# Gas Rationing During World War II (Real Purpose) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761 "2007-07-06T18:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/41 "2007-07-09T21:35:27Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] In fact, Air Force personnel were always in the rear area. [/QUOTE] Don’t ask, don’t tell? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/42 "2007-07-09T22:01:54Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] …The army took VD prevention veeerrrrrrryyyyy seriously and the rate in WWII was astonishingly low as compared to previous wars… [/QUOTE] Didn’t Eleanor Roosevelt make a failed attempt to have condoms and diaphrams issued to nurses, WACs, and WAVES? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/43 "2007-07-09T23:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] A lot of the fires in the Texas panhandle were sludge pits burning. They have burned them in my lifetime, but not any more. When an oil well was drilled, they would run crude into a pit until the well was completed. After completion, the salt water produced would still have an oil scum on it. This salt water used to be left to evaporate and the oil scum would build up over time. Both of these oil sludges would be burned off, we used to be able to see them quite often, columns of black smoke on the horizon. [/QUOTE] Could be. All I know is what we were told. There did seem to be a lot of fires for what you describe, though. There was a lot of aviation fuel being produced. My group alone used about 18000 gallons on every mission and there was one mission a day, weather permitting. WWII was far from a normal situation and I can well imagine that there was more of the heavier gasoline, or kerosine, or diesel fuel being made than there was need for, transportation for or storage for. > [@iamthewalrus](#): > > I have a hard time believing this. Just burning gasoline like it was a waste product? Couldn’t they hook a gasoline engine up to a generator and use it for something? That wouldn’t waste tires, at least. I suppose as much as they could use around the refinery was used but as I noted above there was a lot of aviation fuel being made. The thing is with fractional distillation you take the molecules as they are in the crude. When you boil of the lighter ones you get a lot of heaviers ones in spite of anything you can do. Had they had catalytic crackers they could have made lighter products out of those heavy ones and there wouldn’t have been so much waste. The thing about war is in addition to its many other drawbacks it is terribly wasteful. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/44 "2007-07-09T23:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Don’t ask, don’t tell? [/QUOTE] Well if not in it at least around it. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/45 "2007-07-10T02:39:10Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] Once a month or so the order came to “fall out in raincoats and **overshoes**.” That meant nothing but raincoats and overshoes for penis inspection looking for VD. [/QUOTE] Why would footwear affect the short arms inspection? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/46 "2007-07-10T02:47:57Z")
The overshoes were called for in case some 19 year old private had been dreaming about Betty Grable so when the order came to “Skin 'em back and milk 'em down!” he got at little _too_ excited, he wouldn’t ruin anybody’s boots. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761/47 "2007-07-10T03:46:23Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] Why would footwear affect the short arms inspection? [/QUOTE] Who knows? There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the army way. Actually a lot of us just wore GI shoes and I don’t recall anyone getting in trouble over it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-rationing-during-world-war-ii-real-purpose/410761.md?page=2)