The 10-in-1 Ration

The Ration, 10-in-1 was designed to feed groups of men, primarily AFV crews or motorized infantry in armored units. Inspired by the success of British 14-in-1 "compo" rations and a previous American 5-in-1 package, the 10-in-1 ration offered one day of meals — breakfast, evening supper, and a midday "snack" — for 10 soldiers. The 10-in-1 was introduced in mid-1943 and over 300 million rations were produced by the end of the war.

The food for breakfast and supper were packed together for group cooking at the beginning and end of the day, and were similar to the offerings in the K-rations: various canned meats and stews, butter spread, powdered coffee, pudding, jam, evaporated milk, vegetables, biscuits, cereal, beverages, candy, salt, and sugar, as well as the typical accessories of cigarettes, matches, can opener, toilet paper, soap, towels, etc.

The dinner was more of a snack, with only biscuits, candy, sugar, and gum, and was separately packaged (small tin cans in boxes as below left) so it could be easily handed out to soldiers who were on the move during the day.

Surprisingly, for an institutional behemoth where anything that didn't move of it's own accord was painted olive drab, there was a surprising tolerance for other colors in rations packaging. By and large, most cans were finished in a gold laquer with black markings. But as you can see in these photos, U.S. food manufacturers sometimes affixed their labels to the cans, perhaps encouraged to provide a reminder of home and what our service men and women were fighting for — liberty and Bloomer Green Beans!

10-in-1 Packaging

Though bulkier in packaging and weighing nearly 50 lbs., the 10-in-1 offered more variety to soldiers. Leg infantry often envied this greater assortment and would barter for these meals with the armored units attached to their divisions.

Again, the military dictated a progressive series of packages to ensure ensure quality. The full day's rations were divided into two pair of cartons, each pair containing food for five men. The four assembled cartons were then placed into the larger carton that is familiar to modelers.

According to C.Q.D. No. 140B, dated August 1, 1944, two of these cartons contained inner waxed cartons that held more moisture-sensitive items. These inner cartons were made of cardboard 0.042 (approximatley 3/16) inch thick, with inner dimensions of 9 5/8" x 6 3/8" x 7 1/8". The flaps were secured with water-resistant adhesive and double-dipped in wax for waterproofing.

The corrugated box that contained the waxed carton "shall be labeled on both the 7 5/16 by 9 13/16 inch panels as follows:

MENU # ___ (1 inch capital letters - bold type)
FIRST HALF OF
5 RATIONS

FOR 5 COMPLETE RATIONS (1/4 inch capital letters - bold type)
USE THIS BOX AND ONE MARKED
"SECOND HALF OF 5 RATIONS"

One top and one bottom outer flap shall be labeled as follows:

FIRST HALF

The unwaxed cartons of 0.075 inch thick fiberboard held canned food, soap, towels and sponge. Because they were not waxed, they were labeled as follows:

MENU # ___ (1 inch capital letters - bold type)
SECOND HALF OF
5 RATIONS

FOR 5 COMPLETE RATIONS (1/4 inch capital letters - bold type)
USE THIS BOX AND ONE MARKED
"FIRST HALF OF 5 RATIONS"

One top and one bottom outer flap shall be labeled as follows:

SECOND HALF

Finally, the four boxes were assembled into the larger carton, which had inside dimensions of 20 5/16 inched in length, 14 1/8 inches in width, by 7 7/8 inches in depth. This was likely the V1 or V2 corrugated cardboard, which was the strongest type available and typically 3/16" thick. After the flaps were glued, the carton was slid into a sleeve that "shall fit snugly over the top, bottom, and ends of the container without requiring undue pressure to place into position. The depth of the sleeve shall be equal to the full outside width of the shipping container."

The carton and sleeve was secured with three straps 3/8" wide and 0.015 inch thick. "One strap shall be centered over the ends and sides of the case, and the second strap centered over the top, bottoms, and sides of the case in such a manner that they cross at right angles over the open end of the sleeve. The longer strap shall be applied first.

The case and outer sleeve shall be printed in bold Gothic capital letters as follows:

On one end of the sleeve:

CONT ____ (Contract No.) (1/2 inch letters)
RATION 10-IN-1 (1 1/2 inch letters)
(1 inch space for strap)
10 RATIONS (3/4 inch letters)
WT 49 CU 1.5 MENU # ___ (2 inch letters)

On the other end of the sleeve: As above, omitting the contract number. The above marking may occupy the entire ends of the sleeve.

On the right-hand side of the front of the case, the following information shall be printed:

___________ (Name of Packer) (1/2 inch letters)
____ ____ (Month and Year Packed) (1/2 inch letters)
REQ. ____ (Requisition number, required on some cases) (1/2 inch letters)
(1 inch space for strap)
10
in MENU # ___
1

The marking "10-in-1" shall be in letters 3/4 of an inch high. The lines forming the letters MENU and the numeral shall be 3/8 of an inch in width, and the letters and numerals 2 1/2 inches high."

The crescent was to be 3 inches tall by 2 inches wide, with the center of the crescent 7/8 inches in width.

The reproduction below from the Strictly GI re-enactors does a good job capturing the labeling as specified above. And if you compare these specs to the photo at the top of the page, you'll see there was some variations in the markings over the the years (the specs don't say anything about the stripe and instructions to take one carton with a stripe and one without to make up a complete menu.)

1/35 Scale 10-in-1 Rations

Product	Custom Dioramics (CD5001) U.S. Army Field C-Rations WWII	DIOART (050) WWII U.S. Army (1944-45) Menu 1 & Menu 2	Extra Detail (ED-0005) U.S. Army C-Rations Boxes WW2	Hudson & Allen Studio (1110): C-Rations Set 1: U.S. Army - World War II
Number of Items	6 large and 6 small cartons.	12 each of menu 1 and 2 half-component boxes.	9 fiberboard cartons with sleeves.	11 fiberboard cartons with sleeves.
Historical dimensions	20 1/2 x 14 5/16 x 8 1/16	9 13/16 x 7 5/16 x 6 9/16	20 1/2 x 14 5/16 x 8 1/16	20 1/2 x 14 5/16 x 8 1/16
Product dimensions	Large: 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 10 Small: 20 x 14 x 8	15 1/2 x 10 x 9 1/2	Carton: 21 x 14 1/2 x 7 Sleeve: 22 x 14 x 7 1/2	Carton: 20 1/2 x 13 3/4 x 7 Sleeve: 22 x 14 1/2 x 8 1/4
Material and color	Light card stock, grey printing over-printing	Paper; tan.	Light card stock, more brown in color.	Light card stock; color is acceptable.
Instructions	No	No	No	Yes
Markings	(large carton, Vietnam era) RATION 10 10 RATIONS MENU 2 (small carton) US ARMY NO. 135-C45 RATIONS 10- 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 4 DON'T EXPOSE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURES	MENU #1 FIRST HALF OF 5 RATIONS MENU #2 SECOND HALF OF 5 RATIONS and fine print.	RATION 10-1 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 3 (or MENU 4) fine print and stampings; markings are on four sides of sleeve, three sides of carton.	RATION 10-1 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 5 (or MENU 4) fine print and stampings; markings are on four sides of sleeve, two sides of carton.
Comments	This product, from the VLS family, is virtually identical to Verlinden's, warts and all. Since the designer of the CD product, Willy Peeters, previusly worked for Verlinden, that may explain the distinct similarity. However, the CD cartons leave off bits of the markings, perhaps to escape some sort of "copyright" infringement between the two warring organizations. Not that U.S. military markings are copyrighted, but perhaps erroneous facsimiles could be. CD takes Verlinden's errors one step further by claiming the large square-shaped carton is from WWII, which it is not. Otherwise, the box assembly design is identical, as is the over-printing of screened ink to "color" the cartons. No sleeves are provided.	Carton dimensions are significantly out of scale. Outlines are printed in light grey so the corners do not need to be scuffed. The photo below is of an older version of this product. The new version is printed on tan paper, so the inside of the carton is the same color as the outside.	There are a few folding guides that are printed very lightly. This somewhat hinders construction, but there is less to have to scuff off. Flaps do not extend to meet one another, leaving gaps that reveal empty cavity inside carton. Outer sleeve is undersized so it does not fit around carton without distorting one piece or the other. Printing is not as crisp as Hudson & Allen products.	Excellent appearance and easy construction. Make sure you have the correct sleeve and carton for each of the two menus.
Finished Product
Final Thoughts	Since this product adds nothing new to the market other than additional errors, I'm not sure its true purpose isn't to poke a thumb in the eye of a former partner. Avoid it.	The only product of its kind, could use improvement in size.	Disappointing fit of sleeves and carton flaps; Hudson & Allen products are considerably better.	Very good. Dimensions are off a touch, but markings are sharp and quite acceptable. Best of its kind.

Product	Tamiya (35122) M4A3 Sherman includes boxes and decals	Tamiya (66665) Combat Rations A	Verlinden Productions (16) U.S. Army Field C-Rations
Number of Items	2 wooden boxes	9 fiberboard rations cartons and 4 cartons of tomato juice.	7 large and 6 small cartons.
10-in-1 Historical dimensions	No evidence wooden boxes were used for 10-in-1 rations.	20 1/2 x 14 5/16 x 8 1/16	20 1/2 x 14 5/16 x 8 1/16
Product dimensions	24 x 17 x 10	19 x 12 x 6	Large: 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 10 Small: 20 1/2 x 14 x 8
Material and color	Styrene and decal; must paint unfinished wood color.	Light card stock; instructions are printed on back, making it difficult to show cartons opened.	Medium card stock, more pinkish color; boxes are screenprinted for darker shading than stock. Finished product is not as "tight" as lighter card stocks.
Instructions	Yes	Yes	No
Markings	RATION 10 IN 1 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 2 (or MENU 4)	10 IN 1, MENU 5 small print and various stampings.	(large carton, Vietnam era) RATION 10 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 2 (small carton) RATIONS 10-1 10 RATIONS WT45 CU14 MENU 4 DON'T EXPOSE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURES
Comments	First of all, I could not find any information that wooden boxes were used for 10-in-1 rations. Boxes are one piece with hollow bottom. Only top lid has "wood grain" and two exposed support cross pieces — which makes one wonder what braced the bottom slats. In Tamiya's later M4A3 Sherman kits (#35250 and #35251), these are no longer rations boxes but now "stowage boxes" and new, better-sized K ration boxes are included. Decals are a little thick; Spray the painted boxes with gloss varnish and use some Solvaset to get them to snug down tight. Weather slightly and cover with a matte varnish.	Easy to assemble. But unlike the other products, carton only has printing on one side, but that one side looks "official" and conforms well to the image at the top of the 10-in-1 Packaging section of this article. No sleeves are provided. Product name "Rations A" is puzzling, as there were no Rations A during WWII! Product includes 4 cartons of Quartermaster tomato juice.	This set is the granddaddy of all rations cartons (I made the examples below years ago, adding black electrical tape for the metal strap). But they've been surpassed by better options. The smaller carton has some bogus markings. The end closure is two flaps that meet in the center, rather than one panel that secures the end. Consequently, the metal band around the side circumference would not ensure the closure of the two flaps and the integrity of the packaging. No sleeves are provided. The larger, square-shaped carton is from the Vietnam era. Unfortunately, since the product doesn't make this clear, a lot of WWII modelers have used the wrong rations boxes!
Finished Product
Final Thoughts	Forget the decals. Use these as stowage or ammo boxes.	Fair. Product is quite undersized. Use them where the one printed side will be visible, such as stacked in a GMC Cargo Truck.	Much better products are available.