Who invented the jerry can?

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asked Dec 28, 2021 in Other-Cars/Transportation by ManuK (890 points)
Who invented the jerry can?

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answered Dec 28, 2021 by person8832 (950 points)
The Jerry can was invented and was first devised during the Second World War.

The steel model of the Jerry can was invented by Germans.

An essential tool today for long journeys by car, the jerrycan was above all developed during the Second World War to meet the practical needs of soldiers.

You had to think about refueling from time to time, and in wartime, impossible to detour by the nearest service station.

The jerrycan, more often called a gasoline canister, is a container for fuel.

Its history begins in 1937.

This steel model was invented by the Germans who then intensively developed their military equipment.

The simplest solution for refueling vehicles seems obvious: they have to take a supply of gas with them.

The Germans called this container “kanister”.

To meet the soldiers’ needs, it had to be as practical as possible.

Thus, it must have a capacity of 20 liters and weigh around twenty kilograms, be easily portable by a single man, of size facilitating transport and storage in a minimum of volume, be provided with handles facilitating its transfer and finally be produced through simple and inexpensive manufacturing processes.

The first models of this square canister were then produced in large quantities, in the greatest secrecy, by the firms Müller and ABP from 1937.

They quickly equipped the troops using vehicles and tanks of the German army. This army is called Wehrmacht.

The Allies, in other words, the French, the Belgians, the English, and the Americans, discovered this “kanister” from the start of the war in 1940.

Practically, it was quickly copied and adopted by all the other countries at war. On June 6, 1944, during the Normandy landings, the Allies used some 17 million copies.

Before using the Kanister, the Americans used cylindrical canisters of 5, 10 or 55 US gallons (19, 38 or 208 L). We immediately understand that these canisters are not very easy to handle and store.

This is why the Americans also adopted this “kanister” which they produced in 1941.

They baptized it “jerrycan”, the contraction of “jerry”, a mocking nickname given by English speakers to German soldiers, and “can” meaning container. However, to make them more effective, they modify their shape.

The American version of the German canister is made from a simple folded sheet then welded, forming the body, on which are welded the flat bottom and a cap.

This headdress is composed of 3 handles to facilitate transport.

It also has a screw cap whose size corresponds to that of the petroleum sector.

This allows them to use a dispenser noozle.

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