[–] SIayfire122 ago
I picked mine up at the surplus store too. The 51s were a few cents more than the 38s. Still $0.15 vs $0.10 isn't a deal breaker, or whatever the price was. I don't know exactly when they were introduces, but I do know the p38s came long before the p51s. I believe the military currently uses the p51s in their large ration cans designed for feeding large groups of people back at camp. I don't know if they still use the p38 since they've swapped from individual canned rations to MREs.
[–] Smells_Like_Tacos ago
In longer term military kitchens they would use an industrial opener for time reasons. You cant buy time.