This Marinha Portuguesa (Portuguese Navy) 24-hour Ração Individual de Combate or Individual Combat Ration was supplied by Albisabores, writes Bob Morrison.
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Portuguese sailors seldom have a requirement for combat rations packs, as of course almost every naval ship has a galley, but the Portuguese Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros) branch of the navy is essentially no different in role from any other elite NATO Marine / Commando formation and so does have such a requirement when deployed ashore on exercises or operations. I therefore tend to think of the Marinha RIC as being a Marine ration pack; the Portuguese Army (Exército Português) has a very similar bagged ration pack.
Weighing 2150g, this Albisabores version of the Marinha Ração Individual de Combate (RIC) was contained in a tough opaque plastic outer bag with a faint two-tone olive drab camouflage pattern effect. According to the nutritional information printed on the reverse beneath the contents list, the edible contents of this this Normal Menu No. 3 pack should provide 3233 kcal of energy. Incidentally, printing on the bag was in Portuguese only and although there was a Lot Number there was no Expiry Date on the pack, so this might be an evaluation sample rather than an issue pack; constituent components did, however, have at least a year to run before expiry.
Breakfast contents are listed as: 2x (20g) Instant Coffee; 1x Sweet Biscuits (listed as 150g but actually 4x 30g); and 2x (20g) Fruit Jam. Lunch contents were: 1x (120g) Tuna in Vegetable Oil; 1x (350g) Lamb with Vegetables; and 1x (50g) Dehydrated Fruit. Dinner contents were 1x (120g) Mackerel in Oil; and 1x (350g) Oriental Chicken. Other Edible Contents were listed as: 1x (125g) Salted Biscuits; 1x (20g) Chocolate Bar; 2x (8g) Sugar; 1x (200ml) Fruit Juice; 1x (50g) Cocktail Nuts; Powdered Isotonic Drink(1x 20g but actually 4x 5g); 1x (1g) Salt; 2x Chewing Gum; 4x Pectoral (i.e. Cough) Sweets. Non-edible contents were: 4x Water Purifying Tablet; 1 pack of Paper Napkins (Tissues); 1x set of Disposable Cutlery (i.e. knife / fork / spoon); 1x Plastic Garbage Bag; 4x Chemical Heater Packs; 2x Individual Wet Wipes; and 1x Information Note (not included, but printed on reverse of pack).
As is obvious from the photos, almost all of the edible components are commercial brands of either Portuguese or Spanish origin, and there are similarities with the contents of the Angolan 24-Hour Ração de Alimentos from the same supplier; however the main meal courses are in retort pouches rather than cans. Sabor Lusitano, which translates as ‘Flavour of Lusitania’, is a Portuguese brand name used by Albisabores for the last decade. The only thing I found a little unusual with this pack is that four Flameless Ration Heaters, with Albisabores branding, are included even though there are only two meals and there are no beverage bags for heating water for the coffee.
¤ For my next article in this Field Rations series I plan to open a recently acquired Canadian Individual Meal Pack, as issued to troops deployed in Estonia on KEVADTORM 2023, but before that I have some individual updates / reviews to pen on Dutch, French, Norwegian and British freeze-dried and dehydrated meal pouch samples picked up at recent expos & exhibitions. 🙂
[images © Bob Morrison]
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