property air force / usn square cans

Manufacturers, production numbers, configurations, etc.
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gerrykan
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Post by gerrykan » Sun Dec 23, 2007 6:41 am

slindo,
You should state the asking price. It may speed up your sale.
Roy


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Quest Master
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Post by Quest Master » Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:03 am

Does it look like the one pictured on my webpage:
http://www.questmasters.us/equipment2.html
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Post by slindo » Mon Dec 24, 2007 9:52 am

Exactly. It's the one on the lower right on the three stacked cans with the continuous corregations, and the top looks like the one at the top right. About in the same condition to0, with thin olive drab paint.
Quest Master wrote:Does it look like the one pictured on my webpage:
http://www.questmasters.us/equipment2.html

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lt.luke
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Post by lt.luke » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:33 pm

did they carry these inside the aircraft for "in flight refueling"? Seems I remember a movie with something like that. Dosen't seem like 5 gallons of fuel would last very long in a plane.

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Post by gerrykan » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:35 pm

lt.luke wrote:did they carry these inside the aircraft for "in flight refueling"? Seems I remember a movie with something like that. Dosen't seem like 5 gallons of fuel would last very long in a plane.
Could the movie have been about the Dolittle Raid, titled: 30 Seconds Over Tokyo(1944 with Van Johnson, Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum)? It has been years since I saw it, but the in air refueling does seem familiar.
Roy

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lt.luke
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Post by lt.luke » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:00 pm

Possible, but doubtful. I think it was much newer. Pearl Harbor (the new one?) I think they did it in there too.

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Post by Fortyeight2A » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:03 am

Robert Mitchum was in "30 Seconds"? I don't remember him in that...
Is it true real Jeeps have flat fenders?
Alone cannot you it resist!

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Post by gerrykan » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:50 am

I didn't remember Mitchum in the movie either Fortyeight2A, but this webpage credits him in the cast as Lt. Gray: http://imdb.com/title/tt0037366/
His biography page on the same site: http://imdb.com/name/nm0000053/ According to his filmography his first movie was Saboteur in 1942.

lt.luke,
When I was searching for info, I found an entry in the wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid The aircraft were fitted with extra fuel tanks but it did not mention if any in flight refueling was done. Towards the bottom of the page under Popular Culture it states that the Dolittle Raid was depicted in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor, so this is probably where you saw it. I may have to get copies of both to see if my memory was correct or not.


I thought this was interesting...
The Doolittle Raiders have held an annual reunion almost every year since the late 1940s. The high point of each reunion is a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders perform a roll call, then toast their fellow Raiders who passed away during the previous year. Specially-engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, are used for this toast. The goblets of those who have died are inverted. When only two Raiders remain alive, they will drink a final toast using the vintage 1896 bottle of Hennessy cognac which has accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion since 1960. Only 12 Raiders are still alive, and only eight were able to attend the 64th anniversary reunion held in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2006. Seven were able to attend the 65th anniversary in April 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. The oldest Raider is now 95, and the youngest is 85. The bottle of cognac and the goblets had been maintained by the United States Air Force Academy on display in Arnold Hall, the cadet social center. On 19 April 2006, the memorabilia were transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.[3]
Amazing that 12 of the 80 were still living on the April anniversary!
Roy

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Post by lt.luke » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:10 am

that quote was really neat...and we all learned that because of an old square can! I love this stuff :)

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Post by Fortyeight2A » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:42 pm

Gerrykan, thanks for the info!
Is it true real Jeeps have flat fenders?
Alone cannot you it resist!

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tipdog
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Post by tipdog » Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:04 pm

Here's a link that describes the mods done to the B-25B for the Doolittle mission:
http://www.b25.net/pages/dooraid.html

Apparently 10 5 gallon cans were carried in each plane. I recall reading in "30 Seconds over Tokyo" that the crew did fuel in air using the 5 gallon cans which were then thrown out when empty. Now, I don't know if these cans were the type discussed in this thread, the familiar "jeep" jerrycan, or something like the British "flimsies."

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lt.luke
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Post by lt.luke » Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:19 pm

If memory serves from the movie Pearl Harbor, they were the type mentioned here. I did not believe they were Gov't property cans when I watched the movie.

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Post by gerrykan » Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:29 pm

Go here: http://www.historyanimated.com/Doolittle.html
Clicking on the blue buttons at the bottom of the map will start animation and/or recordings, some of which are of then Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Dolittle.
Roy

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Post by Quasimodo » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:11 pm

"anyone know exactly what these were for?"
These cans are relatively common in Australia where there was lots of US Air Corps activity during WW2 - Post-war they were often used as spare parts bins when laid on their side and the other side cut out.

My understanding is that they weren't for fuel but rather for hydraulic and possibly engine oil - the vent enabled them to be carried at varying altitudes without problems.

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Post by gerrykan » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:53 pm

Quasimodo,
The use of this style can for hydraulic oil, or motor oil makes more sense to me than gasoline. Fueling airplanes with 5 gallon cans would be very inefficient. I'm sure it was done by the USA, but probably very seldom.
I think most photographic evidence would favor in the least, fueling planes from 55 gallon drums.
Image
From here: http://www.jfgvictoryverlag.com/WarProd ... ndall.html

One of the square cans I own.
Click to enlarge images.
Image

Image

Image
Lid detail.

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Chain attachment detail. White(asbestos?) gasket as sometimes seen on 1941 jerrycan lids.

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Vent is located at the 10 O'clock position.

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For anyone whose computer security system may not allow viewing of the picture,
Stenciled in white paint on the underside of this can:
FROM
NOBLITT SPARKS IND. INC.
GC-100 W535AC22824
ITM-1 FEB. 11,42


Below that:
PT
In black ink applied via rubber stamp.


Edited 6/25/2008 to downsize that obnoxiously large image.
Click on the thumbnail below if you want to see the high resolution version.

Image
Last edited by gerrykan on Wed Jun 25, 2008 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Roy


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