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About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing...

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Matt

06-03-2004 14:48:18

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Found this in an old book, thought it would be an interesting paragraph to share. Author was a UK farmer, talking about WWII:

"Apart from 'blackout' petrol is our chief difficulty. The powers that be do not realize that intensive farming requires far more petrol than general extensive farming. What a wicked waste it is that one often has to keep a tractor running on paraffin when muck carting (we have six hundred loads a year) when a drop of petrol would start the tractor."

Was an interesting read to me. Intensive, diversified farm (Dairy replacement, grain seed, sheep, pigs, poultry), they started re-building a run-down place around 1920 when he & his brother where in their late teens.

Farming Ladder
by George Henderson
avaiable online at: Link

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richard

06-04-2004 16:19:13

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Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing... in reply to Matt, 06-03-2004 14:48:18

I have a 1944 Farmall H that was is an origional wartime lease/lend tractor,with it came the log book that was issued to it by the govenment which lists all it's owners from new,the log book is also stamped by the 'Ministry of Fuel and Power' at 3 monthly intervals right up to the early 1950's when petrol came off ration,the tractor is also on rubbers,most that came over were on steels with 5th gear blanked off.The farmer that had it from new must have put forward a very good argument to the War Agricultural Dept to be allocated a U.S. built tractor on rubbers,most had to be content with a standard Fordson on spade lugs.I think farmers were allowed 2 gallons of petrol a week to start the tractors,but I don't think the supply of Vaporising Oil was limited.The nearest modern day equvilent to V.O. is Avtur but a good mix is 4 gallons of kerosene,1 gallon of petrol, with 2 pints of diesel added,don't forget that everything is bigger in America than it is here----exept for Gallons!

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buickanddeere

06-05-2004 15:07:08

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Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationin in reply to richard, 06-04-2004 16:19:13

Think it was tough in North America with all its resources and safety during WWII? How about the poor civilians living under German and Japanese governments at the time?

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Will in Ohio

06-04-2004 12:46:39

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Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing... in reply to Matt, 06-03-2004 14:48:18

My Dad said the gasoline that was available to the public during the war had a very low octane rating, he thought it was 73Oc. I guess they could make more by lowering the octane. What Dad called "white gas" is what I believe the Brits call paraffin, and it is basically Coleman lantern fuel. I've heard you can use Coleman fuel to run a lawnmower. He graduated from high school in June, 1943, and was in the S. Pacific fighting in November 1943.

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Matt

06-04-2004 18:35:00

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Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationin in reply to Will in Ohio, 06-04-2004 12:46:39

I think all the gasoline of the age was typically lower in octane than today...I thought it was just "technology" at the time more than rationing, though I suppose I could be wrong.

In the U.S. gasoline rationing was very much to conserve not gas -- but rubber. We were the world's largest petroleum producer back then, but many of the rubber plantations where under the Rising Sun. I suppose conserving rubber also made the rest of the car last longer, too.

That's why farmers in the U.S. had unlimited gasoline, while the U.K. had to conserve it since it was being shipped to them by boat.

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Brandon

06-05-2004 00:35:13

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Re: Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rati in reply to Matt, 06-04-2004 18:35:00

Higher octane gasoline could be made (110-130?? Aviation fuel, etc), though it was probably more costly to make. Most vehicles back then didn't need high grade stuff to run anyway.

On another note...I've watched quite a few "pilot training" movies from the period. In most when talking about power settings, they note that the training planes are using a lower grade fuel (something like 90 I think). They must have been trying to save every drop of the good stuff for overseas. With the 110-130 more power could be made, since you could get more "boost" without preignition.

Brandon
My Industrial John Deere website
John Deere Diesels
The LaGrange Engine Club

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Nor. Al

06-04-2004 06:18:33

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Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing... in reply to Matt, 06-03-2004 14:48:18

I was 10 yrs. old when the war begin, and remember those days, somehow or other they still made peppermint candy sticks and we would break the sticks and drop them in a glass of tea to sweeten it, tires with boots in them were common, hard to get 22 rifle ammo, we had stamps to purchase gas. I remember that in 1946 the Ford cars 1st. made after the war came out without bumpers and the owners would bolt 2x4's to the supports until they became available. It was a different population back then as they were not gripers or complainers and felt it was the least that they could do to support the effort.

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Allan

06-04-2004 06:57:05

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Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationin in reply to Nor. Al, 06-04-2004 06:18:33

Amen to that!!!!

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Bob

06-03-2004 17:16:50

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Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing... in reply to Matt, 06-03-2004 14:48:18

An old boss of mine told me that his mother remembers most items that were rationed, Shoes, gas, oil, tires, sugar, most meats, eggs. In fact He said his mom remembers a relative that had a black market on eggs---I guess he made a little side money on that. I remember my dad saying that he got one new pair of shoes per year. Rough times, but we kicked their butts in and dropped the A-bomb.

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Allan

06-03-2004 15:15:41

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Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationing... in reply to Matt, 06-03-2004 14:48:18

Matt,

People of that age went thru total He**, no matter the country.

I have nothing but complete respect for anyone & everyone of that era.

Allan

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Dick2

06-03-2004 15:34:56

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Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rationin in reply to Allan, 06-03-2004 15:15:41

I remember the rationing program during WWII. We had all of the gas and tractor fuel that we needed for farming in ND, but tires, farm machinery and sugar were rationed. Our city relatives would try to buy gas when they had used up their ration cards, but Dad said no. Dad got an allocation from the rationing board to buy a 1946 IH W4 tractor. Rationing had ended but new tractors were in short supply when his name came up on the list and he got a new 1948 JD G. A few weeks later his name came up on the list for a new MM U - we'd have been much better off waiting for the U.

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Bill(Wis)

06-03-2004 16:22:18

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Re: Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war rati in reply to Dick2, 06-03-2004 15:34:56

We were short of everything then. The young men had all gone away. Young boys and women were pressed into service. I learned to drive a WC Allis at an unbelievably young age. First with my grandfather riding along and soon after by myself. Our neighbors had John Deere tractors and had a hard time convincing the rationing board that they needed gasoline to get them started. They would start on as little gas as possible by switching over to fuel oil almost immediately after starting. You could see the smoke from those JDs for miles. We never took any trips with the car due to tire and gas rationing and new cars were next to impossible to buy. After the war rationing ended, but along came the polio epedemic so we still didn't go anywhere. Some people call those "the good old days".

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Darren in TN

06-04-2004 07:13:49

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Re: Re: Re: Re: About gasoline, kerosene, and war in reply to Bill(Wis), 06-03-2004 16:22:18

I'm a young fellow and have never felt any of the hardship you guys talk about, but my grandmother did give me some old ration coupon books-- what an eye-opener. I hope we never have to do that again, or wait in long gas lines like in the 70's, but if we do I pray that we'll have the strength to buck up and get the job done like the generations before us did.

Darren

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