Canadian Military Cooker No. 2, MK 2, Modified 1974

having done the Tommy cooker thing a decently built (built rather than just made - i think these were launched on the clyde rather than made in a brummie workshop) cooker is a godsend, another reason why we don't have ammunition for our tanks but we do have a boiling vessel so can at least have a brew while facing the soviet hordes while plugging the fulda gap in the great tradition of leonidas or custer.

I think the main reason for the weight besides robustness is that it makes them much harder to pinch. it is for good reason the US army refer to the british army as the Borrowers and is they lost 35,000 camp cots during GW2. if those same cots had been made of steel and canvass designed to survive being run over by an entire armoured division they would still be in the kuwaiti desert. mind you they were probably bashed out in the 50s by the tens of thousand when we still had an army in the hundreds of thousands with an equal number going into defense stores.

serving in Recce units I'd have been very happy with a decent cooker on my rover instead of being stuck with hexy and personal gassies.

 

I'm developing a deeper appreciation for this stove. I stripped it down (it comes apart easily) to address some serious corrosion on the case and front leg... must have been standing in water or something. I sanded those rusted spots down, and treated any remaining pitting with RustCheck Rust Converter (contains phosphoric and tannic acid). Krylon Camo olive is a pretty close match. A few last pics:

 

With the grate set for cooking (as yours is in the pictures) you'll find those four raised points are just the right size to hold the large pan of a British two-pan rectangular messkit.

 

Thnx for that. I'll keep my eyes open for a set of them.

 

The OP now needs a No12

These are perfect for a No2 or No12 but shop around, this listing is expensive

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRITISH-...417572?hash=item213504a4e4:g:7DEAAOSwPhdVST21

 

That Cooker No. 12 is an interesting stove - jetted for diesel and kerosene, roarer burner... another big Optimus/Primus looking set-up. I like it. A rectangular cook set's needed there too I see. I think I'll buy a reproduction one from eBay. Thnx!

 

I love you lot, really. After getting one degree in Brit Lit, I finally got to travel to Blighty via Lagos, Nigeria and found everyone charming although barking mad to a man. The beer was excellent, and there is no substitute for British cider. Wasn't here for the late unpleasantness of '76, although some of us Poles did fly for your RAF in The Big One and got rather roughly handled thereafter. It's OK. When you're from a low, flat country that everyone invades for practice, you develop a thick skin. 303. Hats off.

Our neighbors the Canucks are superb, with the Newfoundlanders being the most mighty.

 

I thought the poles got off rather well considering they faced the death penalty back home after Churchill failed to persuade you to keep going east. while we all let them down politically (they were technically the reason we declared war on the germans after all, and they never got the credit for getting an enigma to the allies or for the codes they cracked ) there's three areas they settled in when their divisions were demobbed. Gloucestershire where I used to live was one of them, I never came across any hard feelings about it but to a man they would have charged off on their own and probably been slaughtered.

some of the stories about how they made it to join the allies are amazing and worth buying them a bottle or two to hear.

 

After reading how rationing continued in GB until '54, I forgave you all. Besides, I really enjoy you crazy folk. You can write. Still, the history of 303 RAF squadron is well worth a watch. Gives me chills. BBC production, available on YouTube.