The name of the jerrycan refers to its German origins,
Jerry being slang for Germans. The design was
reverse engineered and subsequently copied, with minor modifications, by the Allies during the Second World War.
German invention The
Wehrmacht-Einheitskanister ("Armed forces standard canister"), as it was known in Germany, was first developed in 1937 by the Müller engineering firm in
Schwelm to a design by their chief engineer Vinzenz Grünvogel. A similar design was used in 1936 during the
Spanish Civil War, where they had a company logo for Ambi-Budd Presswerk GmbH. Among others, the
Wehrmacht had specified that a soldier should be able to carry either two full containers or four empty ones, which is the reason the triple handles were fitted. To achieve the required filling and draining speed, it was fitted with a large spout and flip top closure. A hole in the closure retainer made it possible to fit a securing pin or wire with a lead seal. The rectangular shape made it stackable. The recessed welded seam stiffened the container and protected the seam from impact damage. The indentations ensured a full can would not be severely damaged when falling from a vehicle, while a dip coat of paint on the inside protected it from corrosion. By 1939 the German military had thousands of such cans stockpiled in anticipation of war. Motorised troops were issued the cans with lengths of rubber hose in order to siphon fuel from any available source, a way to aid their rapid
invasion of Poland at the start of the Second World War.
American adaptation In 1939, American engineer Paul Pleiss had built a vehicle to journey to India with his German colleague. After building the car, they realised they did not have any storage for emergency water. The German engineer had access to the stockpile of jerrycans at
Berlin Tempelhof Airport and managed to take three of them. The German engineer also gave Pleiss complete specifications for the manufacture of the can. In the European Theatre of Operations alone, over 19 million were required to support US forces by May 1945.
British necessity At the beginning of the
Second World War the
British Army was equipped with two simple fuel containers: the container made of pressed steel, and the container made from
tin plate. The 2-gallon containers were relatively strong, but were expensive to produce. Manufactured primarily in Egypt, the 4-gallon containers were plentiful and inexpensive, but they had a tendency to leak after minor damage. Early 4-gallon containers were packed in pairs in wooden cases. When stacked, the timber framing protected the tins and prevented the upper layers of tins from crushing the lower. As the war progressed, the wooden case was replaced with either thin plywood or cardboard cases, neither of which provided much protection. 4-gallon containers carrying fuel were hazardous to the cargo ships carrying them. The leaking fuel would accumulate in cargo holds. At least one such ship exploded. In addition, the containers were easily punctured by even minor trauma. Because of these problems the troops referred to the 4-gallon containers as
flimsies. Transport of fuel over rough terrain often resulted in as much as 25% of the fuel being lost through seam failures or punctures. Rather than a
screw cap, the containers used a cam lever release mechanism with a short spout secured with a
snap closure and an air-pipe to the air pocket which enabled smooth pouring (which was omitted in some copies). The interior was also lined with an impervious plastic, first developed for steel beer barrels, that would allow the can to be used for either water or petrol. The can was welded and had a
gasket for a leak-proof mouth. The British used cans captured from the "
Jerries" (slang for Germans), hence "jerrycans", in preference to their own containers as much as possible. Later in 1940, Pleiss was in London and British officers asked him about the design and manufacture of the jerrycan. Pleiss ordered the second of his three jerrycans flown to London. == Design ==