The Tommy cooker was a compact, portable stove, issued to the troops of the British Army ("Tommies") during World War I and World War II. During World War II, "Tommy cooker" was also a derogatory nickname for the M4 Sherman tank. The British Army continued using compact solid fuel stoves until recently when they were replaced by stoves powered by alcohol gel.

Fuel

Tommy cookers were fuelled by a substance referred to as "solidified alcohol"

World War I

During World War I, some soldiers regarded the Tommy cooker as ineffective. One soldier complained that it took two hours to boil half a pint of water. A variety of commercial or improvised alternatives were in use.

WWI variants

WW1 Manufacturers

The British cookers were made by Tommy's Cooker Co., Limited, The Little Kitchener Co. and the "Pals" Cooker by Matthias Jackson & Sons.

World War II

Refined versions of the Tommy cooker remained in use during World War II, and were still generally known as Tommy cookers. They used gelled fuel in a tin can; a steel ring fitted to the can supported a mess tin.

WWII Variants

Tommy cookers came in a number of different forms. The two most popular designs used were: The instructions inside are like a newspaper cutting and say the following;

Replacement

Until recently, the British Army still used compact portable hexamine fuel tablet stoves, replacing them with BCB Fire Dragon alcohol gel fuel stoves.

Nickname for Sherman tank

The term is also alleged to have been applied by German tank crews as a derogatory nickname for the Sherman tank whose earlier models acquired a reputation for bursting into flames when hit, due to improper ammunition storage, though no evidence appears to exist beyond anecdote