Info needed: correct colours for WWII Aust vehicles

[Mrs Vampire]

Hi Lionel Gee

So far as I can tell the KG3 was a prewar colour . The specification for it in the Archive is a 1940 spec ( from memory I don't have it in front of me) It was specified for all tin hats made in Australia throughout the war.

I understand it was from a British specification but I have to send some data to Mike Starmers to confirm that. I have a spectrographic sample of the only known chip , and it is a chip indeed measuring around 3/8" square, that i will have made up and sent of to Britain for comparison.

KG #3 was not used on Vehicles by the Australian Army according to the documentary and photographic evidence that exists until December of 1943. Army orders and paint availability indicate Deep bronze green and British desert yellow (light stone) were used until the Australian "Berger" colour set was adopted.

The standard Khaki was KGJ ( colour J in the colour set.)

To Your vehicle: I am still gathering information for 1939 to June/July 1941 to nail down definitely the shades used. If your vehicle was made after June/July I think the KGJ would have been used.

KG1 and 2 were never used by the Australian Army and I have never seen samples of those colours. They may have some relationship to the development of the Breger colours but there is no evidence of this in the documents.

Prior to June July I have little to go on. The photographs suggest , as much as black and white photographs can , that deep bronze green was used. The only artifacts I have direct knowledge of are the two pounder held in the AWM and the Vickers MkVI B I once owned. They were both a very deep green but substantially different to the deep bronze green post war ( as used on ferrets Cents and Saladin etc )

That Australian 1939/1941 green seem somewhat different to Mike S sample chip.

Mike Cecil has informed me that some production pre 1942 was done in "desert yellow" This is still in the research to be done envelope. If that is so then just what shade was used will be interesting as Australia was developing its own "desert yellow" shade that was no where as "yellow" as the British shade'