There are photos of American made and dated cans from 1941 and 1942. That story had been around a long time but was also suspect as it might have been a cover story for a more clandestine operation. The German can of which the British version is practically a dead on copy was produced throughout the war. The Americans experimented briefly with a can of that type which was furnished to the USMC when they arrived in Australia.
However, the stick welding assembly both styles used was replaced by spot welding and the standard American gas can and its cousin the water can was born. We lined the large-mouth water can for obvious reasons and did not like the gas cans. Once you put gas into a "water/food" can, you can get sick from the next fill-up of water/food!
While the Brits produced their version for the Allies, the Magnatex plant in the UK produced an American version for the US forces specifically. I believe we shipped the Magnatex plant to the UK for set up.
The biggest problem I have found with the American cans is the production of poorly designed gaskets. The originals had a RIB near the edge and later gov't replacements did not...that little ridge seems to have helped to seal the screw-top better than the plain flat gasket.
The original German design was such an improvement for shipping large numbers of filled and stacked cans over the "flimsy" style which was more like a use once and discard crappy design that here we are 73 years later and if you ask anyone what a "jerry can" is, they know exactly what it is and you could tell them to get one off your truck or out of the garage and anyone with a snit of automobile familiarity will come up with the right item.
Fuel, container, gasoline......doh the heck with it...grab me that jerry can over there!
