piece may be used individually, or as a unitary three-compartment mess tray, accomplished by sliding the lid-plate's center divider onto the folding handle, and securing it to the handle by the ring-and-latch mechanisms. When latched, the kit can be held in a ready position by the user in one hand to receive US Army's 'A' or 'B' field kitchen rations. As the soldier passed along the mess line, food service personnel would dole out hot items first, often meat followed by vegetables, potatoes, and other side dishes, ostensibly separated by the tray dividers. While a soldier could use the handled "Meat can, body" from his kit to cook raw food, it is really too shallow and thin to serve as an effective skillet, and was usually restricted to heating the canned meat ration. After 1938, the "Meat can, body" was used to heat the meat and vegetable component of the C-ration, or to reconstitute breakfast items such as C-ration powdered eggs. To complement the mess kit, soldiers used a stamped cup especially molded to fit over the bottom of the US Army's standard one-quart (950 ml) canteen. This cup could be used to boil water for coffee, or for heating or reconstituting soup or other foods. During World War II, units preparing heated combat rations in the "Meat can, body" or canteen cup mainly used locally procured combustible materials or Sterno fuel units of jellied alcohol. The latter could be stored within an issued folding stove for deployment when heating food, soup, or coffee in the field. After World War II, a specially-designed Esbit stove was issued to fit over the cup-and-canteen unit, similar to designs used in other armies. German and Japanese During World War II, the German and Japanese Imperial Army used mess kits that were similar in several ways. In storage, their dimensions were similar to US mess kits, but were split widthwise instead of lengthwise, around two-thirds of the body, creating a pot with handle and a cup. The German mess kit (Essgeschirr) was designed in 1908, a modification of a Swiss design from 1882. Originally, the base held two litres, marked into 1/4 sections, and the lid holding another 1/4. This model replaced the 1850 Kochgeschirr. The new 1908 Essgeschirr was made of aluminium and not designed for cooking; only to contain food distributed from field kitchens. The early models of the 1908 were painted