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I was given some Mk 4 and Mk 9 Emergency Flying Rations (oddly enough by the Navy's Survival School) in 2000. They were packed in 1999.
What is in them?
Are they still suitable for use in emergency?! Or just suitable for pig fodder?
Thanks.
Wensleydale
2nd Mar 2021, 08:55
Some Compo Rations still have the slogan "Good Luck to the lads on the Somme" imprinted on the bottom of the can!
treadigraph
2nd Mar 2021, 09:40
I think you should sample them and then - hopefully! - report back!
(I seem to remember you took part in a long distance air race some years ago, were the rations for that trip?)
mk9: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30081465
"Emergency Flying Ration containing 2 straws, 2 packs chocolate-flavoured food, 4 wire handles, a beverage pack, sugar pack, beef stock pack, and instructions."
mk4: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30081463
"Emergency Flying Ration containing boiled sweets and wire handles to convert tin to cooking vessel."
Take a bite and report?
Less Hair
2nd Mar 2021, 09:46
For MREs better go french:
https://mremountain.com/collections/foreign-mres-and-24-hour-combat-ration-packs/products/french-armed-forces-rcir-24-hr-combat-ration-pack-mre?variant=44602267085
hoodie
2nd Mar 2021, 09:59
Or RM officers. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ3_o7F7mqY
Less Hair
2nd Mar 2021, 11:39
No piano in there?
NutLoose
2nd Mar 2021, 12:23
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=MRE
Treaders - you are quite right. What a memory! We spent a day at Gosport beforehand.
There is piano wire in the Mk 9, but I haven't opened any of the little parcels. And I haven't opened the Mk 4 tins.
Whilst I can see it would be highly entertaining for fellow forum members to "taste & report" :bored:, the point of my question is can I sensibly continue to use them as emergency rations, say if I were to force land in the Highlands, and the locals only offered me stuffed sheep's heart or something?!
hoodie - great video - I particuarly like the gesture the bootie makes when he says officers have "different taste"!
Tashengurt
2nd Mar 2021, 13:01
The little butterscotch sweets in the mk4 are lovely. There would always be a tin being 'tested' in any life raft bay.
ShyTorque
2nd Mar 2021, 13:14
I still recall the headlines on the newspaper I got from my last Officers' Ration pack. I was shocked to read the terrible news about the sinking of the Titanic.
NutLoose
2nd Mar 2021, 14:45
You're lucky, mine gave me details about the siege of Mafeking.
You're lucky, mine gave me details about the siege of Mafeking.
Now that WAS a relief! 😅
Tinribs
2nd Mar 2021, 17:18
The sweets had a problem because they became a wet and sticky mess in the tin after opening. After eating the sweets you found a polly bag to stop the sweets going sticky
air pig
2nd Mar 2021, 19:04
I thought the emergency flying ration was called the navigator.
Zombywoof
2nd Mar 2021, 19:30
From the site posted by Less Hair:How important is shelf life? The industry average for shelf life is about 3 years. If you need very long shelf life, freeze dried rations usually last longer and can last up to 7 years.
https://mremountain.com/blogs/news/guide-to-choosing-the-right-mre-for-your-needs
The sweets had a problem because they became a wet and sticky mess in the tin after opening. After eating the sweets you found a polly bag to stop the sweets going sticky
Open - eat, what's the problem
Gauges and Dials
3rd Mar 2021, 20:10
Sergeant: "Shut up and eat your rations. Guys in the South Pacific in WWII would have given their left nut for this food."
Private, quietly, "It was probably fresh back then."
PICKS135
4th Mar 2021, 16:45
Surprised youve got an unopened MK4 tin. We Squippers at Leuchars always had a tin opened in the drawer. Purely for testing purposes ;-)