Aluminum drinking cup, 1894-1914

Soldiers have a heavy load to carry. In addition to their clothing and weapons, they have to carry everything they need to provide themselves with the bare essentials: Weather protection, warmth, food and drink. However, this equipment had to be as light as possible to minimize the strain on the soldiers during marches. At the end of the 19th century, a new metal promised relief: aluminum.

Aluminum was first introduced to the public in 1855 at the World Exhibition in Paris. At that time, however, it was still more expensive than gold due to the complex manufacturing process and was primarily used to produce luxury goods such as jewelry. Nevertheless, Napoleon III saw the potential of the new metal for military applications, for example to reduce the weight of helmets, uniform buttons and harnesses. He therefore promoted the development of an aluminum industry in France. In Germany, the first aluminum factory was founded in Bremen-Hemelingen in 1885, but only existed for a few years because there were too few customers and the light metal could now be produced much more cheaply thanks to the invention of fused-salt electrolysis. The simpler and cheaper production now made it interesting for the military, which is why the Prussian Ministry of War initially had tent fittings made from aluminum. After health concerns had been allayed by tests, it was also used for canteens and cooking utensils. This was followed by the breakthrough of the material for civilian cookware.

From around 1894, the canteen came with a separate drinking cup with two folding handles. This was carried in the haversack. These aluminum drinking cups were only produced until October 1914, after which the shortage of this light metal began in Germany.

Aluminum was mainly imported from neutral Switzerland. Alumina, from which aluminum could be extracted, was available in Germany; however, there was initially only one smelting plant, which belonged to the Swiss aluminum industry and supplied less than 10% of the aluminum required in peacetime. In order to become less dependent on imports, three small aluminum plants were set up in Germany in 1915 and 1916, partly with prisoners of war and in secret. However, the aluminum produced in Germany was of poorer quality due to the contaminated alumina. The increasing wartime demand for equipment, projectile parts and semi-finished products for the construction of airplanes and airships could hardly be met. In addition, aluminum replaced non-ferrous metals such as copper, which could no longer be imported due to the trade blockade. Aluminum replaced copper, for example, in the production of ammunition, in the electrical industry and alloys. As a result, there was no longer any production for the civilian market and drinking cups were once again made from sheet steel instead of aluminum.