I have not located a spec drawing of the initial stopper design, but I assume aluminium dome-topped cork stoppers similar to those of the type 98 would be what later would be called the model A (伊号) stopper.
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1939 Aluminum Canteen Body Change
The spec book issued in 1943 did not refer to the canteen body as the Sho 5 Model, but called it Type 99 (九九式) instead, which meant some change was made in 1939 (which was year 2599 on the Imperial calendar). What had changed, I do not know, but it did not seem to affect the size or shape. The spec book describes in detail how the canteens were manufactured step-by-step starting from a slab of aluminium, so it is likely a change in some aspect of production.
Also there are people who claim that the canteen was designated officially as type 94 (九四式）in 1934, but I found no such evidence, but rather the type 99 designation in war time records.Comment
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1940 New Stopper B
29th July, 1940 saw the introduction of an all wood stopper, using softwood (sandal wood) for the stopper plug and hard woods such as maple for the top.
This was called the B model (ロ号) stopper.Comment
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1940 Steel Canteens
On 21st October, 1940 Army Ordinance 75, announced that the material description of the canteen body will now become “aluminium or steel” in order to reduce aluminium usage. The technical evaluation comments explained the following.
1. Dimensions and shape are identical to the aluminium model.
2. Weight is 20 grams more. Steel canteen weighed 270 grams vs 250 for aluminium.
3. Durability is not affected
4. Wear-ability and care characteristics are unaffected
5. Water seems to reach its boiling point slightly slower
6. Mess kits obviously also need to be reconsidered, but no solution has yet been found.
I am not sure how often one would see steel canteens, as they seem to have stuck pretty well to aluminium production until late 43, when any material seemed to do.
1941 Stopper Strap Change
The first change to the strap design came on 30th September 1941, when the buckle on the leather strap holding the stopper was changed to have buckles at both ends of the leather stopper strap like the 1919 web harness we discussed earlier, which used this feature to accommodate the conflicting needs of infantrymen and cavalrymen. One would think this 1941 change aimed at the same thing, but the explanation given in Army Ordinance 26 merely said “Addition of buckles at both ends was done to facilitate easier cradling of the canteen”. This strap configuration will later be known as the “Sho 5 A type” harness (昭５式伊号). This name was given retrospectively as B and C variations were added below.Comment
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1941 Another Stopper Strap Change
On 20th November 1941, Army Ordinance 82 introduced an economy version of the stopper strap by saying “The stopper strap may be a cotton strap that does not have to close with a buckle”, which is “officialese” for “tie down straps are permitted” instead of the buckled leather straps. This strap configuration was what the army called the “Sho 5 B type” harness (昭５式呂号).Comment
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1942 New Stopper Variant C
16th April, 1942 was the introduction date of the C (ハ号) variant stopper, in which the plug was cork with an aluminium top.Comment
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1942 November Shoulder Strap Change
The next year in November, this time the adjustment buckle hardware on the “Sho 5 B type” harness was deleted and replaced by a cloth loop adjustment. This is clearly the war taking its toll on material supply. This strap configuration was the “Sho 5 C type” harness (昭５式波号).Comment
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1943 Rubber Stopper D
2nd May, 1943 saw the introduction of yet another stopper, a D model (仁号) which was an all rubber stopper.Comment
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1943 If it holds water, Anything Goes
Anything was better than not having water at all, as Army Ordinance 99 decreed on 10th December, 1943 that all specifications in aluminum may, for the time being, be substituted by other metals, rubber, leather or porcelain. Here a rubber canteen in combination with the last ditch model carrier, which omits the bottom lateral strap. This type strap has the nickname “Fundoshi” harness among Japanese collectors, because it resembles a loin cloth.Comment
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Samurai Revival
There is still a lot more in the spec book on things like how to check the quality of a canteen by conducting acid tests, etc, but that sort of detail is outside the attention span of most readers, so let me just end this long article by taking us back to the very beginning.
A former Japanese army veteran, who had fought in China, reminisced that in 1944, rookie replacements arrived at his unit from Japan, dangling bamboo Samurai style canteens. These rookies were given the excuse that the improvised gear was only to tide them over during transit to their final units, but one has to doubt whether they really could be issued any proper canteens at that time. Now we have come full circle, as soon even the housewives throughout Japan would start sharpening their bamboo laundry poles to get ready for the American landing in mainland Japan.
Hope you enjoyed the story and also learned something new. Good NightComment
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This was awesome Nick. Many thanks for posting it. I never knew the humble canteen had such an interesting life and evolution.
So when does the haversack edition come out?
Cheers
MattComment
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I always Wonder about the lifetime of the old model. Loved Yoshinobu's story and his silver arsenal made rice cooker, amaizing. Very interesting to hear about almost japanese bankrupt during russo japanese war and the economy shortage effect on military design. I tought it was something Japan endured only in ww2 after the war contagion to all the Pacific. Loved the story of the 1944 rookies and their bamboo samurai canteens too.
About the ceramic substitutes I read that they needed to be stamped with a code (in the 8 hundred range) to proove the item was for military use / respect military specs. Did you saw something about it in the archives?
I learned à lot of things today thanks to you (again), I have nice books on japanese military gear but your explications goes far beyond anything I had the chance to read. I always thought calebasse shaped where only japanese, just realize that gourd = calebasse, and in french "gourde" still means canteen.
I agree with Matt about a havresack edition, as it appears to follow the same pattern of simplification than the canteen harness (from metal hook and buckles with leather straps to full cloth).
Great topic anyway. Well made with definitive knowledge on the subject coming right from it's source. Don't know if this one will be pinned but it will be in my favs now.Comment
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Glad you both found the story helpful and I will keep bread bags in mind. You can never expect me to write about mess kits, because I find them totally boring with hardly any national character be it German or Japanese. That is why I had to slip in the Yoshinobu story here.
Numbers in the 800 range being military is total BS from a dealer trying to sell you civilian stuff as military.
Below is a bottle of pills, an over-the-counter commercial product and below is a ceramic canteen also of civilian nature. Note that both have numbers in the 800 range.Comment
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The fact is that all ceramic items after August 1940 had these markings till 1946 and there are various numbers and kanji codes. It may remind you of Tsushogo codes on dog tags, but the marking is civilian in origin. The government wanted to be able to control the economy, as the war in China was starting to tax resources. So they restricted the range of products and merged companies together, etc. These codes identified the manufacturer and if authorities found a violation they knew who to punish. Same codes are seen on ceramic grenades, military mess hall bowls and plates, but they in no way indicate association with the military.
Here again is your favorite "according to the seller" military water bottle.Also water bottles out of wood like the one below existed, but they are generally civilian items, too.
The only reference to canteen markings in the spec book was that the canteens should have the supplier mark in the bottom center, below which the manufacturing year was to be stamped in 昭一七 fashion and the inspector stamp was to be in white enamel.Comment
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Great research Nick! Anything on navy canteens ?Comment
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