The US Army truck mounted field kitchen

In the US Army in WW 2, most field kitchens were mounted into a 2 1/2 ton CCKW truck. A 1-ton cargo trailer might be provided. Both the truck and trailer were normally seconded from vehicles on-hand in the unit to be converted for field kitchen use.



The exact layout could vary depending on the desires of the cooks and what the unit could accomplish in terms of conversion work. In the picture above, you can see the standard 3 M1937 field range cabinets (stoves) on the right. More commonly, these were placed at the front of the truck bed across the width and protected from the cab by a fire-proof material. They were always chained in place securely.
The unit itself, depending on skills and materials available would construct a pantry cabinet and ice box for installation in the truck as well. These could vary some in design but there were standard designs available. In the photo you see such a locally constructed pantry at the front of the bed. An icebox of local design or procurement is on the right ahead of the stoves.
The troop seats were usually removed from the interior of the bed and resecured in place on the outside of it for use as serving counters or to give the cooks extra space. The tarpaulin canvas cover was authorized to have the frame raised to make it possible to stand in the bed with sufficient headspace. The cover could have additional material sewn on to restore its length to cover the sides of the truck. This could also be staked out to the sides to provide some cover for troops coming alongside the vehicle to get their food.
The stoves were designed to operate (normally) on gasoline but could be converted for wood firing in a pinch.
Each M1937 stove unit came with a set of pots and pans along with cooking utensils.
Where a 1-ton trailer was provided, this would normally carry two garbage cans that converted into a cleaning station for the kitchen with a hot wash unit and one or two rinse cans. 5 gallon cans of gasoline were carried for fueling the stoves. Additional food items, tables, etc. could be added as the unit saw fit.


Here's a truck with the range units in the most usual position. On the left are two 10 gallon cook pots on stands (these came with the ranges). On the right are fuel cans and ahead of that a pantry unit that doubles as a work surface.

Normally, one or two lights were installed in the roof of the truck to allow the cooks to work after dark. You can see one in the picture immediately above.

It was entirely possible that this type of field kitchen could be in operation while the truck was moving, at least on a road.