WWII coke crate

[Lew Ladwig]

Gentlemen,
My BSA Venturing Crew got a case worth of WWII coke bottles for our display. We have looked into the tall overseas type coke crates. Being a non profit we just can't afford a crate. But, we have lots of hands and could build a crate! If someone would give me very detailed dimensions of one of these crates, we would build one. We can get stencils for the logo. A lot of close up pictures of the crate would be helpful. We would want to see the nail pattern, the position of the logos and such. Also, the dividers. That would be awsome!
Thanks so much,
Lew Ladwig
Crew 42 advisor.

[Jon]

Lew. have you read this topic ?
http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=896630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JR

[Lew Ladwig]

Jon,
I saw those but they never got down to dimensions so they could be reproduced. The crates in England cost about $130 by the time they get to the U.S..
Plus, my BoyScouts can't afford them anyway. He have lots of free labor and the tools so we can build some for very cheap. Plus it's a good lesson for the boys to learn to use the tools and how to copy something correctly.

Thanks,
Lew

[Jon]

Lew, just a thought.

If you know the size of the bottles, the rest is just maths, and along with photos, a very reasonable facsimile could be reproduced without too much trouble.
I see that's what one bloke in the US did to make his crates.
Read...... http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ ... pic=114908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The cross pieces of a coke crate would not more then 1/4" wide, cut halfway through so they lock together, ( I remember looking at that as a kid back in the 50's) the sides,....just guessing, 1/2" to 5/8" maybe, zoom in on a few photos , just curiosity on my part, but I wonder what the fella in the States is charging ?

Like I say. Just a thought.

JR

[Lee Bishop]

Lew, I have to ask the obvious question; how common would frontline WW2 soldiers really have seen a bottle of Coke, let alone a whole crate of them?
I once wound up with some nice WW2-dated coke bottles in a trade and was going to display them before I made that strartling revelation on my own, and I've never displayed them in public accordingly (although with my war correspondent stuff, it's not that big a stretch).
But if you and your guys are protraying combat soldiers, you'd best to justice to the real GIs by not bringing them at all unless you're taking part in a stateside, rest camp or repple depple scenario...

[Jon]

Lee. You'll probably get the same reply to that as you got back on this topic.

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=154147" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lew Ladwig]

Lee,
I thought about that too but my research found that many cokes showed up in the same shipments of k and c rations. I found some pic's of trucks unloading with coke crates mixed in with other supplies. I also found a page with short histories of cokes and GI's. This one had several blurbs of GI's in both ETO and PTO getting a coke at the oddest moments.
Most of our crew displays are with a command post or rear set up with lots of vehicles and supplies showing.
Lew

[rwdfresno]

Lew,

If you feel like making a few extras for fund raising purposes please, let me know. I'd like to get a couple.

Ryan

[Lew Ladwig]

I would be happy to do that. Still trying to get dimensions from an original. Seems the few guys stateside that have a repro they made, just made up the dimensions from a best guess. I just can't make myself do that. If it's not correct, I don't want it. Ya, I'm a stitch nazi but I can't help it.
Anyone have an original, please send me the info on sizes. Thanks,
Lew

[Lew Ladwig]

OK, Philip from the Coca Cola company, the VP director of archives, sent me some crate info. The vintage spec sheet calls it a neck down bored bottom crate.
I think this refers to the way the bottle goes in the crate. Looks like the bottom boards have a series of 1.5" holes. The bottom is raised to a point 5 3/4" From the top. Has anyone seen a crate like that? Seems odd. The corners are cleated like many crates are with boards at each corner outside to help hold the corners together. Bottoms are made of Tupelo and the rest cottonwood.
Lew

[Lew Ladwig]

Found these pic's on the US militaria forum:
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ ... coca-cola/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I wonder what "For Quartermaster Dish" means too?

[Jon]

Several things I've noticed Lew....
Some have the extra boards on the outside, some have a rounded carry grip, some are straight (link above case in point)
Some have the cleats on the inside to attach the lid.
I think it all boils down to the different manufacturers of the crates. One I saw (photo below) was the Racine Box Company.
I wonder how many manufacturers there were during the War.??
JR

[Lew Ladwig]

Jon,
I am thinking that the crate makers were who ever was close to the bottling plant. So I am thinking we may find some non-US crates. It seems goofy that overseas production would use a US made crate when there would be local crate builders. I am looking for some exact dimensions of one that we have an original to confirm with. I also would think that the overseas crates never came home to the US. The US crates would be from normal coke production.

Does the marking in your picture say Pacific? I think there was a Pacific Box Co. during the war.

Lew

[Jon]

Opps!. on closer inspection. yes. definitely. PACIFIC.........Oakland California

[Quartermaster]

Remember the timeline, first Coca Cola was allowed to SHIP bottled coke overseas "for the same price our boys can buy it stateside" namely 5 cents. The first military-allowed Coke was shipped overseas in those wooden crates (yes with wooden tops.) After some time, Coca Cola convinced the government that it would be more efficient if all they had to ship overseas was the Coke syrup - all Uncle Sam had to do was allow Coke to ship "portable" bottling plants manned by Coca Cola employees to rebottle the empty bottles already overseas. Uncle Sam agreed. I am guessing but if they were recycling the empty bottles to produce Cokes then it stands to reason that they probably did their best to recycle the crates too. Sure a lot of crates got trashed and a lot of bottles got tossed, broken etc but remember, there was a war on, the countries that the allies were slogging through had wrecked economies, decimated workforces - I doubt if the Ajax Crate Company in these countries (France, Italy, etc) were open for business and could make crates for Coca Cola bottles.

Of course, Coca Cola had a presence in Europe before the war - Coca Cola Germany but the war ended that source of crates .... and Coke for that matter. Coca Cola International had sold the German business to the German management for a modest sum to keep it from being destroyed by the Nazis. They changed the name to FANTA and produced those Fanta fruit drinks that are still sold today. War's end and they hoisted up the COCA COLA signs and were back in business.

It was even worse in the Pacific, at first the crates of Coke were shipped overseas - followed by the rebottling plants. Local vendors for crates didn't exist ---- except maybe like in Australia or New Zealand but theirs were war production economies too --- it's doubtful if these countries could have produced crates even if they wanted to.

P.S. Of course you know that whenever a "portable" bottling plant was set down and in production --- it was nailed down - never to move. Coke simply shipped over another "portable" plant to be placed just behind the allied advances. Coca Cola wasn't missing any opportunity to develop a vast distribution system - ready to pump out Cokes to a thirsty European continent at war's end.