Flimsy

The flimsy, officially known as the Petrol, Oil and Water can - was a World War II petrol container used by the British Army. They held 4 imperial gallons (18 l; 4.8 US gal) of fuel, which allowed them to be moved by a single person.[1][2]

The flimsy was well known for leaking - when used in the North African Campaign, some flimsies leaked 20%, and in some cases over 50% of the fuel they carried over a journey.[3][4] One quartermaster reported that his 70,000 imperial gallons (320,000 l; 84,000 US gal) gallons of fuel had been reduced to just 30,000 over the journey - and was informed that even this was a "good effort".[5]

The problem with the containers was the crimped or soldered seams, which easily split during transportation, especially over the rocky desert terrain in North Africa.[1] Containers were stacked on top of each other during shipping, and the upper layers crushed those below, resulting in fuel flowing freely in the bilges - with the resulting poisoning and fire risks.[2]

The favoured use by soldiers for the flimsy was as a small stove which could be used to heat meals and tea for the crews.[4] A soldier would cut the flimsy in half, fill the bottom half with petrol-soaked sand, and balance the other half on top, filled with water. This was known as a Benghazi Boiler or Benghazi Burner, after the embattled town of Benghazi.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Norris, John (2012-09-01). World War II Trucks and Tanks. History Press. ISBN 9780752490731.
  2. 1 2 3 Hanson, Jonathan (2012-07-17). "Irreducible imperfection: The flimsy". Exploring Overland. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  3. Dowling, Timothy C. (2005-01-01). Personal Perspectives: World War II. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN 9781851095759.
  4. 1 2 Jarymowycz, Roman (2008-12-17). Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine. Stackpole Books. p. 102. ISBN 9781461751786.
  5. Deighton, Len (2007-11-01). Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II. Random House. p. 299. ISBN 9780099520498.
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