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The C-ration was one of three types of combat rations used during the war. It was designed specifically for units in actual combat where no messing facilities were available and represented the culmination of scientific experiments begun in 1938, to provide rations that could be carried by the individual soldier and provide three full, satisfying meals a day.
Cs were packed in six small cans, three contained the meat (M items) three the bread (B items). In most instances the ration was served cold, but was designed to be palatable hot or cold. Menu No. 1 M items included: Ham, eggs and potatoes, Meat and beans, Chicken and vegetables. The B-1 unit included biscuits, premixed and compressed cereal, coffee, cube sugar, and coated peanuts. Menu No. 4 M items included: Pork and beans, Meat and spaghetti, Ham and lima beans. The B-4 unit was the same as the B-1, except that coated chocolate drops replaced the coated peanuts.
The original K-ration was developed for paratroopers because the C, with its cans and weight, was not considered appropriate. The K was created to provide a good nutritional ration, light in weight, yet suitably packaged to withstand the rigors of combat. Ks were packed in three units marked breakfast, dinner, and supper.
Breakfast consisted of compressed, premixed cereal, biscuits, egg and meat products, fruit bar, coffee and sugar, wooden spoon, cigarettes, chewing gum, water purification tables and toilet paper. Dinner included biscuits, cheese product, candy bar, a lemon, orange or grape drink powder, sugar, wooden spoon, cigarettes, matches, chewing gum, and salt tablets. Supper included biscuits, meat product, chocolate bar or caramels, bouillon, coffee, sugar, wooden spoon, cigarettes, and chewing gum. The egg and meat product was either chopped pork and egg yolk, or chopped ham and egg. The cheese product was processed American cheese, processed American cheese with bacon, or processed American and Swiss cheese. The meat product included in this ration was canned pork with carrot and apple, or beef and pork loaf.
The D-Bar ration was an emergency combat ration carried by all men to be used only when there was no other food. The four ounce bar was packed with 1,770 calories and all kinds of vitamins.
There were other rations in addition to Cs Ks and Ds.
Field rations A were “domestic” rations, supplied for posts, camps, stations, and ports in the United States. A maximum amount of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats were included.
Field rations B were “overseas” rations. All items were non-perishable, preserved by canning, dehydration, or other methods. Menus were designed for “Tropical and Temperate Areas,” or “Frigid Areas.”
Ten-in-One rations were similar to Bs, but designed for troops in all areas to be used in advance of arrival of field kitchens. Each case provided food for ten men for one day. Items were non-perishable and could be eaten either hot or cold. Five menus were offered, with each ration providing 4,100 calories. Each case included cigarettes, water purification tablets, matches, salt, can-openers [the famous P-38 or, as the Navy called it, a “John Wayne”], toilet paper, toilet soap, and paper towels.
There were also Life Boat Rations, and Parachute Emergency Rations, designed to sustain fliers downed at sea or forced to bail out, and an Air Crew Lunch full of carbohydrates developed for fliers unable to stop performance of their duties for a regular meal.
Today's combat ration is the MRE. That stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. MREs are highly processed, well-packaged food. Tin cans have given way to light-weight plastic. MREs offer 24 choices of menu including Chinese, Mexican, and Jamaican. They even have chemical heaters. Add water, and a reaction takes place in an outer sleeve making a warm meal of it. By all reports MREs are lighter, tastier, healthier, and far better all around than the old C ration. Still, when Desert Storm troops found themselves eating MREs for days on end, they renamed them Meals Rejected by Everyone.
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