Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Military Definitions - K

A to Z Blogging Challenge.  My topic is MILITARY DEFINITIONS.

K – Kilo
morse code – dash dot dash
Kiloton weapon a nuclear weapon, the yield of which is measured in terms of thousands of tons of trinitrotoluene explosive equivalents, producing yields from 1 to 999 kilotons.

K-ration an individual daily combat food ration introduced by the Army during World War II.  It provided three separately boxed meals: breakfast, dinner (lunch) and supper (dinner).  Widely criticized for being deficient in calories and nutrition.

     Breakfast Unit: canned entree veal (early version), canned chopped ham and eggs (subsequent versions), biscuits, dextrose or malted milk tablets (early version), dried fruit bar, pre-mixed oatmeal cereal (late version), Halazone water purification tablets, a four-pack of cigarettes, Dentyne or Wrigley chewing gum, instant coffee, and sugar.

     Dinner/Lunch Unit: canned entree pork luncheon meat (early version), canned processed American cheese, Swiss and American cheese, or bacon and cheese (subsequent versions), biscuits, 15 Dextrose or malted milk (diastatic malt) tablets (early) or five caramels (late), sugar, salt packet, a four-pack of cigarettes and a box of matches, chewing gum, and a powdered beverage packet [lemon, orange, or grape flavor].

     Supper Unit: canned meat, consisting of cervelat sausage (early version), either pork luncheon meat with carrot or apple (first issue), beef and pork loaf (second issue); biscuits; a 2-ounce D ration emergency chocolate bar (early version), Tropical bar or (in temperate climates) commercial sweet chocolate bar (late version), a packet of toilet paper tissues; a four-pack of cigarettes; chewing gum, and a bouillon packet (cube or powder).

 

10 comments:

  1. You had me at "emergency chocolate bar"!

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    1. Should have at least 2 of those in each meal lol

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  2. Oh yes, emergency chocolate. An absolute necessity. Do they have vegetarian versions of the K-rations?

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  3. I didn't know any of this. You are doing a very thorough ( and great ) job with the a-z.

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    1. I found it odd that they gave out four cigarettes 3x per day. It was certainly a different world then.

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  4. So, I get what a K-ration is. But where does the "K" come from? Why isn't it a D ration or any other letter?

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    1. There are A, B, and C rations. I looked this up and found this info:

      Rumor has it that it was named after Dr. Keys who first designed the meals or was short for "Kommando" (as elite troops were the first to receive it), the letter "K" was selected because it was phonetically distinct from other letter-name rations.

      The K-ration was produced by the Cracker Jack company with a waxed paper ration box, about the same size as the company's famous Cracker Jack box.

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  5. I did a little research on K-rations awhile ago, and I agree, they didn't seem very nutritious or filling.

    Welcome to My Magick Theatre
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