A Tommy cooker was a compact, portable, solidified alcohol fuelled stove issued to British troops (Tommies) in World War I. It was notoriously ineffective and a variety of improvised alternatives were in use, but a refined version remained in use during World War II. The term also came to be applied by the late Panther

Panther tank

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...

 and Tiger

Tiger I

Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...

 German tank crews as a derogatory nickname for the Sherman tank

M4 Sherman

The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...

, which on earlier models, mainly due to a combination of obsolete armour, unprotected shells, and the highly flammable fuel, acquired an early reputation for "brewing up" when hit.

The British army still uses compact portable solid fuel (hexamine

Hexamine

Hexamethylenetetramine is a heterocyclic organic compound with the formula 6N4. This white crystalline compound is highly soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It has a cage-like structure similar to adamantane. It is useful in the synthesis of other chemical compounds, e.g. plastics,...

) stoves.