Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Manufacturers, production numbers, configurations, etc.
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YLG80
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Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Post by YLG80 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:11 am

@ Jerry cans specialists and collectors

Not sure if you've got that information when or after your discussion about that subject in the other locked thread regarding Middle East plants.

Here are the locations of the jerry can plants in the Middle East found in the United Nations Treaty series, volume 4 (1947)
- Palestine, Tel Litvinski factory
- Egypt, Shoubra (Cairo) (5 gallons) (two manufacturing plants)
M-E_jerrycan-plants.png
M-E_jerrycan-plants.png (159.42 KiB) Viewed 3340 times
Middle_East_plants.png
Middle_East_plants.png (211.12 KiB) Viewed 3340 times
In another document (U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II,The Middle East Theater,THE PERSIAN CORRIDOR AND AID TO RUSSIA
by T. H. Vail Motter chapter XV), they are mentioning another plant in Abadan, Iran :
"Since the output was to be wholly allocated to British uses, it was recommended early in September, before operations began, that the plants be turned over to the British. In October Washington relieved General Connolly of his responsibility for the container plants at Abadan, the Overseas Steel Container Corporation faded from the picture, and the British took over responsibility for operation, while title to the plants was held by the Commanding General, SOS, USAFIME. The Abadan plants appear to have begun operation late in 1943 and, except for the jerrycan plant, to have continued into 1945."

In 1943, the decision process to build plants was really a mess.

"The ultimate program was on a smaller scale. On 17 May a contract was approved between the Ordnance Department and the Overseas Steel Container Corporation, a subsidiary of the U.S. Steel Corporation, for management, operation, and maintenance of plants for the production of steel drums, pails, and jerrycans in North Africa and the Middle East. By Anglo-American agreement in June USAFIME was responsible for five container plants as part of a coordinated group to receive quotas established by the War Office, London, and allocated by the Deputy Director of Works, Middle East Forces, Cairo. In August it was settled that after installation by the Corps of Engineers operation of the plants would be by the Overseas Steel Container Corporation under ordnance supervision.37

Meanwhile arrangements were made for establishment within this general program of a container factory at Abadan. In an exchange of views on the subject in April 1943 between American headquarters at Cairo and Tehran, General Connolly stated that, although the proposal to set up a plant at Abadan was one for determination at Washington, it was the view of both the American and British commands in his area that no need for such a plant existed.
General Crawford, commanding Services of Supply, USAFIME, replied that the matter had been studied from a theater point of view and agreement with the British had been reached.38 Plans, therefore, went ahead, the British constructing the necessary buildings at Abadan for three American plants-one for jerrycans, one for 36-imperial-gallon drums, and a third for U.S. 55-gallon drums.

There was a temporary crisis in August, after the buildings were erected and the plants were arriving for installation, when there was a sudden decision to ship everything to Bahrein Island, but this was rescinded in a few days.39
The Abadan factory was to be operated by the Overseas Steel Container Corporation as long as required to train British personnel. It was agreed that in return for supplying the materials for cans and drums, the British would take the full output during 1943.
No agreement as to costs or distribution of output was reached. It was assumed that the British, who required containers for their campaigns in Southeast Asia, would assign production where most needed.

It is not clear from the record whether the plants at Abadan were ever American operated, although Americans, acting under the responsibility of the Commanding General, PGSC, instructed the Indian Army labor battalion, which worked the plants, in their operation and lent a hand later on from time to time when their knowledge of the machinery was required to surmount difficulties or to get things started again after breakdowns."


Yves
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Re: Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Post by Chuck Lutz » Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:01 am

They were very busy at the Middle East Jerrycan Factories. Here is the 7,000,000th one produced as of July 1945:
Middle East Jerry Can Factories.jpg
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Chuck Lutz

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Re: Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Post by YLG80 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 11:06 am

Yes, it matches the number of jerry cans produced in the Middle East, that I have seen in a document!
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Re: Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Post by YLG80 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:54 pm

Description of the MELF factory in the Suez Canal zone after WWII. (a former WWII jerrycan facility)
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1954-September_RE_MELF_JERRICAN_FACTORY.zip
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Re: Jerry cans made in the Middle East during WWII

Post by YLG80 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 11:17 pm

A web page about the Fayid (Fanara??) jerrycan facility converted n pdf for your archives, just in case the web site is shut down after years of inactivity ...
The URL is referenced at the top of the pdf file.

This is a description made by an administrative guy who really did not like the temperature and the noise in the workshop :)!
So there is much more information in the previous description from Captain Burton..
http://www.avi-plus.com/download/Canal_ ... actory.pdf
Ford GPW 1943 - Louisville - DoD 12-7-43
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