This piece first ran in the November 2019 issue of EAA Sport Aviation.
This World War II escape-and-sustenance kit was developed by the U.S. Army Materiel Command and designed to be hidden in a jacket pocket and carried by air crew. The E-3 was considered a “personal aids” kit, and in addition to malted milk tablets, water purification tablets, and chewing gum, it also contains a hacksaw blade, matches, adhesive tape, and a brass compass that could be swallowed in an emergency and later passed and retrieved.