Always had an interest in the WW2 era equipment - Vehicles, which I have had a few of ( Dodge and Morris ) and radios and now lanterns ! I recently picked up this US 1945 Mil Spec lantern and a Austramax marked D/\D ( Dept. of Defense ) which may be a post war made Austramax. I need a globe for the Mil Spec. A nice write up here. PROJECT MILSPEC 2018 Edition .
Same as. I have a few German WW2 Lanterns, one of which is running and the other i nned to get around to and stick some pictures up. My go to lantern is a Bundeswehr 829B, I also have a few others in nos condition.
Those WW2 Milspec lanterns used the standard Coleman model 220 glass globe and they are still available. Irritating lanterns to light and LOUD but once you get familiar with them they can work very well. ::Neil::
Ah thanks for that . I am a newcomer to the lantern scene. I did read the other forum posts re: the lower pressure and temperatures these mil spec run at. Leaded petrol is a unusual fuel in this application. Are these lanterns safe to use ? Any issues to watch out for ? Thanks
They are as safe as any gasoline lamp from the period. In other words yes they are. Subject to the usual caveat of pressure test and new seals Etc. They will work on just about any petrol fuel but as ever the generators will last much longer with a cleaner fuel such as Panel Wipe or Aspen4. The design is the result of a demand by the USQM for a lamp to run on the fuel used by their vehicles to simplify supply in the field. Coleman reckoned it couldn't be done but the smart guys in Aladdin made a generator anyway. A word of caution though. Don't ever take a blow torch anywhere near the generator. They are alluminium and melt easily. Found that out the hard way and there is no real need for you to repeat my experiment. ::Neil::
G'day @Handi-man, You're probably right. DofD did use Austramax lanterns for several decades. You don't shoe the top but for a WW2 version it would look something like this one 1946-49 "Austramax " Shellite or Recosol R55 in Australia. Nice Mil Spec lantern. Get it going!
Thanks for that early Austramax link and the info re: the mil spec . I do have a early Austramax, not sure of its date but it does have the aluminium meths heater tray. Austramax ?
The Austramax shown above is a 2/300 so it is quite likely from the late 1940s, so not from WW2. Still a nice lamp though. The one in the link is quite likely the earliest variant of the 2/300. You can see my example here.
This arrived today . Think it is a mil spec but not sure . The base reads Coleman Wichita KAN The date marks are 3 11 Kan
@Handi-man Can you post a picture of the date stamp, please? And... is that “Mil Spec” from Australia (left here by US military) or from the USA? Cheers Tony
That is not a Milspec. Milspec has a single mantle burner and an aluminium generator. That looks like a Coleman 220C which would be right for 1943. ::Neil::
Thanks for the replies . Hmmm this lantern has the 'US' stamp on it which usually indicates for military use ? What was the 1944 single burner conversion thingy that some of the mil spec lanterns have fitted ? I am still learning ! Anyway Tony, no its a ebay purchase . Contrary to popular belief The yanks left behind very little equipment ! They certaionly left behind lots of pregnant girls though !
Indeed the US does mean issued by the USQM but Coleman sold a lot of "civilian" type lanterns to the military as well. During WW2 all Coleman production was military. I don't think they made any table lamps in the period but all the lanterns models are possible so I would expect to see 220C, 228C and just maybe 236 and 237 and also just possiby/maybe 242B. I dont think I have seen any of those marked as US though. ::Neil::
The lantern could be a "220 BX" The "US" stamp on the bottom makes that a possibility. Check in at the Coleman Collectors Forum "Coleman Collectors Forum" . Lots of collectors there interested in all things Mil-Spec.
