Anyone have any idea what the circled item of stowage would’ve contained and what colour would it’ve been?



thanks

Matthew

It's an insulated food container. Probably contains food/drink. Painted OD.

Specifically, its called a Merimite Can. It was an insulated aluminum can used in US mes hall operations for transporting hot or cold food out to the field. It was made of aluminum, with about 1" or so of extruded foam sandwiched between the outside and inside linings of the can. It had two hook style latches on the long side of the lid for securing, and two hinges on the opposite side-- the lid was not intended to be removed. Inside was a "well" that contained three inner aluminum "sleeves", each could hold a different type of food item. Each "sleeve" had a removable lid with a "U" shaped finger handle in a depression. A typical breakfast would consist of one sleeve of eggs, one sleeve of bacon, and one sleeve of toast. It could hold enough food to feed about 12-15 troops, and it was common to receive two or three in the field, one might have liquids such as coffee or OJ. It was usually accompanied by a long fork, ladle, and spoon for serving. Yes, they were primarily painted OD, but they always seemed to be a darker shade of OD. since they were aluminum, they got "beat to hell" in the field, and most of the ones we used had heavy wear showing through. Now, as to whether or not they'd be mounted on the outside of a tank, they were accountable items, and most mess sergeants would make sure units didn't keep them, but many would "escape" the confines of the mess, and some would end up as cold storage containers for cokes and such in the field, especially during Vietnam. However, when I served in a CAV unit in Germany in the 70s, if your tank was seen with one, it would likely be confiscated back by the mess hall. There was an understanding between the troops and the mess sergeant-- if he ran out of Merimites, you didn't get hot food.
VR, Russ