Editing C-ration (section)

{{Short description|U.S. military ration of prepared, canned food}}
[[Image:Crations-museumdisplay.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A selection of United States military C-ration cans from [[World War II]] with items displayed. Note that the [[Old Gold (cigarette)|Old Gold cigarettes]] and vanilla [[Caramel|caramels]] were not part of the C-ration.]]The '''C-ration''' (officially '''Field Ration, Type C''') was a [[United States military ration]] consisting of prepared, [[Canning|canned]] wet foods. They were intended to be served when fresh or packaged unprepared food was unavailable, and survival rations were insufficient.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-18 |title=The Alphabet Soup of Army Rations |url=https://blog.fold3.com/the-alphabet-soup-of-army-rations/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Fold3 HQ |language=en-US}}</ref> It was replaced by the similarly canned [[Meal, Combat, Individual ration|Meal, Combat, Individual]] (MCI) in 1958; its modern successor is the [[retort pouch]]-based [[Meal, Ready-to-Eat]] (MRE), introduced in 1980.

Development of the C-ration began in 1938. The first rations were field-tested in 1940, and wide-scale adoption followed soon after. Operational conditions often caused the C-ration to be standardized for field issue regardless of environmental suitability or weight limitations. Though the C-ration was replaced in 1958, the new MCI was very similar to the C-ration, and was indeed still nicknamed the "C-ration" until its replacement by the MRE in the late 1970s.<ref name="MEY">Meyer, A.I. and [[Mary Klicka|Klicka]], M.V., ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120419155626/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA127795 Operational Rations, Current and Future of the Department of Defense]'', Technical Report Natick TR-82/031 (September 1982)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MRE History |url=https://www.mreinfo.com/mres/mre-history/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=MRE Info |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mason |first1=Vera C. |last2=Meyer |first2=Alice I. |last3=Klicka |first3=Mary V. |date=1982-06-01 |title=Technical Report TR-82/013: Summary of Operational Rations |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.21236/ada131903 |journal=U.S. Army Natick Research & Development Laboratory |location=Fort Belvoir, VA|doi=10.21236/ada131903 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The C-ration differs from other American alphabetized rations such as the [[A-ration]], consisting of fresh food; [[B-ration]], consisting of packaged, unprepared food; [[D-ration]], consisting of military [[chocolate]]; [[K-ration]], consisting of three balanced meals; and [[emergency rations]], intended for emergencies when other food or rations are unavailable.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=[[U.S. Department of the Army]] |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1102669230 |title=Ration Breakdown Point Operations |date=1967 |publisher=U.S. Government Publication Office |location=United States |oclc=1102669230}}</ref>