Wiktionary
n. (context US military English) An individual canned, precooked, or prepared wet ration formerly issued to land forces in the US military.
Wikipedia
The C-Ration, or Type C ration, was an individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared wet ration. It was intended to be issued to U.S. military land forces when fresh food ( A-ration) or packaged unprepared food ( B-ration) prepared in mess halls or field kitchens was not possible or not available, and when a survival ration ( K-ration or D-ration) was insufficient. Development began in 1938 with the first rations being field tested in 1940 and wide-scale adoption following soon after. Operational conditions often caused the C-ration to be standardized for field issue regardless of environmental suitability or weight limitations.
The C ration was replaced in 1958 with the Meal Combat Individual (MCI). Although officially a new ration, the MCI was derived from and very similar to the original C ration, and in fact continued to be called "C rations" by American troops throughout its production life as a combat ration (1958–1980). Although the replacement for the MCI, the MRE, was formally adopted as the Department of Defense combat ration in 1975, the first large-scale production test did not occur until in 1978 with the first MRE I rations packed and delivered in 1981. While the MRE officially replaced the MCI in 1981, previously packed MCI rations continued to be issued until depleted.
Usage examples of "c-ration".
Meals, Ready to Eat--plastic packages of dehydrated food--were widely regarded by Marines as neither ready to eat nor meals, a poor substitute indeed for the canned C-rations they replaced.
C-rations was what they called ham and lima beans and we had other terms—.
The riceballs were easier to carry than the heavy C-ration tins and alleviated the diarrhea from which we all suffered.