The jerrycan is a rectangular steel container for fuel or water, originally designed by the German military in the 1930s. It had important design features such as being pourable without a spout and having a plastic sheath. The British named it “jerry can” and it eventually became the standard term for any similarly shaped container. Today, plastic designs are more common.
A jerrycan, also known as a jerrycan, is a steel container for fuel or water that is roughly rectangular in shape. The term originally applied to a specific design of container, which originated with the German military in the 1930s, but many people now use the term to refer to any similarly shaped fuel container. The canisters are durable, reliable and store fuel with minimal waste.
German military engineers developed the first canister in the late 1930s. The container was known as a Wehrmachtkanister or army container. The Wehrmachtkanister had a number of important design features. Unlike many contemporary fuel containers, it could be poured without a separate spout. It was also clad in a plastic sheath, which meant it could be used to carry water and fuel.
The container also had a number of other important features. The flat shape meant the cans could be stored with a minimum of wasted space. The two halves of the container required only a single weld to join them, making production quick and efficient. Additionally, the top of the can had three handles, meaning the containers could easily be passed from hand to hand when loading or unloading. A single soldier could carry four cans at once by pressing the outer and inner handles together, although this was impractical with full canisters.
Paul Pleiss, an American engineer, acquired a number of these canisters in 1939, but the US military was slow to adopt the design. The British, however, admired German design. British troops made extensive use of captured German fuel canisters in the early years of World War II. It was during this period that the Wehrmachtkanister acquired the nickname “jerry can”, which was derived from “Jerry”, the British slang nickname for Germans.
The German fuel canister design eventually impressed the Allies, and by mid-war the Americans and British were both using fuel canisters derived from the Wehrmachtkanister. “Jerrycan” has become the standard term for a steel fuel or water container. Eventually, the German origin of the term was largely forgotten.
Designs based on the original Wehrmachtkanister remain in use worldwide, although most canisters designed from the last quarter of the 20th century onwards are plastic rather than metal. “Jerrycan” has become the common term for any container of water or fuel with a roughly rectangular shape and an integral handle.
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