10-In-1 Rations
The American Army created a new ration combination in 1943 that could sustain ten troops for a single day. It was standardized as the "Ration, Ten-in-One" on 7 June 1943. To offer diversity, there were five different menu options.
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Breakfast items provided in this group ration were cereal, biscuits with jam, milk, sugar, and coffee. Dinner consisted of biscuits and butter, tinned meat and vegetables, and a beverage such as coffee, fruit juice concentrate, or chocolate. Included was a dessert in the form of fruit bars, chocolate bars, or hard candies. The entrée was conveniently prepackaged, much like a streamlined K Ration.
A small group of five men might use the ration for two days or ten men for one day because it was packaged as two rations" of five units each.
This image depicts an early 10-in-1 Ration with only half of its contents unloaded.
Notably, the Partial Dinner Unit is designated as a Breakfast Unit (U.S. Army Field Ration K (abbreviated) Breakfast Unit) even though it is being utilized for the noon meal.
In 1943, two 10-in-1 prototypes were suggested. The first provided instructions for preparing and eating three meals together. The other prototype replaced the group noon lunch with a normal packed K Ration unit. The 10-in-1 used one K Ration unit for each noon meal and had three different menu options.
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This prototype was preferred as a combat ration because of the benefit of the individual noon meal box. Five
menus were offered instead of two, therefore the noon meal required greater variety. For 10 men, the ration already includes some items like cigarettes and toilet paper. Therefore, it was unnecessary to include those goods in the K Ration units. The Partial Dinner Units are thus a condensed form of the K Ration.
Components of the 10-in-1 Ration that are not food: Halazone tablets, paper towels, 2-ounce soap bars (on top of the paper towels), can openers, ten packages of cigarettes, each holding 10 cigarettes, ten matchbooks, each having twenty matches, two asphalt-paper envelopes, each containing 125 sheets of toilet paper.
The advantage of providing the noon meal in a separate packet was that each trooper could carry his own lunch with him and eat it whenever he had the chance, whether he was working, moving, or actually involved in combat.
The composition of the early Partial Dinner Units' components was exactly the same as that of the early K Ration, hence they were actually known as Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper units. Of course, this was perplexing because the "Breakfast" and "Supper" units could also be used for lunch.
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For the noon meal, only the food components of the K Ration were being used. The other food ingredients are packaged in a tiny carton because the cans are packaged and distributed separately.
The Partial Dinner Units' labels have varied throughout time and are unique to each manufacturer. Similar to the K Ration, depending on the packager's skill, these units were sealed by either tuck-end flaps or seal-end flaps.
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This tiny box had the biscuits, candy, drink, and sugar. These parts are secured with a wire key inside a cellophane bag. There was also a stick of gum included, but it wasn't packaged in the same cellophane bag as the other items.
The egg, cheese, or meat product can was given out individually. Together, the Partial Dinner carton and can resembled a K Ration. The cellophane bag contained the wire key needed to open the can. (Therefore, a Partial Dinner Unit's sealed components are different from those of a K Ration.)
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The Partial Dinner Unit is the name given to this carton and the separate can.Because it has the letter "D" (for "dinner") on the flaps, some people mistake it for or refer to it as a "D-Ration." Not at all. A 4-ounce chocolate bar serves as the U.S. Army D-Ration.
The real "D" ration, a 4-ounce emergency chocolate bar.
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For five men, the "1st Half of 5 Rations" included the soft packets and Partial Dinner Units. The sweets at dinner are fruit bars.
A waxed fiber carton with the marking "1st Half of 5 Rations" was placed inside a corrugated box that included all the cartons and other "soft" goods. A huge fiberboard box that fit within a fiberboard sleeve contained two of these boxes along with two fiberboard boxes labeled "2nd Half of 5 Rations" that contained the cans.
The Partial Dinner Units are arranged with the other soft components within a lined box (right) that has been wax-coated to make it waterproof. Three different early prototypes are seen here. The "1st Half Of 5 Rations" labeled corrugated box to the left is where the water-resistant box is placed. Due to this packaging method, the individual waxing of the units, unlike standard K Rations, is unnecessary.
It was required to separate the K Ration units because the cans were packed separately from the softer packets. The cans are arranged in a fiberboard box labeled "2nd Half of 5 Rations".
The "2nd Half of 5 Rations" included the 10-in-1 Ration's cans. On top of the package, you'll notice five K-Ration cans that will be distributed together with the Partial Dinner Units.
The confections and beverages in the Partial Dinner Units differed from their original K Ration composition as soon as the new 10-in-1 Ration went into mass production to give a better-balanced meal.
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Two packages of biscuits, 0.8 oz. of sugar (which may be four individually wrapped tablets or one carton of 23 grams of granulated sugar), one stick of chewing gum, and a wire key for opening the can are all included in the August 1943 edition of the Partial Dinner Units. The variations for each meal are as follows:
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Menu #1
1 package of hard candy;
1 envelope of Lemon juice powder;
1 can of cheese product.
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Menu #2
1 package of Malted Milk -Dextrose tablets;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of cheese product.
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Menu #3
1 2-ounce D-bar;
1 envelope soluble Coffee product;
1 can of meat product.
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Menu #4 and #5
1 Fruit bar;
1 envelope soluble Coffee product;
1 can of egg product.
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Note that there's not much variety and that #4 and #5 are actually identical!
The food from the 10-in-1 Ration is being enjoyed by two GIs in the Pacific Theater. On the container they are using as a table, take note of the two opened Partial Dinner Units.
The 10-in-1 Ration was enhanced in March 1944, and the Partial Dinner Units now comprise new confections created for the K Ration.
All beverages are currently made with fruit juice powder. All sugar is now granulated and sold in the same 23-gram container; the wire key, chewing gum, and biscuits have not changed. A malaria warning is printed on the main rear panel in accordance with the revised requirements.
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Menu #1
1 package hard candy;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of egg product.
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Menu #2
1 package Caramels;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of cheese product.
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Menu #3
1 2-ounce Sweet Chocolate bar;
1 envelope Orange juice powder;
1 can of meat product.
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Menu #4
1 Fruit bar;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of egg product.
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Menu #5
1 Fruit bar;
1 envelope Orange juice powder;
1 can of cheese product.
The back panel was printed with a malaria warning in accordance with March 1944 requirements. The warning was occasionally printed on a side panel prior to this date.
As of August 1944, the noon meal also included a can of dessert. These dessert-filled 300 x 106-size cans weighed around 3 1/2 ounces each.
Only menu item #5 kept the 4 oz. of canned cheese that was previously in the smaller, 300 x 200 size cans that formerly contained the egg, cheese, or beef products.
Now, candy bars are the only sort of dessert available. The biscuits, chewing gum, and wire key remained the same, but the sugar was increased to 1.2 oz. and is of the compressed block kind.
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Menu #1
1 Starch Jelly bar;
1 envelope Grape juice powder;
1 can of Hamburgers;
1 can of Fruit pudding.
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Menu #2
1 Caramel Nougat bar;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of Pork Tenderloin;
1 can of Steamed Fruit Cake.
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Menu #3
1 2-ounce Sweet Chocolate bar (in 1945 two 1-ounce bars were used);
1 envelope Orange juice powder;
1 can of Pork and Corn;
1 can of Plum pudding.
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Menu #4
1 Chocolate Coconut bar;
1 envelope Lemon juice powder;
1 can of Pork and Applesauce, or Pork Sausage Patties and Apples;
1 can of Fig pudding.
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Menu #5
1 Vanilla Fudge bar;
1 envelope Orange juice powder;
1 can of cheese product;
1 can of Pineapple Rice pudding.
A partial dinner unit from the 1940s, menu number 2. Two packages of biscuits, a block of compacted sugar, powdered lemon juice, and a Mars Chocolate Nougat bar are all included in this box. The cellophane bag contains the can's key, too. Also, a can of dessert is mentioned on the carton's label.
The candy bars utilized as the confection component in the Partial Dinner Units of the most recent iteration of the 10-in-1 Ration are the two confections left and the two confections right in the top row, as well as the chocolate bar (left, middle row).
