Mk 2 Carrier water can

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks Lauren very detailed information on the bulk transportation of the cans.

Thanks Ed , i just did'nt remember Naphta or white gas was carried in Ww2 . Strange because we all know about the Canadians and Coleman lanterns and stoves. We have been using them ever since WW1 if not before .

So here is a picture of the different cans that would of been carried on a Canadian Carrier in 1944-45 in NWE .

So Ed, should i add the US water and gas Jerrycans to the Carrier picture to be historicly correct ?

[wheaty]

I have a black one with "TORPEDO OIL" on it.
Standard GSW and will check the date ...

[Mike Gurr]

Thank you to all contributors as I have now managed to find a 1944 dated Canadian water can for my 1944 (Canadian Ford) carrier. To continue and expand this thread a little.My question now is the other can mounted on the front of a carrier was for oil, was this also a different can to those used for petrol or the same? Being in the UK all the other cans I have are WD and broad arrow marked with a date and 'Petroleum Spirit - Highly Inflammable'. Would this have also been sued for oil?
Mike Gurr

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Lauren Child

Flimsy type (non-returnable) from RASC training pamphlet 20 part 2.

(note this is a document on Petrol, Oil, and Lubricants, not water, so just quoted here to demonstrate the difference in the cans)

Lauren, very interesting!

May I ask if they added a few sketches on the 20-cwt trailer, which "was designed, primarily, to carry petrol in tins, in two tiers"?

H.

[Robert Bergeron]

Mike,

I am away from home for a while ( work ) but when i get there i will take a few pictures of my oil cans and post them.

Cheers.

Robert

[Bob Carriere]

....looking forward to seeing your cans.......

[Mike Gurr]

Robert, Appreciated, no rush as plenty of other things to work on for now!
Mike

[Robert Bergeron]

Friends,

Could take a while 'cause in am out of town for work.

[Robert Bergeron]

Hello,

This is all i could find as far as Canadian oil cans.

The one standing is GSW and dated 1944 ( same year as my Carrier).

The prone one is marqued GSW 1941.

Anybody else ?

Cheers.

Robert

[chris vickery]

As far as 2 gallon cans go, I have owned and sold many over the years. It seems to me that as far as rarity goes, Petrol is easiest to find followed by Water and then Oil. For whatever reason the 2 gallon Oil seems to be scarce.
One gallon cans are even harder to find. I probably find 10 of the two gallon ones for ever one gallon can. As far as colour, I have ever only had OD or brown versions of all types and never white or grey as mentioned previously.

[Ron Pier]

My 1 gall oil cans are both GSW 1943 and 1944. Ron

[Ron Pier]

My Canadian 2 gall cans which I painted myself are presumably ex petrol cans and are both GSW 41. Ron

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks Ron.

Tan colour for a Canadian oil or petrol can is a new one for me.

But black ? Was there originaly ever a Canadian black petrol, water or oil can ?

I know we paint them black to fit on our mk 2 Carriers but why do we do that ?

We are collectively advancing our knowledge. Keep it coming.

Cheers.

Robert

[Ron Pier]

Well I painted mine black through lack of knowledge I guess. I was pretty sure that the British water cans were black and the pictures I looked at seemed to show them as black, but I didn't know about any grey colour at the time. I'd also like to know for sure. Ron

[chris vickery]

I have never seen an original black or gray can personally. As suggested previously, in my collection only green or khaki brown. That's not to say that they don't exist though.

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks everyone.

If you look higher in the post, you will see that Canadian 2 Gal water cans came in white ( early ) and grey ( late war ).

2 Gal Canadian Petrol cans came in green and maybe tan or sand colour.

There was a Red 2 Gal naphta ( white coleman gas ) can.

1 Gal Oil cans came in green and tan .

Anyone has seen a tan 2 Gal Canadian petrol 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!)

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thought you would enjoy seeing these:



Singapore - 1941

[Ron Pier]

That's a 4 gall 'Flimsy' Ron

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Ron Pier

That's a 4 gall 'Flimsy' Ron

...... being used by a much younger Vladimir Putin??

[Robert Bergeron]

Now that we are on the subject : Did the Canadians in Sicily for example use the Flimsy with their Carriers ?

How about NWE ?

[Ron Pier]

Just my thoughts Robert. But we couldn't wait to replace the 'Flimsy' once we had acquired the better idea and the Jerry Can was heavily in production from 1942. I'm sure the Canadians would have been suitably equipped in mid 43.
Ron

[Robert Bergeron]

Agreed Ron.

By '43 jerry cans would of been common in Sicily and later in Italy.

Cheers. Robert

[Lynn Eades]

I have taken a long time to get to this, but as Robert did ask, here are a couple of the Kiwi 2 gallon tin. These are well made and probably more than twice the empty weight of the British or Canadian equivalent. No dates or makers names on these. I Believe these were supplied with carriers that carried the Vickers water cooled guns. These "tins" They're a tin here) usually came with an alloy cap. I will put up a picture later. I have no idea about the red paint and when it was painted.
I'd be keen to hear from anyone who has some history details on these.
In the last pic:
On the left is a British one gallon oil tin and on the right, a Canadian one (I could do with a cap for the British one) It has a course thread, while the Canadian one is a fine thread. These tins are fairly rare here these days, as they are very thin and rust easily, once scratched.

[Ben]

I was told that the slightly larger can was an Aus/NZ thing. The stowage for the Matilda's used in the Pacific islands is specific to slightly larger can. The British One's rattle a little when fitted.

No idea why they're a bit bigger unfortunately.

Using that rational, an antipodean can wouldn't fit a British carrier but would a British can rattle about in an LP POW stowage rack?

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Thanks Ron.

Tan colour for a Canadian oil or petrol can is a new one for me.

I think there was a period photo a couple of years ago on this forum of the set of tools and accessories on either a CMP or Carrier and the photo included a "Sand" coloured POL can and stirred some discussion at the time.

A Search doesn't seem to find it, so possibly it was on the old forum?

[Lynn Eades]

Ben, The MG water can in an LP2 is held in place by a strap (if I remember correctly?) so a bit more tolerance.

Here is the alloy cap. No clip arrangement.

[Robert Bergeron]

Very nice variations on the theme Lynn, thanks.

[Robert Bergeron]

Looking to identify all variations of the 1 and 2 Gal Canadian POW cans used on Canadian MkI and MKII Carriers .

From left to right in the pictures :

1 Gal oil can ( Green )
2 Gal water can (white )
2 Gal water can ( Grey )
2 x 2 Gal water cans ( white )
2 Gal Petrol marked ( naphta ) can ( Red )
3x 2 Gal Petrol cans first and second ones marked '' petrol '' ( green )

Calling on all collectors/curators :

Are there any other Canadian variations not pictured ?

Thanks.