Camping Rare Items, Swedish Army mess kit 2Type 2 1940s

For decades, the Swedish Mess kit was a staple for Nordic Soldiers to cook food and make coffee. This Kit was considered an all-inclusive camp kitchen and Pathfinder has recreated this kit to exact specifications in High Quality 304 Food Grade Stainless Steel to be your own trusted mess kit for any adventure.
These kits are officially designated as M/40 AL by the Swedish Military. They were first issued in 1940, and were used up until quite recently when the Swedish Military started to dismantle and downsize. The "AL" designation is for the aluminum version of the mess tin, like the ones I have. During WW2, when aluminum was needed for the defense effort, the tins were made out of stainless steel and were given the designation of M/40 FR. The "FR" is for stainless steel. In 1944, the mess kits began production in aluminum, with the designation M40/44. The mess tins I have are aluminum, with stainless steel bail, handle and attaching hardware. These mess tins and stoves are all dated in the 1960's and have the official "Three Crowns" stamps of the Swedish Military.

I put one of these mess tin - stove sets on my scale and came up with an "official weight", without fuel or leather strap. The weight of the set up is 2 lbs, 1.5 ounces. Not light, but quite manageable for such a heavy duty and versatile set up. The stored-nested kit is about 7 inches tall, 7 1/2 inches wide and 4 3/4 inches deep.

The alcohol burners are made of brass with a gasketed screw cap and are made by Svea. Trangia also made this same model of alcohol burner for these kits. A small plastic alcohol fuel bottle comes with the burner as well. The wind screens are made of painted steel with two fold-down pan supports inside.
Here's how these stove and mess tin kits are designed to be used.......... the alcohol burner is lit and then the wind screen is placed over the burner (there is a hole in the windscreen base to allow this). The cup can be used as a small pan or it can be used as a lid for the lower pot portion of the tin. The handle of the cup-lid has two folding "D" rings that enable it to be lifted with the aid of a stick when it gets too hot to touch. There is a hook on the bail so that the tin can be suspended over a fire as well. According to an account that I read that was written by a Swedish Army veteran, the mess tin - stove kits were carried inside the pack in more recent years, and were buckled to the outside of the pack during the WW2 years. He said that the burners were seldom used, but always carried in the field. Food was normally cooked in a field kitchen. When going through a chow line, the hot food was placed in the cup, and the lower pot was hooked on the soldiers belt with the hook so that bread and silverware could be carried in it. He said that the nickname for these mess tin's were "Snuskburken", which translated means something like "filthy jar", due to the reputation these tins had when they were not cleaned regularly!

#bushcraft #seoul #military_camp #Swedish_Army_mess_kiT