M-1941 and M-1942 Gas Stoves
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 12:40 am
Early in WW2, before we ever got into it in fact, they started looking at cold weather uniforms and equipment. The Quartermaster Department, being generally clueless on the topic, had the "helpful" assistance of the National Ski Patrol. Shortly thereafter, the services of Bestor Robinson was engaged. Who was Bestor Robinson? A politically connected lawyer from Los Angeles. Gets rather cold in Los Angeles it does. Somebody that lives in Los Angeles, and takes periodic ski trips to Vale, isn't going to be very helpful. The blind leading the clueless.
Much equipment was developed. It didn't perform well in Colorado. It was later given a harsh test at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. The verdict? Mainly useless. They'd already ordered it all and just threw in the towel.
I grew up a few hundred miles North of Camp McCoy. Where it gets a lot colder. I look at the stuff the dilettante helped develop and shake my head. Gas stove? Carried in a rucksack? It's going to leak. Sure as shit that stove is going to leak. Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Gasoline doesn't; it just gets colder. Trust me, I know. Brake fluid at 30 degrees below Fahrenheit, running down your hand onto your wrist, isn't something you'll forget. I didn't take ski trips to Vale. I fixed my car, outside, with no garage, in 30 below. I grew up in that environment. The stuff they developed was stupid.
That is not how patents work. I can design a grenade launcher for an M1 rifle. Picture the rifle with my grenade launcher in the patent. If the launcher is in some way unique, and I get the patent, that doesn't mean anyone used my launcher. Lots of people file "improvements" on existing items. That doesn't mean those patents are ever used.
The M-1941 was designed by Coleman. Fester-Bester Tester doesn't have any patents that early so we can rule that one out.
Aladdin designed the M-1942. They had issues with it. It was improved. Two patents cover the M-1942 and the improved version. Both are from Aladdin. Well, their parent company. The second references a Coleman patent as the improvement was to use some Coleman technology. Both patents reference the patents that lead to the stove. Neither patent references Fester-Bester Tester. Fester Bester Tester had nothing to do with the design of those two stoves.
The first M-1942 patent. References cited.
The improvement. Tullis worked for Coleman. Missing? Fester-Bester Tester.
Fester-Bester Tester? Too much time reading Mad Magazines in the 1970s.
Both stoves were stupid. The German Esbit was a better stove in every way. So was the American equivalent Heatab stove from Speaker. The Heatab stove was available at that time. The Boy Scouts, having adult leadership, who do have a clue, adopted the Heatab stove as the official Boy Scout stove after the war. Meaning the Boy Scouts had a better canteen, stove, and mess kit than the Army. It's clear the Boy Scouts didn't employ a dilettante to assist them.
See?
What's that? My German Esbit. I do not, as a general rule, collect German stuff. Exceptions? The stuff the GIs brought back. So rifle cleaning kits are high on the list. An Esbit stove. How do you know when your stuff sucks? The GIs take the enemy items and use those. If they can, they then bring them home. They weren't permitted to bring Panzerfausts home. No MG 42s either. I did see an MP 40. I'm also aware of a Japanese LMG shipped home. Exceptions? Pistols and rifles. Kids in their 20s like pistols and rifles. They couldn't keep theirs but could bring back a captured rifle and pistol. I have a Luger and a P38. A couple of K98s. Arisaka rifles as well. One small "made in France under occupation" pistol my uncle brought back.
The Esbit was a good stove. Small. Easy to carry. No gas fumes. No leaking gasoline all over your back in cold weather as it's running in the rucksack.
Much equipment was developed. It didn't perform well in Colorado. It was later given a harsh test at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. The verdict? Mainly useless. They'd already ordered it all and just threw in the towel.
I grew up a few hundred miles North of Camp McCoy. Where it gets a lot colder. I look at the stuff the dilettante helped develop and shake my head. Gas stove? Carried in a rucksack? It's going to leak. Sure as shit that stove is going to leak. Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Gasoline doesn't; it just gets colder. Trust me, I know. Brake fluid at 30 degrees below Fahrenheit, running down your hand onto your wrist, isn't something you'll forget. I didn't take ski trips to Vale. I fixed my car, outside, with no garage, in 30 below. I grew up in that environment. The stuff they developed was stupid.
- bestor.jpg (56.37 KiB) Viewed 897 times
That is not how patents work. I can design a grenade launcher for an M1 rifle. Picture the rifle with my grenade launcher in the patent. If the launcher is in some way unique, and I get the patent, that doesn't mean anyone used my launcher. Lots of people file "improvements" on existing items. That doesn't mean those patents are ever used.
The M-1941 was designed by Coleman. Fester-Bester Tester doesn't have any patents that early so we can rule that one out.
- Aladdin-1.jpg (48.24 KiB) Viewed 897 times
Aladdin designed the M-1942. They had issues with it. It was improved. Two patents cover the M-1942 and the improved version. Both are from Aladdin. Well, their parent company. The second references a Coleman patent as the improvement was to use some Coleman technology. Both patents reference the patents that lead to the stove. Neither patent references Fester-Bester Tester. Fester Bester Tester had nothing to do with the design of those two stoves.
- 1942-1.jpg (58.1 KiB) Viewed 892 times
The first M-1942 patent. References cited.
- 1942-2.jpg (53.45 KiB) Viewed 892 times
The improvement. Tullis worked for Coleman. Missing? Fester-Bester Tester.
Fester-Bester Tester? Too much time reading Mad Magazines in the 1970s.
Both stoves were stupid. The German Esbit was a better stove in every way. So was the American equivalent Heatab stove from Speaker. The Heatab stove was available at that time. The Boy Scouts, having adult leadership, who do have a clue, adopted the Heatab stove as the official Boy Scout stove after the war. Meaning the Boy Scouts had a better canteen, stove, and mess kit than the Army. It's clear the Boy Scouts didn't employ a dilettante to assist them.
- Fester.jpg (42.73 KiB) Viewed 890 times
- esbit-1.JPG (317.97 KiB) Viewed 889 times
What's that? My German Esbit. I do not, as a general rule, collect German stuff. Exceptions? The stuff the GIs brought back. So rifle cleaning kits are high on the list. An Esbit stove. How do you know when your stuff sucks? The GIs take the enemy items and use those. If they can, they then bring them home. They weren't permitted to bring Panzerfausts home. No MG 42s either. I did see an MP 40. I'm also aware of a Japanese LMG shipped home. Exceptions? Pistols and rifles. Kids in their 20s like pistols and rifles. They couldn't keep theirs but could bring back a captured rifle and pistol. I have a Luger and a P38. A couple of K98s. Arisaka rifles as well. One small "made in France under occupation" pistol my uncle brought back.
The Esbit was a good stove. Small. Easy to carry. No gas fumes. No leaking gasoline all over your back in cold weather as it's running in the rucksack.