Caunter Carrier Scheme Original pics.

[kevin powles]

Hi, Painting one of the carriers in Caunter and want to get it right, I have swatches of the original colours and am looking for the correct places for the straight lines. What I want to do is pull together all known original photos together in this thread.

any pics you have please post.

thanks kevin.

[kevin powles]

Hi, Particulary interested in front and rear views.

kevin.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Hi Kevin,

Did you search this forum already? Look for Mike Starmer's books, he researched coulors and schemes from original sources, all you need is there.

Regards,
Hanno

[kevin powles]

Hi, Yes I do hve this book, but I am still a little cofused about areas around the front fenders and rear of the carrier, you will understand if you read the book and have a carrier.

kevin.

[Lynn Eades]

My knowledge in this area, is pretty much zip, but I doubt that any Canadian MkI* universals, were ever painted in caunter camoflage. I think you would find them all to be British built carriers in that pattern.(I am ignoring the Australian LP1)
Maybe someone (Mike S.? ) might like to tune in and wise me up.

[RichardT10829]

Starmer is the chap to speak with... Kevin email him his knowlege on the subject is vast.... i spent ages discussing schemes with him for my carrier.... what i will say though is if you have used the current pattern light stone. it is the wrong shade (so i am told...and going from starmers swatches would tend to agree)

also caunter itself is a nightmare as from different dates the colours changed, some were a number of shades of light green and beige over light stone.... others were blue light stone and slate/grey....

[Ben]

A few more from an IWM collection showing a column of Brens with a universal leading after arriving in Crete. I like how the commanding officer seems to have the "new" universal and the rest of the unit have the older Brens. I've only included the shots showing the UC as the brens aren't in the caunter scheme. One of the ones you posted is the last in the series.

Your turn for some Scout shots now ;-)

Ben

[kevin powles]

Ben, Nice pics, more info attached, shame the original Caunter CARRIER paint drawing is not bigger for better detail.

kevin.

[kevin powles]

Hi, I have applied a coat of 'Portland stone' as the base coat to the 1941 carrier and have ordered the two contrasting colours ('silver grey' and 'slate')for the Caunter scheme as directed in Mike's book, I plan to do the 1940 Carrier in a base colour of 'Light Stone' and apply the same two contrasting colours over the top.

So both carriers in Caunter, one with Portaland stone base colour and the other in Light stone base colour. I think this would be correct, it's all pretty confusing reading up on this subject, I plan to study as many original Caunter carrier pictures as possible and draw up some lines on the carriers for painting.

Mike's book confuses me with the front on picture and the looking down picture, If you study the area of the front drivers wing in the pictures, they depict something different in each picture??????????.

Any comment or help appreciated.

You see Matilda tanks restored in Caunter with a striking pale blue in the colour scheme, I understand this was due to Airfix getting the paint code wrong in the instructions for early models and its stuck ever since?.

kevin.

[kevin powles]

Hi, What if I go for the Malta Camo Scheme?, over the Portland Stone?.

The Pattern

The pattern, which was only used in Malta, had two main variations;
Light vehicles, guns, generators, motorcycles, tanks, etc. which had an irregular outline were painted in a pattern resembling the rubble walls which bordered each and every field. This consisted of shapeless blotches of light stone paint, with a darker colour (dark green or dark brown mostly, but sometimes any dark shade available) between the blotches.

Larger vehicles, especially those that had a squarish outline had the stone-coloured paint applied in rectangular blocks to resemble walls of buildings. The darker colour would thus be in straight lines to mimic the mortar and the gaps between the blocks. These vehicles would be parked next to a farmhouse and camouflaged further to resemble an extension of the building.

If the vehicle to be painted was in light stone colour, the dark pattern only was applied.
If on the other hand it was in green or dark earth, the light stone blotches would be painted on, leaving the original colour showing between them. In this case the census ( or WD ) number would not be painted over, leaving a dark patch with the white numbers on it.

Sometimes it is possible to tell from photos how the pattern was applied. If the stones had rounded corners, the stone colour was probably applied over a dark background, whilst if they had sharp angular corners the dark paint was probably applied on a stone-coloured background.

For such a small country, Malta has an amazing wealth of history. Due to its geographical position, Malta’s importance in the battle for the Mediterranean and North Africa was inversely proportional to its size!
Malta was awarded the George Cross for not only enduring the heaviest bombing campaign of WW2, but also for taking the fight back to the enemy.

In such a scenario, camouflage was of vital importance for survival. For this reason a camouflage scheme was devised for Malta, and was applied to all equipment destined to be exposed to the enemy. All cars, trucks, motorcycles, field guns, tanks etc. were ‘given the treatment’. Even steel helmets were painted, and not only those used by the services but also those issued to the ARP, the Police, the Public Works, and others.The Painting

This would usually be done by hand, and various factors, such as the availability of paint in suitable colours, the ability of the individual entrusted with the job, and his interpretation of the official instructions would all be working against any uniformity of results.
The ‘rubble wall’ effect sometimes ended up resembling pebbles, while the building block pattern could give one the impression that the builder was completely ignorant of his trade! A wartime photo even shows a truck with the blocks painted in VERTICAL courses! Another photo shows square blocks placed in a grid pattern. So much for blending in with buildings…..

Smaller items were usually not camouflaged but only painted in light stone to show their military ownership. Bicycles, petrol cans, tools, etc. did not have enough area to take the camouflage pattern, so were just left in light stone colour.

In an effort to further improve the effect, sand was sometimes sprinkled over the freshly-painted surface, especially on steel helmets. This eliminated glinting in the harsh Mediterranean sun, which would often be enough to give away one’s position.

Many objects which would not usually be taken into the field would be left in their original paint, but if obtained from the North African theatre of operations they would invariably be in light stone (or sand, as it was called over there).

Many photos of anti-aircraft guns show that the pattern was not applied, possibly because it is difficult for a pilot not to spot a gun that happens to be firing away at him, even if it is camouflaged!

[kevin powles]

More Pics.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by kevin powles

any pics you have please post.

Downloaded this one at some stage but can't remember where.

[Ben]

681 is very close. I think that's the Kings royal rifle corps and the reaserch into how carriers were issued is on going. With any luck I can confirm which unit it was issued to. The Aussie AOP 2 is a great shot showing the variety of the caunter scheme.

Ben