Not sure where to post this. Coleman Canada WW2 wartime lanterns are an interesting subset to general Coleman appliance collecting. Photo above from left to right are 242B made in A (first quarter) 1946, Empire 237 kerosene made in B/46, 242B made in A/46, and 242B made in C/43. The C/43 is interesting as it is one of the earliest Coleman Canada military production lanterns that I've seen, uses aluminium burner air tubes, an iron pressure pump head and a steel generator nut. 1942 - 1944 of these and painted collar examples are very uncommon to find, late 1946 to 1947 production end with nickel collars are most common. Founts on these are always heavy brass as is the nickel plated globe rest. Somewhat difficult appliances to clean as the paint is fragile being unprimed paint directly on brass. Painted collar examples are on unplated brass rather than nickel plated, painted inside and out, and appear from every year of production. These may be more common in Britain or European countries and a Dieppe era lantern would be quite interesting. cheers, Ken
Thanks for this post, Ken. I just picked up a C 43 dated 242B and found your information very helpful!
@Flygt Ken, Do you know if any of the Coleman lanterns were used by Canadian forces. I know the 500 stove with a khaki green paint (plus the occasional nickel fount) was an issue item but I've never seen any photographic evidence of lantern use. It would seem logical that they were used, but I've never seen them mentioned. Some of the 500s have a C/|\ stamp, others don't, seemed to be hit and miss. I'd love to find a marked lantern.
