Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

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Myers
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Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Myers » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:15 am

I recently finished acquiring and restoring the components of the 20-Man Cooking Outfit. This was a very difficult kit to assemble, and there are very few of them remaining. I believe this is the only kit that has been restored.

The stoves were completely rebuilt, the steel utensils were stripped and tinned/blued as appropriate. All items date between 1941-1944, no post war or civilian components.

There are not very many good photos of these kits, so I thought it might be beneficial to get some detailed photos posted. Hope you enjoy! :D


This is a quick history of the 20-Man Cooking Outfit, as read from The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services Volume I 1953

"Other cooking outfits for small groups of men operating away from organizational mess facilities were developed by the QMC. Among these was the 20-man cooking outfit, initially “developed on the auspices of Major Clements of the Storage and Distribution Division and later taken over and modified by the Special Forces Section of the Research and Development Branch. Designed to be used particularly by antiaircraft and searchlight detachments, it was recommended for standardization by the QMCTC on 15 September 1942. The outfit consisted of two gasoline stoves of the two-burner type; two metal cases, one for each stove, which could be used as a cooking vessel and a frying pan; a set of nested cooking vessels including two coffee pots; and miscellaneous utensils, such as can openers, paring knives, and a ladle. The complete outfit weighed about fifty pounds and was packed in a canvas carrying bag.
This 20-man cooking outfit was criticized in test reports because food, unless closely watched by the cook, burned easily. An intensely hot, localized flame was furnished by the burners, which were the same as those used in the M-1941 one-burner stoves. In addition, the frequent clogging of generators posed amaintenance problem. Within a year a considerable number of modifications had been made to overcome these difficulties as well as to redesign the components of the outfit.
Because of the inadequacy of the 20-man cooking outfit, a project had been initiated about March 1943 to develop a more satisfactory item. In the months following a considerable amount of research was accomplished, resulting in the development of the small detachment cooking outfit to prove hot meals for 20 to 30 men. Standardized at first on a basis of limited procurement, the new outfit proved superior in tests to the 20-man cooking unit. As a consequence, in the summer of 1944 the QMCTC recommended its standardization and the reclassification of the 20-man cooking outfit as substitute standard."



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1-44 Ford GPW (161784) USA 20439314, USN 87559
5-4-45 Bantam T3 (68871) USA 0948627


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retro-roco
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by retro-roco » Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:13 am

Boone,

Looks amazing! Nice knowing that I had a small part in helping you complete your set...(ok, VERY small part)!!
Kirk Gustafson
359th Infantry Regt. 90th Div. WWII HRS

1942 Chevy G506 1-1/2 ton 4x4 Cargo
1943 Ben Hur water trailer

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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by 17thAirborne » Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:25 am

Superb work...well done
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Myers
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Myers » Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:25 am

Kirk, you were very instrumental! It is very frustraighting to have that last piece allude you for so long, the nesting bag finished the kit up perfectly. Thanks again!
1-44 Ford GPW (161784) USA 20439314, USN 87559
5-4-45 Bantam T3 (68871) USA 0948627

Steve Webb
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Steve Webb » Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:18 pm

That is quite a feat. Congrat's. Where did you get the sharpening stone?
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by ragnar » Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:33 pm

Looks great Bone. Well done.

Myers
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Myers » Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:44 am

Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you guys like the photos.

Steve, the stone was in a partially full cutlery roll. I ended up buying four different cutlery rolls to get pieces out of each one, and then traded or sold them to get other pieces.
1-44 Ford GPW (161784) USA 20439314, USN 87559
5-4-45 Bantam T3 (68871) USA 0948627

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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Steve Webb » Wed Jul 04, 2018 6:35 pm

Thanks, I have tried to get a stone with same dimensions for my roll and no success so far.
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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by 33rdsignal » Thu Jul 05, 2018 5:04 am

Good Job. I just got the fork to complete mine. I use the crap out of mine and is very useful.
Chad Phillips
33rd Signal Construction Battalion
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1943 Chevy K-43 (G7173)
1944 Truck Engineering Corp. 1 Ton Trailer (Wood)
1942 Dodge WC-52
1942 Willys MB

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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by retro-roco » Thu Jul 05, 2018 5:16 am

Chad, glad to hear you found your meat fork! My wife and I have been looking everytime we go picking. She has gotten a little frustrated after showing me LOTS of different meat forks, and my repeated reply of 'Yes thats a nice meat fork, but not the "correct" meat fork'! Good to know we can take that one off the list!
Kirk Gustafson
359th Infantry Regt. 90th Div. WWII HRS

1942 Chevy G506 1-1/2 ton 4x4 Cargo
1943 Ben Hur water trailer

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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Sarchet » Thu Jul 05, 2018 8:44 am

Well done, and nice work on the bluing and tinning. Would it be possible to get close-ups of the markings on the utensils/ladles and such, and sizes of the pots?

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Re: Outfit, Cooking, 20-Man

Post by Brouillettet » Sun Jun 19, 2022 5:24 pm

Hello i am looking for the 2 frying pans and this will complete my set


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