History of British Army Personal Cookers

[phill_ue]

The tin sheet one requires the tin to be heated first, and then the water and oil is dripped into the same place as you suggest. It basically then creates a mini chip pan fire each time! Very hot but not sure how you'd cook over it as your pot would need to be above the containers that drip onto the sheet! It is described in Loftys' book.

 

[AJB]

It just seems very disorganised and old fashioned!

 

[johnboy]

It just seems very disorganised and old fashioned!

This thread or the use of hexamine??

 

[AJB]

The equipment issued to the forces, we rely on antiquated nonsense until there is an outcry or an emergency then we cobble together some nonsense. And yet there seem to be pieces of kit which out strips what the rest of the world have – I despair of the British sometimes! The guys are relying on hexi which was developed during the civil war or was brought down by Moses from the mountain (10 commandments, curry pot noodle and hexi blocks) or something like that, then when that doesn’t work we spend a shed load of money at Go Outdoors and send them something inappropriate. The Yanks must laugh at our Dunkirk, make it up as we go along, way of doing anything, mind you they only have those glorified hand warmers for cooking. I can’t believe APRE didn’t spend a couple of hours designing something really useful and put it into production.

We never seem to have a holistic, coherent view of anything we do. Such a frustrating nation!

Anyway, we're really screwing up this thread, sorry

 

[rik_uk3]

These are good pans, stainless steel.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARMY-COOKER-P...Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item335b610f67

The army use all sorts today, from the Hexi to the No12 stove I showed. As John said they also use the JB and Coleman stoves but certainly the Welsh guards have had some Optimus Nova's issued I'm told. They released a load of Optimus 111T's last year, perhaps my all time favourite liquid fuel stove.

 

[johnboy]

The equipment issued to the forces, we rely on antiquated nonsense until there is an outcry or an emergency then we cobble together some nonsense. And yet there seem to be pieces of kit which out strips what the rest of the world have – I despair of the British sometimes! The guys are relying on hexi which was developed during the civil war or was brought down by Moses from the mountain (10 commandments, curry pot noodle and hexi blocks) or something like that, then when that doesn’t work we spend a shed load of money at Go Outdoors and send them something inappropriate. The Yanks must laugh at our Dunkirk, make it up as we go along, way of doing anything, mind you they only have those glorified hand warmers for cooking. I can’t believe APRE didn’t spend a couple of hours designing something really useful and put it into production.

We never seem to have a holistic, coherent view of anything we do. Such a frustrating nation!

Anyway, we're really screwing up this thread, sorry

There is a lot wrong in life the MOD procurement system could be one of those things. Keeping us on track lets look at hexy.

At first it looks like a load of Carp... But if you put it into the context it's used in ( heating rations in training or an operational theatre) then it makes more sense. It heats water so you can warm up the retort pouches and have a brew. It has no working parts to go wrong get jammed fill with dust or ice, it needs no maintainance. It's not an excellent camping cooker but then that's not what it is.

 

[maddave]

I still have 2 hexy stoves.... Used em in the mob and in civvy street, and like Johnboy says as a lightweight no nonsense bit of kit that simply "works", then it has a place

 

[phill_ue]

Surplus and Adventure do them Dave? I'm surprised that anybody would use a picture from S&A as they are the biggest rip off company going! I take it the picture is for visual porpoises only and is in no way a recommendation of S&A!

 

[Nat]

I still rate the hexi's, perfect for when you can't have your scimi running to heat up the BV.

 

[maddave]

Surplus and Adventure do them Dave? I'm surprised that anybody would use a picture from S&A as they are the biggest rip off company going! I take it the picture is for visual porpoises only and is in no way a recommendation of S&A!

Haha... I just got it from google images... didn't even look at the website... Can't recommend em as I've never bought from em...Seems like thats a wise idea. ... And yer right nat... plus some don't have access to a BV (great fer boiled eggs too lol)

 

[johnboy]

Hexi was fine the other week for making a brew at 1700m on a mountain side with the wind blowing..

 

[tombear]

Heres the current issue hexi with the Crusader mug holder for if you ain't familiar with them.

I picked this up meny years ago, the contemts now rattles.

And heres the old Peak One I got from a box full in an army stores, whether it had been issued for field use or adventure training I can't say. It came with two square billies it fit inside.

And then theres this odd job I was told was tials back when I got it from Anchor in Leeds

ATB

Tom

 

[AJB]

Any chance of some more pics of the Centre Forge or an explination of what it is and how it works?

Ta

 

[AJB]

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP0028944.pdf

 

[MrEd]

Heres the current issue hexi with the Crusader mug holder for if you ain't familiar with them.


I picked this up meny years ago, the contemts now rattles.

ATB

Tom

I have a couple of the top ones, and use them for when i really dont have space for stoves etc, like when out wildlife 'togging

those tommy cookers were issued to the Royal Observer Corp in the early 60's

see here for ROC history
http://www.thetimechamber.co.uk/sites/ROC/ROC.php

and here

Home Office scientists had worked out that the Posts could rely upon natural air circulation through ventilation turrets, but failed to take into account the need to provide adequate heating. Solid meths fuel in 'Tommy' cookers, placed optimistically at the bottom of the entry shaft, was supposed to be used to prepare hot food. Posts were issued with ration packs based on Army 'K' Rations, experimented unsuccessfully with self-heating rations in the early 1960s, then rather more successfully with modern zero-emission self-heating 'Hotcans' in the late 1980s. 1990s Post crews were not much better provided for than their 1960s predecessors. The writer recalls using a simple two-burner Coleman petrol stove to prepare really hot drinks for the crew at Dumfries Post, to be told that this was better than Thermos flasks. A row of mugs emerged from the hatch, to be filled and carefully taken below. The crew decided to order their own three-fuel single-burner stove following the visit, in a display of enterprise worthy of the 1940s wartime Observers.

 

[MrEd]

here you go, i knew i had some pics of the rations that were issued to posts aswell as a bundle of tommy cookers that havent moved in 40 years!

Rations

Tommy cookers in bulk

This was to enable the guys manning the post to survive for 2 weeks, im usre they would have made their own arrangements though

anyway, completely not BC related lol

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

On the BBC recently there was footage of squaddies relaxing in a compound with at least 2 Jetboils.
Issue? Private purchase?

 

[Toadflax]

here you go, i knew i had some pics of the rations that were issued to posts aswell as a bundle of tommy cookers that havent moved in 40 years!

Are those the old 10-man compo packs?

I have to say that I do have a soft spot for hexy cookers. I got one a couple of years ago and when I lit it, not having smelled it for 25 years, it took me back. The smell of hexy was always comforting, because it meant a bit of a rest and some scoff.

And to quote that woodstain advert, it does what it says on the tin. For what it is supposed to do, which is heat up pre-cooked food, it really is good.


Geoff

 

[bushcraft_lad]

I don't think jetboil's or the like are on issue pal at nearly £70 a pop they are all private purchases as you dont get issued with gas on op's you need to get someone to mail it to you via a BFPO however they are multi-fuel stove's on issue in the arctic i think

regards,Jordan

 

[tombear]

Instructions as per patent (cheers!)

heres a couple more pics

I only tried it a couple of times, it worked well enough for just boiling water. They had a big cardboard box of them in used condition at Anchor , oh over 12 years back and I picked out the best pieces to make up a set, cleaned them up and stuck them in the collection.

ATB

Tom