I hope that we can come up with a definitive answer to this question.
According to Nicholson in “The Canadians in Italy, 1943 – 1945” the Canadian tanks were camouflaged before embarkation.
(p33-34) “May passed into June, and the deadline set by the War Office for the completion of preparation found the Brigade in a satisfying state of readiness. By the middle of the month, when the time came for embarkation, units had received their full scale of equipment, their tanks were camouflaged and waterproofed, and officers and men had completed five days' privilege leave.”
However, while photos show that tanks from the Ontario and Calgary Regiments were indeed camouflaged, the tanks of the Three Rivers Regiment appear not to be. This may be explained by the fact that TRR formed part of the assault force, with earlier embarkation and sailing dates, and therefore had less time to prepare.
The slow assault convoy which included the LSTs carrying TRR left the UK for Sicily, on the 19th of June. The other two tank regiments sailed as part of the follow-up force, and only reported to their LSTs on the 20th of June with a sailing date on the 25th.
I hope that someone can add to this.
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