Edit: yup here's the can in an old photo.

[Ed Storey]

2 Gallon Cans and Jerry Cans are two different items with different marking schemes, can designs and colours. This thread is about the 2 Gallon Cans.

[Lauren Child]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

2 Gallon Cans and Jerry Cans are two different items with different marking schemes, can designs and colours. This thread is about the 2 Gallon Cans.

Sorry Ed, I think my edit overlapped with your posting -there's a photo of the green 2gal can attached.

I know the difference between the cans, my guess was that the same style of painting might have applied to both types.

[Lynn Eades]

Thank you Stewart. I've not noticed them out our way. Not to say they are not here. There were a lot of 2 gallon cans locally produced. I could say for the LP2 carriers, but it may have been for the Vickers guns, I'm not sure, but military of a heavy gauge tinned steel, for water.

I would have thought that the colour depended on the theatre of operation?
A white can is great in Canada in winter, but surely somebody learned something from the white square "aim point" painted on carriers at Dunkirk?.............maybe not.................British roundels?????

A white can on a carrier with Welsh guard stowage might look good now, but in a jungle theatre in 1945 it would not have been a good idea.

More of a rivet counter, than a historian.

[Ed Storey]

The colour of water cans has nothing to do with camouflage, it has to do with being able to distinguish water cans from petrol cans. These colours were specified by the War Office at a time when the British Empire and Commonwealth troops based their training and doctrine on those of the British. I can see grey as a more practical colour then white for camouflage purposes which may have been the reason for the colour change in 1943.

Locally produced, how, by a team a navvies stamping them out of tinplate? Canadian and UK 2 Gallon cans were produced in the thousands, to a pattern established by the British, so locally produced is kind of a misnomer. GSW was the manufacturer of Canadian cans, a well established firm that specialized in many types of metal products. I will admit that I have never seen an Aus, NZ or Indian manufactured can so I have no knowledge of those cans although I am speculating that they were also mass produced to UK specifications.

Great photo of the green can; what was the date and manufacturer and more importantly has the can been repainted?

As for Jerry Cans, the US produced two distinct types, one for fuel and the other for water, confusing the two would be difficult as the water can has a huge spout.

German fuel and water cans were similar in construction although the water cans are embossed with 'Wasser' and it was common to paint the stamped reinforcing ribs white.

British cans were copied from the Germans, and I cannot say with any certainty if those used for water were embossed as such although again painting the reinforcing ribs white was a common practice to distinguish water from petrol.

[Lauren Child]

4 gallon cans definitely got locally produced, and the plant for doing so in the field is mentionned in RASC training pamphlet no. 8.

British water jerry cans were of a specially embossed type with a different lining as of 1947 (when "The Jerrican, Notes on its care and use" was published). I think i've got a 1945 one somewhere. Theres a couple of threads on HMVF that may help (hope it's OK to link across) - http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread...ater-jerry-Can and the one linked from it.

That probably doesn't help with the 2gal cans though.

[Lynn Eades]

That's Fine Ed, Just trying to rationalize the green water can, as being more suited to being carried on a combat vehicle.
We do have many commercial two gallon cans in this country as pre-war, all the fuel in N.Z.,came in, in 2 gal. cans, packed in wooden boxes.
Also I have no doubt at all, that large quantities of Canadian and British 2 gal. cans were in use here. It is just that I have not noticed them here with the cap chain arrangement that Stewart has shown us.
I have about 4 of our locally produced cans. They are about twice the weight of one of yours. They have survived because they were made of heavy gauge quality material and hence, don't rust easily. They had a die cast alloy cap. I stated tinned in my last post, but on thinking about them, they are made from galv. steel with soldered seams.
Most seem to survive as the motor mower fuel can.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

There were a lot of 2 gallon cans locally produced. I could say for the LP2 carriers, but it may have been for the Vickers guns, I'm not sure, but military of a heavy gauge tinned steel, for water.

I would have thought that the colour depended on the theatre of operation?
A white can is great in Canada in winter, but surely somebody learned something from the white square "aim point" painted on carriers at Dunkirk?.............maybe not.................British roundels?????

A white can on a carrier with Welsh guard stowage might look good now, but in a jungle theatre in 1945 it would not have been a good idea.

There were a lot of 2 Gal cans produced in Australia pre-war also, as Lynn has said, they were the typical method of supplying petrol and oil commercially, and many cars of the 20's and 30's had a special bracket on the running board to carry one.

"Valor" was one large producer of cans, both pre-war and for the war. They made cans for the oil companies with embossed advertising and plain sided.
"Willow" was another producer. Willow was a large manufacturer of tin ware such as garbage cans, tool boxes and garden watering cans, and is still in business today.

WW2 manufactured cans in Australia were to the British pattern with a convex top, unlike the concave design of the Canadian cans. They simply featured a D^D and were not dated. The bottom of the can could feature the makers name (ie Valor, Willow), or with no details. The screw cap was threaded the same thread to accept the horsecock pourer, but the cap was a diecast potmetal.

As for markings, the cans were generally Khaki Green with black stencilling, although ALL types (petrol, oil and water) also appeared in white, with black stencilling. Due to the design of the POW racks on Aust vehicles, the stencilling was often a P, O, or W only, on the narrow side of the can.

[Tony Smith]

As for white cans in the jungle in 1945? See the following pics of Australians on DUKWs preparing for the amphibious assault of Balikpapan in Jun 45. Despite being fitted with brackets for 2 US 5 Gal jerry cans, the Aust crew are carrying 2x 2Gal Oil and Water cans, painted white! (OK, they're not Carriers!)