Survival Lighters: OV-1 and SRU-21/P, is a guide book for collectors that contains information about the two "fire starter, butane" survival lighters that were issued to air crews during and after the Viet Nam War. This book also includes new information about the "hybrid" lighter that was produced by the last contractor of the SRU-21/P "Fire Starter, Butane" survival lighter. I have included information about this last faulty lighter - that cost Army air crews their survival lighter - from a new source in Annex - Z of the Appendix. Topics covered in this book are: butane lighter nomenclature, butane lighter operation, butane lighter comparison photos, butane lighter measurements, survival kits and vests that these lighters were issued in, common miss-conceptions and fairy tales, refueling the OV-1 and SRU-21/P survival lighters and re-flinting the OV-1 and SRU-21/P survival lighters. Also included in this book is information and photos of the "Hot Wet Environment" Survival Kit butane lighter made by Gene W. Gobels and Associates of Escondido CA - that many vets think was a predecessor of the US Air Force SRU-21/P "Fire Starter, Butane" lighter. This small, highly focused, book was originally intended to be a humble annex to the great work that Michael S. Breuninger created for all collectors of "US Combat Air Crew Survival Equipment". It has become a “handbook” that I will update. (Currently it is Version 1.3)*

Paper reproductions of the Change-1 version of TM 55-8465-215-10 June 1970, SRU-21/P Operator's Manual is available from SSI Press. Also available is a quality print reproduction of the US Army Drawing (11-1-1873) for the SRU-21/P Vest that was issued as a Survival Kit component and Vest location diagram. See Annex - 4 in the Appendix for ordering information.
* corrected some date errors and other errors and typos
Update: added Chapter link TOC