Reserve
Ration
Three special-purpose rations came into general use in World War I-the reserve ration, the trench ration, and the emergency ration.16 The first of these was an individual packaged ration which the soldier carried on his person for utilization when regular food was unavailable. The reserve ration, which sought to provide a complete food allowance for one man for one day, included a one-pound can of meat (usually corned beef), two 8-ounce tins of hard bread, 2.4 ounces of sugar, 1.12 ounces of roasted and ground coffee, and 0.16 ounce of salt. It weighed about 2 ¾ pounds and contained about 3300 calories. The food was considered ample and satisfying but the packaging, in cylindrical cans of one-pound capacity, was far from practical or economical.17
Trench Ration
As its name implies, the trench ration was designed to provide subsistence under conditions of trench warfare. The unit consisted of sufficient canned meats and canned hard bread to provide 25 men with food for one day. The canned meats were roast beef, corned beef, salmon, and sardines. Other components included salt, sugar, soluble coffee, solidified alcohol, and cigarettes. The unit was packed in large, galvanized containers designed to protect contents from poison gas.15 Although the trench ration was to be prepared as a hot meal, it could be utilized without preparation or cooking. The ration had the advantage of convenience, afforded excellent protection against poison gas, and provided a wider diet than the reserve ration. Its disadvantages were an excessive use of iron and tinplate, which made it heavy and difficult to handle; the unsuitability of the units for a single meal; the invitation to spoilage and contamination offered by opened containers; and its nutritional inadequacy.
Three special-purpose rations came into general use in World War I-the reserve ration, the trench ration, and the emergency ration.16 The first of these was an individual packaged ration which the soldier carried on his person for utilization when regular food was unavailable. The reserve ration, which sought to provide a complete food allowance for one man for one day, included a one-pound can of meat (usually corned beef), two 8-ounce tins of hard bread, 2.4 ounces of sugar, 1.12 ounces of roasted and ground coffee, and 0.16 ounce of salt. It weighed about 2 ¾ pounds and contained about 3300 calories. The food was considered ample and satisfying but the packaging, in cylindrical cans of one-pound capacity, was far from practical or economical.17
Trench Ration
As its name implies, the trench ration was designed to provide subsistence under conditions of trench warfare. The unit consisted of sufficient canned meats and canned hard bread to provide 25 men with food for one day. The canned meats were roast beef, corned beef, salmon, and sardines. Other components included salt, sugar, soluble coffee, solidified alcohol, and cigarettes. The unit was packed in large, galvanized containers designed to protect contents from poison gas.15 Although the trench ration was to be prepared as a hot meal, it could be utilized without preparation or cooking. The ration had the advantage of convenience, afforded excellent protection against poison gas, and provided a wider diet than the reserve ration. Its disadvantages were an excessive use of iron and tinplate, which made it heavy and difficult to handle; the unsuitability of the units for a single meal; the invitation to spoilage and contamination offered by opened containers; and its nutritional inadequacy.
Emergency Ration
The emergency ration, popularly known as the "Armour" or "iron" ration, was a packaged unit of concentrated food carried by the soldier to sustain life during emergencies when no other source of subsistence was available. It consisted of three 3-ounce cakes of a mixture of beef powder and cooked wheat and three one-ounce chocolate bars. These hardy items were contained in an oval-shaped, lacquered can which fitted the soldier's pocket. At the time of the Armistice, about two million rations had been shipped to France.19 Manufacture was discontinued after the war, and in 1922 the item was officially eliminated from the list of Army rations. Some of the emergency rations procured in World War I were subsequently used by aircraft pilots on Mexican border patrols, a usage which suggests that the item has some claim to parentage of modern Air Force flight rations.
The emergency ration, popularly known as the "Armour" or "iron" ration, was a packaged unit of concentrated food carried by the soldier to sustain life during emergencies when no other source of subsistence was available. It consisted of three 3-ounce cakes of a mixture of beef powder and cooked wheat and three one-ounce chocolate bars. These hardy items were contained in an oval-shaped, lacquered can which fitted the soldier's pocket. At the time of the Armistice, about two million rations had been shipped to France.19 Manufacture was discontinued after the war, and in 1922 the item was officially eliminated from the list of Army rations. Some of the emergency rations procured in World War I were subsequently used by aircraft pilots on Mexican border patrols, a usage which suggests that the item has some claim to parentage of modern Air Force flight rations.
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