[Ed Storey]

The 4-gallon petrol tins with the corner tabs were classed a non-returnable tin.

Royal Army Service Corps Training Pamphlet No. 8 - Part II Petrol Organization in the Line of Communication Area - 1943

Petrol tin factory operating company. The company consists of a headquarters and two operating sections, each section being divided into four sub-sections, three dealing respectively with the manufacture, filling, and inspection of non-returnable tins, the fourth with the maintenance of the technical equipment. The company has four Pioneer Corps sections and a fire-fighting section attached.

The function of this company is the manufacture and filling of non-returnable tins. It is designed to manufacture and fill 5,000 to 6,000 tins per shift per single line of machines and to operate two 8-hour shifts per day.

This unit would normally be located within easy reach of storage tanks and requires good communications, and facilities for acceptance of supply of materials and for easy delivery of the finished packages.

It is equipped with machinery for carrying out the following functions:-
(a) Cutting and pressing tinplate and terneplate into tins of 4-gallon capacity.
(b) Mechanical soldering of seams.
(e) Pressure testing of the containers.
(d) Spray painting and quick drying.
(e) Filling four gallons of petrol into each finished container.
(f) Automatically .. expanding in" the sealing caps.