MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Question and opinion regarding Living History / Reenacting.
WWII502
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 218
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 9:57 am
Location:

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by WWII502 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:43 am

This is why I ask, kinda cool, wanted to know size and weight and how easy they are to find...
Attachments
image.jpg
See what is on the ground...
image.jpg (49.21 KiB) Viewed 3917 times


User avatar
artificer
banned
Posts: 13558
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:46 am
Location: SINGAPORE

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by artificer » Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:43 pm

That stuff is know as PSP [marsden matting].
Air fields were laid using this stuff & we used it for workshop flooring & mess floors in SVN.
Can commonly be found in scrap metal yards & laying around construction company sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsden_Matting
http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.ph ... -size-quot
Last edited by artificer on Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
John GIBBINS Member Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers [Ret], ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck & Auto Technician USA -2002 Licensed Motor Mech NSW MVIC 49593 Current 2015
TO DIAGNOSE, TROUBLESHOOT OR FAULT FIND ANY AUTO SYSTEM....
Understand how system parts interact with one another. GOOD parts can then be established & the NOT GOOD problem/s part/s isolated for repair or replacement.

WWII502
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 218
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 9:57 am
Location:

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by WWII502 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:49 pm

artificer wrote:That stuff is know as PSP [marsden matting].
Air fields were laid using this stuff & we used it for workshop flooring & mess floors in SVN.
Can commonly be found in scrap metal yards & laying around construction company sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsden_Matting

Awesome thanks for the Intel.... It would be nice for muddy events if not too heavy...

User avatar
artificer
banned
Posts: 13558
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:46 am
Location: SINGAPORE

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by artificer » Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:04 pm

John GIBBINS Member Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers [Ret], ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck & Auto Technician USA -2002 Licensed Motor Mech NSW MVIC 49593 Current 2015
TO DIAGNOSE, TROUBLESHOOT OR FAULT FIND ANY AUTO SYSTEM....
Understand how system parts interact with one another. GOOD parts can then be established & the NOT GOOD problem/s part/s isolated for repair or replacement.

WWII502
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 218
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 9:57 am
Location:

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by WWII502 » Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:23 am

Okay that stuff is seriously cool, would be great at all the muddy events I do here in the midwest. I doubt my unit will like the idea though. Would even be nice inside tents.

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:48 am

The floor boards I was talking about were for a WWII G506 Chevy truck I had decommissioned for parts, and another truck floor board was from another stripped down truck also for parts.

I used that PSP for an interior "floor" for the inside of the drum oven, I also sand-blasted and "Seasoned" another piece with olive oil to use as a grill but haven't put it to use yet...I got the two PSP pieces in my junk from a buddy that had them laying around.

If you are interested in Bulk PSP there is a place in Oklahoma called Calumet, they look to have quite a bit of that stuff for re-deployment. I never called them for prices, the shipping to the west coast would be quite a bit of $$$, so I chickened out...

http://www.calumetindustries.com/index.php?s=psp
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:17 am

Found this cool "Tid-Bit" of info while wandering around the Internet...

http://www.history.army.mil/html/museum ... sskit.html
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:27 am

Here is another good link for reference of mess kits/ Messing info. He took a lot of time finding info and recipes too!

BRAVO ZULU to him!

http://joyoffieldrations.blogspot.com/2 ... art-i.html
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:37 pm

It has been a while...

Hadn't heard anybody jiber-jabbering about mess stuff so I figured chime in. I just got a new Technical bulletin:

"TB 10-405-1 COFFEE BREWING" dated 2 March 1944

Also, I got froggy and made a "Field Ice Box" out of an old wodden crate I got at work that had some excavator parts in it. I Ain't done with the box but, almost...then I can test it out! Hopefully I can make it to the "Air Raid" in February.

http://theairraid.com/

I got 5 pounds of green Columbian beans to practice with. The break down for one canteen cup of coffee is:

9.6 fl oz of water and .48 oz of ground coffee if I did my math correct.

I used a 1 fl oz shot glass (30ml) and weighed the raw beans and it was 1 oz even. (28.34 gr) before roasting... I think I burnt them. The process went much quicker in the meat can that I expected. Next time I am going to try it with out the cover so I can see what is going on, it took like 2-3 minutes and some smoking from the pan,

ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

Mark in Tucson
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 202
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2003 6:56 pm
Location: Tucson , Arizona

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by Mark in Tucson » Wed Jan 20, 2016 5:28 pm

Nice to see this thread revived. It has been too long.
Good looking ice box.
Looks like the wood is thick enough to act as insulation.
The metal will help reflect the cold too.
I see that you put a seal all away around the lid. Nice detail!
Will you leave it natural or paint it OD?
I am currently working on Low Voltage LED lighting system for my set up.

Mark L.
SAMVCC Mess SGT.

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Fri Jan 22, 2016 6:24 pm

The wood is 1 inch thick, I was going to insulate the metal from the box with burlap sack material but I got lazy and just secured the metal right to the wood. My guess is that it will use ice at a moderate speed. I was figuring I could install insulated panels in the inside wall if is doesn't work too good. I am going to seal the wood with more clear polyurethane and paint it O.D., the darker color will absorb more energy, but what the hay...I was just trying to copy the one in the field mess book.

The Ice box in the Army Food and Messing book has a CCKW with one that is 6 1/2 feet long, this one is about 4 feet or so. I used some surplus nylon webbing to seal it, not a perfect seal but it should work. I couldn't quite make out what they were using in the picture as "Insulation". I was guessing Asbestos tape or maybe a flat type of wool or something.

That L.E.D. setup will work longer on battery voltage, less amp draw. Will you have to disguise the bulbs somehow or are they the type that look like incandescent bulbs? All I have for lighting is a 1945 Coleman, a Battle lantern and 1 oil lamp. I do have a modern era surgical lighting kit from Cheaper-than-dirt/Sportsman's guide, but not a WWII lighting system. The voltage input is the clamp/binding post method, so it is just an open copper wire conductor end with no two prong plug at the end. Are you going to go battery or generator power source? If you look close on the 4th truck photo they wired in a cord and sockets for light bulb use during night cooking.

I used my brew-up kit on my service truck the other day, the roasted coffee had really good flavor. It was almost as if it was sweet and it lingered in my mouth for quite a long time, I thought I had burnt the beans as I roasted them, but it was pretty good considering the chunks in it. I have to work on my "Field Grinding" though, the hammer worked ok, but the chunks seemed to float too much. I had to skim the grinds out with my upper lip as I drank it...

ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

Mark in Tucson
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 202
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2003 6:56 pm
Location: Tucson , Arizona

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by Mark in Tucson » Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:29 pm

I have 2 types of bulbs I can use. I have a 5 watt LED bulb and a 50 watt incandescent. Both are 12 volt. The LED has a 60 watt equivalency. I run on a group 31 AGM deep cycle battery. The fixture is a modified 8 inch clamp lamp. I took a 6 foot extension cord, cut off the plug and put on clips to hook to the battery. I have use this for the past 2 years. If I need 110 volts I use a 400 watt power inverter.
You can try cheese cloth or a white sock for the coffee grounds.
DSCF0349.JPG
DSCF0349.JPG (125.66 KiB) Viewed 3630 times
DSCF0342.JPG
DSCF0342.JPG (124.36 KiB) Viewed 3630 times
DSCF0343.JPG
DSCF0343.JPG (124.62 KiB) Viewed 3630 times
DSCF0341.JPG
DSCF0341.JPG (107.85 KiB) Viewed 3630 times

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:23 am

Nice and quiet...no generator engine running all night long.

I'll have to dredge up some cheese cloth, I haven't tried that, I figured it would fall through the holes in the cheese cloth. I have been trying to use the muslin sack method on a smaller scale. Its odd to me how it says in the manual to keep the muslin sack wet in water until its next use, otherwise it will affect the coffee flavor due to reaction with the air. I would have never guessed that. I made the mistake of washing the cloth in the washing machine and it definitely picked up the soap flavor in the coffee after that. I tried to rinse it multiple times with water and it still picked up a funky soap flavor after I had to throw out a 3 gallon batch.

I have seen the sock method is movies, but I have never tried that either. I figured if someone saw me pulling the sock out of the brew they would get grossed out.
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

pvttab
G-Corporal
G-Corporal
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 2:04 pm
Location:

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by pvttab » Thu Feb 04, 2016 7:35 am

We have been using the cheese cloth method for a couple years now. Made the switch after we were able to convince our main cook that the raw grounds and eggs shell method were a WWI method and were not in favor during WWII. The bags are kept wet once they are used but we try not to use them more than once or twice. Just like your household coffee pot, the longer you continue to brew without washing, the more coffee bean oil residue builds up. It's this oil that begins to alter the flavor of you brewed coffee over time.

On a different note, I was lucky enough to pick up a couple goodies over winter: a 1944 unissued burner for a 37 range and an another M-1937 last weekend. The exciting thing about the range is that it is dated 1939 and has double side wall construction. I've been wondering for years now, when they made the switch from single wall to the double wall design. So having a 39 dated one at least helps shift that time table to the prewar years. I have a few ideas of why they changed but just don't know when. As for the the burner, it was in its shipping crate and had all the original packing. I am using it as the standard for my burner restoration this year. My goal is to get all my ranges and burners restored to wartime specs. This will require many hours of paint stripping.

Has anybody stripped a 37 range? My buddy sand blasted his and it was an ordeal. In doing some research, I found aircraft stripper. Does anybody have any experience with it? If so, your thoughts?

Sorry for being out of the loop for a while. Between work, family, and medical issues, WWII kitchen stuff was sidelined.

Tab

User avatar
Lowrdrbird
G-First Lieutenant
G-First Lieutenant
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:15 am
Location: Western Ohio
Contact:

Re: MESS OPERATION IN FIELD (ref. TM 10-405/ TM 10-406)

Post by Lowrdrbird » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:13 pm

We use a pillow case found that the vets used this method to make coffee with. Also found that they used socks but im not about to use it yet.

Ken
Keeping the History Alive
If you are reading this Thank a teacher, If you are reading it in English Thank a Vet.
1942 Chevy G506 " Allie Kat"
1942 US6 Studebaker 21645 "Phantom"
1944 US6 Studebaker Tractor "Carmen"
1945 US6 Studebaker "Dakota"
1945 US6 Studebaker "Spirit"
1943 1 Ton Trailer
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR US6 Studebaker Parts


Post Reply

Return to “Living History / Reenacting Knowledge Base”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Vanguard6 and 5 guests