Military Chocolate (United States)

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Military chocolate, ration D.

Military chocolate has been part of the standard rations of the American armed forces since 1937 and is given to the troops as part of field rations (see EPa in the German Bundeswehr ) and so-called sundry packs (see PI parcels ).

Chocolate rations primarily fulfill two tasks: They ensure an increase in troop morale and at the same time serve as energy-rich, handy emergency rations. Military chocolate is often specially tailored to military needs (weight, size, shelf life). Much of the chocolate sold to military personnel in the United States is made by the Hershey Company .

When used to increase troop morale, military chocolate is often no different in taste and composition from normal, store-bought bars. On the other hand, it is often packaged or shaped differently. The K ration in World War II contained a bar of Hershey's sweet chocolate ; but instead of the usual thin, flat bar, it was a thick, rectangular bar with square ends.

As a field ration for emergencies, military chocolate was very different from normal bars. Since it was supposed to be a readily available source of food in case of emergency, those responsible stressed that it had to be made in such a way that the soldiers would not be tempted to eat it before they needed it. Although attempts were made to improve the taste, the chocolate was never considered particularly tasty. The chocolate bars for emergencies have been optimized for high energy content ( calorific value ), easy transportability and high temperature resistance. The high temperature resistance in particular was extremely important, as infantry soldiers operated outdoors - sometimes in tropical conditions or in the desert - wearing the latches in their breast pockets on their bodies. Under these conditions, a normal chocolate bar would melt within minutes.

Hershey at war

The first chocolate bar procured by the US Army as an emergency ration was the Ration D bar. Army Quartermaster Colonel Paul Logan contacted Hershey's Chocolate in April 1937 and met with the company's president, William Murrie, and chief chemist Sam Hinkle. Milton Hershey showed great interest in the project when he was informed of the offer and the first experimental production of the Ration D bar began.

Colonel Logan had four requirements for the Ration D bar. He had to:

  1. weigh four ounces ,
  2. have a high nutritional value,
  3. can withstand high temperatures,
  4. "Hardly tastes better than a boiled potato ".

Logan believed that the soldiers would not save the bar for emergencies, but would eat it as a snack if it tasted good.

Chief chemist Hinkle was forced to develop completely new manufacturing processes for the production of the bars. The devices for making chocolate were designed to pour flowing, liquid chocolate into prepared molds. However, the temperature-resistant chocolate was a viscous mass that could not be made to flow at any temperature. Therefore, every single four-ounce serving had to be hand kneaded, weighed, and pressed into a mold. The end product was a hard block of dark brown chocolate that could be crumbled with some effort.

Colonel Logan was satisfied with the first small sample batch. In June 1937, the US Army ordered 90,000 so-called Logan bars and tested them under operational conditions on bases in the Philippines , Panama , on the Texas border and on other bases in the United States. Some bars were even carried by Richard E. Byrd on his third Antarctic expedition. These tests were successful, and the Army began ordering the bars at irregular intervals.

With the beginning of the American involvement in World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor , the bars also had to be packaged in a toxic gas-proof manner. Between 1941 and 1945 numerous changes were made in the area of ​​packaging in order to deal with material shortages and requirements from the army.

In 1943, the Army's procurement division contacted Hershey to negotiate the manufacture of a candy-like chocolate bar with improved taste that would still be extremely heat-resistant. After a short period of experimentation, the Hershey Company began producing Hershey's Tropical Bar (about " Hershey's Tropical Bar "). This bar was more like normal chocolate bars in shape and taste than the Ration D bar. During the war, production of these bars exceeded all other products made by Hershey, including the Ration D bar. Many soldiers found the bar tough and unsavory. Nevertheless, it was perfect as a quick snack in the field and as a material for exchange.

It is estimated that between 1940 and 1945 over three billion rations of D and Tropical bars were produced and distributed to military units around the world. In 1939 the Hershey plant was able to produce 100,000 bars a day. At the end of the Second World War, the factory was producing 24 million bars per week. For its service during World War II, the company received five Army-Navy 'E' Production Awards for exceeding expectations for quantity and quality in the production of Ration D and Tropical bars.

Post-war until today

The production of Ration D bars was discontinued after the end of the Second World War. In contrast, Hershey's Tropical Bar remained a part of the standard rations for the US armed forces. It was used in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He gained fame when he was carried aboard Apollo 15 in July 1971 .

During the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations , Hershey's Chocolate tested a new bar made of high-temperature-resistant chocolate, which was dubbed Desert Bar (" desert bar "). For this purpose, Hershey's delivered 144,000 of these bars to the American soldiers. According to the company, the bar should be able to withstand temperatures of more than 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit ). While spokesmen for the Army stated that the taste of the bar was good, the voices from the troops were rather mixed, so the bar did not go into commercial production.

See also

Web links

Commons : US Military Chocolate  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files