THE SOLDIER’S “KIT.”

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1774, 7 March 1906, Page 71

THE SOLDIER’S “KIT.”

INNOVATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. With a view to lightening the “pack” carried by soldiers, the United States War Department has been making a study of the loads borne in the field by the fighting men of foreign armies. It has decided to adopt certain expedients for cutting down the weight of the burden. To begin, the canteen, which to-day is of tinned iron, is to be made of aluminium. The latter metal weighs only about one-fourth as much as iron. But it was necessary that the water vessel should be moulded in one place, without seam or joining, and this problem for a while presented difficulties which bade fair to prove insurmountatle. Nevertheless it has been solved, and an Older has been issued for 3000 aluminium canteens as a starter. With a propoi* kind of stopper one of these receptacles, it is said, ought to hold water for a thousand years without the evaporation of a drop. One advantage of such a canteen is that it cannot possibly leak. A second is that it is rust proof. A third is that it is clean. When the receptacle of tinned iron has begun to lose its coating of tin it is not easily kept clean. The same remark applies, of course, to other articles of the same material which go to make up the soldier’s “mess kit.” It is a trouble that has been remedied customarily by re dipping the utensils iii question so as to give them a fresh coat. But with aluminium no such expedient is necessary, and it always has a pleasing polish. The all important point, however, is its lightness. Five thousand aluminium cups have just been ordered, as a first batch for the troops, to take the place of the tinned iron ones now in use. They will have iron handles, however, because that metal does not retain its heat so long as aluminium. To the latter this has been an important objection, inasmuch as the soldier does not want to burn his fingers at meals. There is still a question whether the cup when filled with coffee will not be too hot to drink out of, but hope is entertained that such will not prove to> be the case.

The soldier's knife is to have an aluminium handle, but his fork and spoon are to be made, as at present, of steel, because of the superior strength of that metal. As for the all important “meat can” —a small frying pan. in which the man in khaki cooks his bacon —it is also to be of aluminium. The cover of the meat can serves as a plate, and its handle turns down over the -cover, gripping the edge of the pan and making it tight as a receptacle for ready cooked provisions. It is obvious that for such a utensil aluminium, which is not affected by acids, possesses exceptional advantages. In studying out the problem of lessening tho soldier’s load the War Department has collected many data in regard to the equipments of the fighting men of foreign armies. As might be expected, there are many and marked differences in such matters, so far as details are concerned, though essentials are much alike. Thus, for example, in every army the soldier carries a canteen, but in England the indispensable water bottle is of glass, in Italy it is of wood, and in Spain it is of goat skin. In the American army again, there is little individual cooking, hut in Europe each soldier commonly prepares his own meals, carrying on that account a much bulkier and more elaborate culinary outfit. American troops in tropical countries are to be provided with holes, twenty for each company. These are knives two or three feet in length, with strong handles, which can be wielded effectively as weapons, while useful for other purposes in the jungle. It has also been urged recently by General Leonard Wood that a few repeating shot-guns of magazine pattern would be most valuable for outpost duty, especially in the Philippines—a recommendation which in all probability will be adopted.