WW2 Vehicle Camo

[Sgt.Squarehead]

The first picture may well be from 1945.....But It was definitely taken at APG, possibly shortly after the tank was repainted.

What's the source for these pics please?

[Pete H]

Absolutely fascinating chaps!

If'n I can chuck my two penneth in the ring, I would tend to go along with the feeling that if you think/feel it's ok/correct, then it's ok/correct and that the rivet counters and "experts" can go do nasty things to themselves.

These arguments have raged for years, back and forth concerning the correct tints/shades and application methods and not just concerning armour. The railway brigade and aircraft guys have similar spats ongoing. What I would put forward tho is that the relatively few colour photographs that exist of these vehicles aren't the "be all" and "end all" as far as colour goes. The film, processing, fading, lighting, the service life etc. etc. etc. will, and did, affect the final outcome, thus bringing us back to our own personal preferences/interpretations of that photograph.

Again, without definitive proof that a certain vehicle carried a particular camo scheme, who's to say what is correct and what isn't. Maybe the driver of a particular Tiger/Panther/whatever, got pee'd off one miserable grey boring day and decided to paint his tank sky blue pink with yellow dots? I can't say that it never happened and nor can anyone else. Unlikely, yes, but impossible,,,,,hmmmmmm.

As far as my very, very limited knowledge of German camo etc. goes, I can tell ya what my Pop told me. He had first hand contact with many of these vehicles, admittedly through a gunsight/binos etc. and he always maintained that no two of the ones he encountered, ever looked alike either in camo or colours. He also said that most of the ones he got a closer look at (i.e. knocked out/abandoned), looked like they had been painted with a yard brush by a blind, one-handed monkey (sic.).

My personal thoughts regarding the issue of spray painting equipment, tends to go along with the idea that these would have been handled by maintenance units only. I would have thought that the presence of a compressed air supply on a vehicle would have more likely been for "windy" type tools or for the attachment of trailers etc. that required compressed air for brakes.

Anyhoo, back to the discussion, keep it going fellas.

Regards

Pete

[D1fuN0]

Hiya Pete

Yeah, kinda what leaning towards idea is....

When we consider that a lot of what we are talking about is 70 odd years old, and that there isnt that much actual written refence on the subject (altough there are a LOT of books), then we kind of do have to go along with the 'if it looks right, and you like it...' idea.

Heres an example I was playing with last night, google search colour photos of Tigers in WW2. after about an hour of playing I found 12 different camo schemes.

Actually a very good example of a different camo is the AFV club Tiger (Late). Didnt really follow the 'norm' that we see.

Then again, if the german vehicles were painted like allied vehicles, we'd have nothing to talk about...

Sgt Squarehead...

The photos that Ive downloaded come from all over the place, but I think those two in particular come from WW2incolour.com.

Steve

(btw--- please go join our Achtung Panzer GB... we still looking for about a dozen folks)

Edited August 18, 2013 by MAD STEVE

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Pretty sure if the sky-blue-pink paint came out for anything German, the painter would have been put up against a wall and shot.....But your wider point is well made.

[DavidJ]

Bruce Culver's Panzer Colours has a section on "method of application". It states that the engine-driven spray gun was the most common method of application and other methods were sponges, brooms, mops, rags, hands and throwing buckets of paint or whitewash. The photographs on that page of the book show a King Tiger receiving an immaculate spray job using the engine-driven spray gun, a Sd kfz 250 having thick paint daubed on with a relatively small paintbrush, a Horch(?) personnel car being whitewashed with yard and straw brooms, and a Sd kfz 232(?) having paint applied with a sponge and bare hands.

The book is full of photographs showing how variable the camouflage finishes are . . . and then there are the other two volumes in the series.

Edited August 19, 2013 by DavidJ