RAAC Centurions in Vietnam....color?

[Tony Smith]

There was no special paint scheme for Australia vehicles in SVN.

Australian vehicles up to Apr 67 (Approx.) were mostly (exception: M113 fov) painted Deep Bronze Green, nominally the same as BS381c No224 DBG, but evidence shows that the Australian DBG was a blacker shade than the British colour.

After 4/67, an new colour was introduced for A and B vehicles. It is not certain on the origin of the colour, as it was a totally new Australian Standard 7650/ADE(M) and the Semi-Gloss colour was Olive Drab 146/1. There were also codes for Flat OD 139/2 and full Gloss 160/2. There is no direct equivalent for this shade in BS381c or FS595a. It has been held in Military Modelling circles for a long time that the colour was "quite close" to FS595a 34087, but this colour has been deleted from the current US Standard FS595b.

Australian Centurions (which arrived in Vietnam in Jan 68, and therefore in the new Olive Drab) had from time to time items replaced due to damage or wear (road wheels, storage bins, etc) that came through the supply system still painted in the original DBG, and were often left that way for some time.