U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Manufacturers, production numbers, configurations, etc.
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Burly
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Burly » Sun Dec 22, 2013 1:55 am

Quest Master wrote:If someone can show me definitive evidence that a green triangle is correct and what it stands for, I will repaint it. For now, my interpretation is blue, same as the stripes. It is an easy fix if I am wrong. The stenciling was the hard part.

No comment on the POM markings on the other can? I thought that was subtle restoration detail. :)

Thanks for the praise guys. I pride myself in my restoration efforts and details.

Yes, I sandblast everything to bare metal and prime with red oxide primer. As for the inside...I don't touch them as I don't plan on using them.

Again...enjoy. More to come! :)
I'll comment on the POM on the jerrycan.. I don't recall ever seeing a picture of a jerrycan with a POM marking. Were they not intended to mark equipment belonging to a specific unit? It is my understanding that jerrycans were not owned by units and so not likely to be marked with POM markings.

Are we any closer to figuring out what the blue lines and blue or green triangel are for?

Reinier
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seacon
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by seacon » Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:40 am

Hello guys
I have several WWII US jerricans with the wider light green triangle randomly stenciled on the sides. I never had an original with the little triangle. I have seen various TQM "bar code" marked jerrycans either in France and Italy. The idea I've got is that a few units painted some jerrycans before some of the landings to use them as sign post in the first days following the assault to mark HQs and other locations. All those I have seen have red tops.
I wish we could know more about that.
Just my 2 centavos!
ciao
m

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by gerrykan » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:12 pm

seacon,
I'm glad you brought this back to the top.
I keep forgetting to post the photos that I took for this subject.

Image

Image

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Image

Image

Image

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Quest Master » Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:04 am

Roy,
That water can is great! Cool piece. But, my concern with this style of "green" triangle is that it is painted on the corner of your can like was done with crates for food items. In the case of your can, having green triangles in the corners is for drinking water.
This is one of my food crates that has the green corners...in this example a case of beer:
Image



The painted triangles were used for quick identification of the contents of a container. For example, red triangles: ammunition crates and other dangerous items. These markings went hand and hand with the color of aerial drop lights and and color of the matching parachute. There were blue, green, yellow and red triangles, lights and parachutes.

If anything....I would think that a gas can should have red triangles. :shock:
Thanks,
Van
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Mark Tombleson » Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:36 pm

I don't think that can ever held gas.

I have a CONCO can that still has the coating on it like that. It looks like there has never been anything in the can... not even water.

Image
Image

All that lettering on the can appears to be a company and address for disposal?
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Quest Master » Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:03 pm

Mark Tombleson wrote:I don't think that can ever held gas.

I have a CONCO can that still has the coating on it like that. It looks like there has never been anything in the can... not even water.

Image
Image

All that lettering on the can appears to be a company and address for disposal?
Mark,
This thread is IRT my "Normandy" gas can that I restored at the beginning of this page. I painted blue triangles on the sides. The dispute is: that some think the color should be green triangles and not blue. My comment to Roy is that yes, his can has green triangles which I attribute to this water can as a "ration" item having green painted triangles in the corners like ration crates and containers.

On my can, I painted blue triangles - which is my interpretation of the known pre-Normandy photo that I posted. My comment is that in reality, gas cans should probably have had red triangles because they are flammable. BUT....red is definitely not the color that was used in this wartime photo.
Thanks,
Van
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by gerrykan » Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:31 pm

Philippe Leger's Jerrycan book has photos of:
A water can with green triangles.

A gasoline can with green triangles and,
GASOLINE-80 OCTANE-GRADE A
5 U.S. GALLONS
GROSS WEIGHT 40.5 LBS. CU.FT 96

A gasoline can with blue triangles and,
WT-40 CU-99
F T F
HEAVY NO. 1
UTAH-CWS-V
ETH 736 WB
XU 1306/125
The caption notes that UTAH = landing beach, CWS = Chemical Warfare Service, V = beach code. Thought to have held fuel for flamethrowers.
Roy

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by lt.luke » Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:25 am

My vote is for blue drab, the same as on FACTORY applied registration numbers.

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by seacon » Wed Jan 08, 2014 3:15 pm

Quest Master
What a nice box you have! I have found hundreds of these "no redemption value" beer bottles that I picked up around the convalescent hospitals in the Gothic Line rear areas. Very little is known about these bottles by the breweriana guys around the web.
Good observation on the "food" green triangle marking. I have never noticed a green triangle on a jerrycan with a red tag. Green triangles are fairly common on the original conditions fuel tanks found in Italy.
ciao
m

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by seacon » Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:16 pm

gerrykan
Looks like your NOS water can was at the top corner of a bundled package (the metal tape markings are still quite evident) of jerrycans readied for shipping. That's why it got the shipping address (stenciled while it was still tied to the others) and the green "corner" (which was the corner of the entire bundle). Probably it was procured and stored as a part of Class I - Subsistence (food) supply (definitely not a Class III - POL).
ciao
m

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by REG » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:53 am

Seacon - or should we call you 'Sherlock'.

Excellent deduction, thank you :D
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Quest Master » Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:54 pm

Burly wrote:I'll comment on the POM on the jerrycan.. I don't recall ever seeing a picture of a jerrycan with a POM marking. Were they not intended to mark equipment belonging to a specific unit? It is my understanding that jerrycans were not owned by units and so not likely to be marked with POM markings.
Reinier
Reinier,
Here are two images from Ben Major's book. The first is a National Archives photo that has a water can with POM markings and the second is an original gas can with POM markings. Of course there were many variations of the POM markings when they were applied...so I used my interpretation when I did the POM markings on one of my cans.
Enjoy! :D
Image
Image
The can that I restored for my GPW is for Charlie Company of the 16th Infantry Regiment.....but no one guessed it. :(
Thanks,
Van
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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by Chuck Lutz » Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:12 am

As seacon suggested....jerry cans were "banded":
Red Ball Express Cans 1944.jpg
Red Ball Express Cans 1944.jpg (156.18 KiB) Viewed 6136 times
The location of the bands on these cans matches the scratches and missing stenciled on info that the water can exhibits.
Chuck Lutz

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by seacon » Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:29 pm

Wow!
Chuck, that is impressive!!!

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Re: U.S. WWII Normandy Gas Can Restoration - w/ pics

Post by gerrykan » Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:33 pm

There was another photo posted long ago showing banded jerrycans on a wharf near a LST(?) being loaded for invasion.
Possibly in England going to Normandy.
It may have been one of the Life magazine photos.
I don't remember which thread it was posted to, or who posted it.
Roy


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