Soviet Rations - Post WW II
Soviet Afghanistan War 24-Hour Mountain Ration Set
This is a departure from our normal line of reproduction rations, but there have been some requests from both the reenactor and the paintballer side of the ration eating masses.
This is a faithful reproduction of the Soviet "Mountain Ration". This ration was issued after the first year of war during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan showed that supply columns could not keep up with troops on the move, and that other rations available were generally designed to be used by mounted troops in vehicles, which made them not only unwieldy to transport in the troop's personal equipment bag, but hard to distribute fairly among troops.
After initial experimentation in the number and size of tins included in this ration, the Soviet directorate in charge of supply procurement decided in what was record time that the daily combat ration for "soldiers in mountainous terrain" was to be as follows:
Two tins of canned meat with vegetables and starch, in this case, one tin each of Chicken with Noodles and Beef with Vegetables. These are the proper Russian pop-tops without safety warnings (Safety warning is for counter-revolutionary capitalist aggressor, comrade!), which are proper for the post 1980 period. They are the real thing, and they are actually edible for your field needs!
1 pack of Instant Kasha (Porridge) in a plastic pouch laconically marked "Instant ('dissolved') Kasha". Even though no instructions were provided on these, any comrade serving in Afghanistan knew to add 120 ml (1/2 cup) to the porridge mix. These came in a variety of flavors and ingredients, such as "Buckwheat and Chicken", or "Oatmeal and Fruit". Yummy!
1 issue of Tea in the form of three strung sachets of tea with tags indicating "TEA" on one side and "Sufficient for 1/2 Liter 16 ounces" on the reverse. All three bags are sealed inside one plastic bag, and each will brew up a strong cup of black tea.
1 issue of Sugar, consisting of three individual clear bags marked "Sugar" in Cyrrilic.
As these rations were only barely at subsistence level for troops in action, additional rations were handed out, generally in the form of biscuits, so-called "Army Loaves". In order to round out the Afghanistan experience for you, tovarish, we are also including a packet of these crackers, which, albeit dull in flavor, add immensely to the caloric count of the ration, making this set a complete 24-hour ration, Ivan style! Authentic markings hermetically sealed fresh product. Surprise—these have as many calories as either of the main meal packs!
As an additional ration generally provided for troops on patrol where no fresh foods were available, a package of sweet biscuit wafers was issued in addition to the above. As we want to make sure that your patrol against the Mudjaheddin goes well, we are including one issue of these energy wafers, also. Hint-They pack calories, and together with one of your tea rations make a meal by themselves.
At between 1600 -1800 calories per day, the combined caloric intake of the ration was in no way comparable to the US Army 'Ration, Cold Weather', or the British 'Ration, 24-hour Arctic', but was a step toward a standardized ration for troops on the move. Frequently, we see troops carrying loaves of hard black bread, hard sausages, and tins of sweetened condensed milk along with this ration, to provide energy snacks. Please let us know if there is any interest in further expansion of the Russo-Afghanistan war ration line we currently have.
Even though the labels are properly marked for 1984 and later campaigning in Afghanistan and anywhere else Soviet troops did "guest appearances", the food stuffs used are 2006 production by the actual manufacturers of such goods to Russian forces.
NOTE: AUCTION IS FOR RATIONS ONLY; GUN, TROUSERS, SHELTER HALF AND HAT ARE NEITHER OFFERED NOR AVAILABLE. THEY ARE FOR DIMENSIONAL REFERENCE ONLY!!!
PRICE: $14.95 (no rubles please)
