WWII USMC Army \'Jungle\' BLADDER 2-Quart CANTEEN and CARRIER

withAdjustable Shoulder Strap

INTERNATIONAL LATEX CORP.

DOVER,DEL., U.S.A.

1945

RARE!RARE! RARE!

UnissuedNOS (New Old Stock) Mint!!!

Thisis a \"stone cold Mint\" example! This piece is far RARER than either the Enamel Canteens or the Ethocel Canteens! This is the superior \"Adjustable Shoulder Strap\" modelthat did NOT fall to the ground from a soldier\'s or a Marine\'sBelt if bumped off of the \"Quick Release\"M1910 Belt Hook Attachment.

This collapsible 2-quart Bladder Canteen was part of the \"1943Experimental Combat Outfit\" that included the improved M1943Field Jacket and the voluminous M1943 Pack (laterdesignated as the \'Jungle Pack\'). It came in two variants: onewith a \'Quick Release\' bent-wire attachment, anda second, with this improved \'Shoulder Strap.\' As to which wasthe first design of the Quartermaster Corps is unknown. They may have been distributed for trials \"in theater\" simultaneously.

These never saw wide distribution. But these were in fact issued in very limited quantities to units in 1945 as controlled trials. These are definitely SCARCE. I have only encountered a four or five in since I began collecting in the 1950s. One was in fact marked and clearly identified to a USN officer stationed in Panama during the war! There is also a National Archives photo of one of these 2-Quart Bladder Canteens (with the \"Quick Release\" Attachment) on the Cartridge belt of Marine during the fighting on Okinawa, clearing a tunnel on the Oroku Peninsula, in June of 1945. (The photo appears on p. 170 of Masahide Ota\'s definitive photo-reference history, THE BATTLE OF OKINAWA: THE TYPHOON OF STEEL AND BOMBS, Kume Publishing, Tokyo, 1984).

It isbelieved that these were designed for use in the invasion of Japan(the overall name of which was Operation DOWNFALL beginningwith Operation OLYMPIC, the invasion of Kyushu scheduled for\"X-Day,\" 1 November 1945 which would have been thelargest ever assembled, to include 42 aircraft carriers, 24battleships, and 400 destroyers and escorts. Fourteen U.S. divisions(3 Marine and 11 Army infantry) and a \"division equivalent\" oftwo regimental combat teams.

Thiswas to be followed by Operation CORONET, an even LARGERinvasion of Honshu on \"Y-Day,\" 1 March 1946.Proposed were the deployment of 45 divisions, not counting scores ofair groups!! (By contrast, the invasion of Normandy during OperationOVERLORD involved only 12 divisions initially!)

Although dropped by the Quartermaster Corps at the war\'s conclusion, this very same design, i.e. of a fabric-latexBladder and NylonCarrierwith a web Shoulder Strap,was resurrected in an identical configuration in the early 1960s during the Vietnam War. In February 1962 Army Special Forces for Southeast Asia Operations requested a 2 qt. canteen and the Army Research and Engineering Command\" revived this Bladder canteen from 17 years earlier!

Thishandsome \"transitional\" CARRIER is made ofDARK SHADE OD#7 Canvas, Edge Binding,and Webbing. TheseCARRIERS are found both with and without the \"U.S.\"surchargeprinted on the front. Most of the surviving examples of both variantsare made entirely of this Darker Shade materials.

Boththe CARRIER and the internal removable BLADDERhave identical bold contractor markings legibly printed in san serif font,

MANUFACTUREDBY

INTERNATIONALLATEX CORP.

DOVER,DEL., U.S.A.

1945

+ ZEROstains, abrasions, \"white-ish\" rub marks, loose stitching, frays, sun-fading, tears, loose eyelets, personalized markings, etc. to the Dark Shade OD#7 Canvas and 2-inch Webbing. (This Dark Shade OD#7, introduced for its superior camouflage property, was very \"unforgiving\" of rubs and abrasions.)

+ The underside of the Flap of the Carrier is stamped with an Inspector\'s Mark,

7AR

+ TheTan-Cream colored Fabric/Latex laminate BLADDER is 10-1/2\"x 9-1/2\" and is free of stains, hand-applied markings, cracks,or seam separations. No known leaks -- but I elected not to \"test fill\" it with water!

+ The Neck of the Canteen is made of the same superior plastic (and not\'Ethocel\') that the INTERNATIONAL LATEXCORPORATION used for the necks of the large back-pack bladderCanteens produced (and respectively marked) for both the MarineCorps and the Army.

+ Therugged M1942 \'Bakelite\' CAP with the recessed chain-post withits original chipped cork GASKET is in perfect MINT condition.

+ The2\" wide SHOULDER STRAP is in perfect condition as are theblackened finish adjustable BUCKLE andblackened wire CONNECTOR.

+ The\"Lift-the-Dot\" FASTENER worksperfectly.

+ ZEROcorrosion to the three drainage EYELETS at the bottom seam ofthe Carrier.

*****

Historyof the International Latex CorporationDover, Delaware

ILC Dover initiallyformed as a branch of the International Latex Corporation,the company founded in 1932 by Abram Spanel and later known asPlaytex best known for manufacture of women\'sundergarments. The International Latex Corporation supportedAmerican efforts in World War II with latex products such as attackboats, life rafts, and canteens. In 1947, the InternationalLatex Corporation split into four divisions, one of which,the Metals Division, eventually became ILC Dover.

Located at that time in Dover,Delaware, ILC\'s earliest work was on high-altitudepressure helmets and high-altitude pressure suits for the U.S Navyand Air Force. In 1965, ILC (then known as theGovernment and Industrial Division of the International LatexCorporation) was awarded the prime contract for the ApolloLunar Space Suit, based on its unique approach to designingflexible joints in air filled suits. ILC successfullydesigned and manufactured the suit worn by astronauts in the Apolloprogram, including Neil Armstrong during the first moonwalk. By 1969,ILC\'s workforce expanded to 900 employees as itsupported the space program through production of Apollo spacesuits and a sun shield to protect Skylab, the first U.S. spacestation.

M40 Gas Mask

In 1974, the Skylabprogram ended, and ILC faced an immediate need todiversify their product offerings. That same year, ILC delivered itsfirstaerostat to the U.S. Air Force for use at Cudjoe KeyAir Force Station. Subsequently, they entered the field ofpersonal protective equipment, paving the way for development ofindustrial protection suits, such as the Chemturion suit line.In later years, their development of protective equipment expandedinto type classified military chemical, biological, radiological, andnuclear (CBRN) masks and hood systems (for example, the M43,M40, MBU-19/P). The M40/42 became the standard field maskof the U.S. Army, and, as of 2010, over two million had been producedand sold. Hamilton Standard, of Windsor Locks, CT wascontracted to oversee ILC\'s suit manufacture due toILC\'s inexperience with federal government contracts.

In1977, ILC Dover, in conjunction with HamiltonStandard, began development and manufacture of theExtravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), the suit worn byastronauts during Space Shuttle and Space Station activity.ILC continued its support of the space program, whileexpanding its personal protection and lighter-than-air (LTA) vehiclelines.

In 1994 and 1995, ILC wasawarded contracts with the German company ZeppelinLuftschifftechnik GmbH and the American BlimpCorporation for production of envelopes for each company.Over the following decade, ILC\'s production of LTAvehicles continued, and in 2001, ILC, in collaborationwith TCOM and Uretek, developed andmanufactured the world\'s largest pressurized LTA vehicle forCargoLifter in Brand, Germany.

In 1994, NASA\'s Jet PropulsionLaboratory contracted ILC to develop andmanufacture the airbag landing system for the Mars PathfinderMission, which successfully cushioned Pathfinder\'s landingon July 4, 1997. In 2003, ILC\'s airbag system enabledthe safe landing of the twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity,during the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Missions.

In the1990s ILC entered the pharmaceutical industry with thedesign and production of flexible containment systems, used toimprove operator safety and ensure product purity during themanufacturing processing of potent pharmaceutical agent.

Spacesuits

Since the beginning of the ApolloProgram, ILC has been the designer and producer ofthe space suit pressure garment for NASA. Throughout NASA\'smissions, the space suit has been required to protect astronautsfrom hazards faced in earth\'s orbit and on the surface of the moon.These hazards include the vacuum environment of space, temperatureextremes ranging from -250 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degreesFahrenheit, the impact of micro-meteoroids and orbital debris, andlunar dust. Above the 63,000 foot threshold, spacesuits are needed tosupply oxygen and to provide a pressurized environment around thebody to keep body fluids in a liquid state.

Related Items:

WWII RARE "Jungle" BLADDER 2 qt. CANTEEN & CARRIER ("INTERN. LATEX CORP. 1945")

$275.00

---

RARE WW2 Halt Hitler Blue & White Anti-Nazi Propaganda Pin W/Star of David 1.7"

$41.90

---

WWII Army Nurse Isabel Demmon Signed Memoir India CBI Theater Rare Book

$149.95

---

---