Australian CMP camouflage

[Paul Ramsden]

Hi Again
I have noticed that Australia used a two or even three tone camouflage on there CMPs. All my pictures are Black and White so I wondered if anyone knows what colours they actually were and was it used in 1944/45?
Some colour pictures would be helpful.

[cliff]

some were even 4 color! I have the paint formulas for the WW2 Australian Service colors kindly formulated by Mike Cecil of the Australian War Memorial Museum. They are for Humbrol enamels except for 1 colour from the revell range of paints.

Pre- 1942 Australian service green -

6 parts # 2 – Emerald (gloss)
11 parts # 10 – service brown (gloss)

Post-1942 Australian Service Green -

11 parts #10 - service Brown
6 parts #2 Emerald Green

ASCW light earth -

3 parts REVELL380
1 part #34 matt white
OR
6parts #94 matt brown yellow
1 part #159 matt Khaki drab

Light Stone -

8 parts #74 matt linen
1 part matt Khaki

hope that helps

Cheers
Cliff

[Shane Lovell]

Paul

Best bet is to find a picture of the vehivcle you wish to model and post it here for people to explain in detail.

You may be interested in the following information drawn from original documents. I would, however, note that the following information is the offical line on camouflage and only half the story. The second part is how these instructions were interpreted and implemented by individual units.

Military Board Instruction MBI 94
15th August, 1940.
Adoption of “Paint, Khaki Green, No. 3”

All Military vehicles, artillery equipment and general stores, previously painted in service colour will be painted in Khaki Green, No. 3

Mechanization Circular No. 301
2nd. January, 1942.
Mechanical Vehicles- Camouflage Disruptive Painting.

Approval to paint all mechanical vehicles in disruptive camouflage. The “Geneva” cross on A.A.M.C. vehicles must not be obliterated.

Gas-resisting paint to be used along with camouflage paint, Type B, Australian Standard Specification, Emergency Standard No. (E) K.507 to be used for colours other than gas-resisting.

Basic colour of vehicles for use in Australia is Khaki Green No. 3: those for the A.I.F. being Light
Stone B.S.C. 61 (British Standard Colour No. 61). Both gas-resisting.

One coat only of disruptive paint is to be applied, either by brush or spray, on top of the basic colour, in either the following three-tone or two-tone designs. All edges are to be kept sharp, it may be necessary to paint the boundary between two colours to obtain sharp definition.

The colour combinations employed:
__________________________________________________ _______________

Light Tone Medium Tone Dark Tone
__________________________________________________ _______________
Three-Tone
1. Light Stone N. Light Brown P. Khaki Green J.
2. Light Green H. Khaki Green J. Black U.
3. Light Stone N. Light Green H. Khaki Green J.
4. Light Stone N. Khaki Green J. Dark Green M.
5. Light Stone N. Light Brown P. Basalt Red S.*
Two-Tone
6. Light Stone N. Khaki Green J.*
7. Light Brown P. Khaki Green J.*
__________________________________________________ ________________

The colour combination selected should approximate to the colours of the country in which it is expected the vehicle will operate.

-For Australian Coastal areas use Sets No. 2, 3, 4, or 6
-For Australian Central and Northern Areas use Set No.5 or 7
Set No.1 will merge under almost any circumstances.

The registration number will, after disruptive painting, be clearly painted in white on the rear of the vehicle and on both sides of the bonnet, or equally suitable locations where bonnets are not available.

The dimensions of letters and figures will not be less than:-

Height .. .. 3 ½ inches
Overall Width .. 2 ½ inches
Width of every part of each letter.. 5/8-inch.
Or figure


Mechanization Circular No. 319
28th July 1942.
Mechanical Vehicles-Camouflage Disruptive Painting

Replace Mechanization Circular No. 301, 309 as applicable and 311.

All vehicles painted according to MC. No. 301 shall not be repainted unless G.O.C deems that existing pattern is unsuitable.

Vehicles carrying the “Geneva” cross will not be camouflaged.

Basic colour for vehicles for use in Australia is Khaki Green A.S.C. “J”, gas resisting and the disruptive colour is to be Light Earth A.S.C. “W”.

Only one coat of disruptive colour is to be applied, either by brush or spray on top of the basic colour. All edges are to be kept sharp, it may be necessary to paint the boundary between two colours to obtain sharp definition.

G 1918 Mechanical Vehicles- Camouflage Disruptive Painting
14th November 1942

Referring to G 1862 of 8th November 1942 :
(a) Delete Khaki Green and substitute Veh Dark Green.
(b) Delete Light Earth and substitute Veh Light Gray.


SM 4809. Mechanical Vehicle – Camouflage Disruptive Painting. 4th March 1943

This instruction will supersede and cancel Mechanization Circular No. 319

Vehicles (excluding vehicles bearing “Geneva Cross”) will be painted in disruptive camouflage in accordance with charts.


Only one coat of disruptive colour is to be applied, either by brush or spray on top of the basic colour. All edges are to be kept sharp, where painting is by hand. When application is by spray diffused colour boundaries will be permitted.

Charts display disruptive schemes of Vehicle Dark Green, Vehicle Medium Green and Vehicle Grey.

Allied Forces in S.W. Pacific Area, Master-General of the Ordnance. 21st December 1943.

Disruptive camouflage shall be applied in the field in operational areas only when local conditions makes a camouflage scheme desirable; this will be carried out in conformity with SM 4809 which will be amended by deleting Medium Green and substituting Khaki Green No. 3 as the basic colour.

Aust Adv. Ord. Depots are instructed to re-demand Paint on the following percentages: -

Khaki green No. 3 86%
Dark Green 7%
Grey 7%

General Routine Orders No. 278.
28th July 1944.
Painting of MT Vehicles

Vehicles will, in future, be painted in a single colour, namely Khaki Green No. 3, and will be finished in “egg-shell” in lieu of existing “matt” finish.

Disruption of the basic colour (Khaki Green No. 3) will be permitted in operational areas only, at the discretion of the G.O.C, and shall be in accordance with pamphlet “Painting of Mechanical Vehicles (including camouflage painting)(Interim)”

All previous instructions regarding the painting of MT vehicles is cancelled.

Hope this is of some help

Shane Lovell
Canberra, Australia

[Mike Starmer]

Following on from Shane's reply the vehicle in your photograph is finished in two colours to the scheme and pattern used on a wide range of different types of Australian vehicles. The colours I have for this is basic of Light Stone 61 or Portland Stone 64 with disruptive pattern of Dark Green SCC 7. This is a set official pattern, not just a scheme of random patches as it might appear.

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

What colours Australian vehicles present depend entirely on how much beer the observer has consumed immediately beforehand.

[cliff]

Originally posted by Mike Starmer
Following on from Shane's reply the vehicle in your photograph is finished in two colours to the scheme and pattern used on a wide range of different types of Australian vehicles. The colours I have for this is basic of Light Stone 61 or Portland Stone 64 with disruptive pattern of Dark Green SCC 7. This is a set official pattern, not just a scheme of random patches as it might appear.

Sorry Mike but you are not quite completely right that is just one of the colour patterns but that particular vehicle is more likely to be brown over service green as the photo was taken in Queensland I believe.

Cheers
Cliff

[Keith Webb]

Originally posted by cliff
Sorry Mike but you are not quite completely right that is just one of the colour patterns but that particular vehicle is more likely to be brown over service green as the photo was taken in Queensland I believe.

Cheers
Cliff

The pic is of course from the AWM and depicts a Chevrolet Field Artillery Tractor No8 (Aust). It was taken at Kairi, a training base which I think is on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland.

The colours look to be khaki No 3 (which was the vehicle's base colour) with light stone.

Something like the colours on this 11Y Ford belonging to Max and John Hedges:

[cliff]

Originally posted by Shane Lovell

Two-Tone
6. Light Stone N. Khaki Green J.*
7. Light Brown P. Khaki Green J.*
__________________________________________________ ________________

The colour combination selected should approximate to the colours of the country in which it is expected the vehicle will operate.

-For Australian Coastal areas use Sets No. 2, 3, 4, or 6
-For Australian Central and Northern Areas use Set No.5 or 7

Shane Lovell
Canberra, Australia

Keith it could be either the Khaki Green with light stone or with light Brown as depending on your view point the Atherton Tablelands could be concidered coastal or a Northern area.

I just love that Ford ute of Max & Johns. I hope to make a roadster cab version of this sometime this year.

Cheers
Cliff

[grant fincher]

My truck is painted in "3 tone" No. 3. That is Khaki Green, Light Green and Light Stone.
Grant Fincher

[cliff]

Originally posted by grant fincher
My truck is painted in "3 tone" No. 3. That is Khaki Green, Light Green and Light Stone.
Grant Fincher

and looks real good as well so it's a credit to you.

Cheers
Cliff

[Rod Diery]

Originally posted by grant fincher
My truck is painted in "3 tone" No. 3. That is Khaki Green, Light Green and Light Stone.
Grant Fincher

Hi Grant, Do you know what the "BS" numbers for Khaki Green, Light Green and Light Stone are?

Cheers
Rod

[grant fincher]

BS ? I think your asking for the paint numbers. Is that correct?
I can get the modern colours from the guy that spray painted my truck. I know he called the light khaki "pine green" and the others were standard khaki and stone.
I won't be in touch with him until the weekend, but if Phil Lloyd is reading this thread, would you let us all know what the modern paint numbers/colours are?
I hope this is what you are asking for.
Regards
Grant

[Rod Diery]

Originally posted by grant fincher
BS ? I think your asking for the paint numbers. Is that correct?

Sorry Grant, I was a bit vague there. I meant the British Standard numbers that all paint of that era used.

Cheers
Rod

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all - try this link

http://www.miniatures.de/html/ger/co...-standard.html

Bob

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Click onto this one and somewhere in there are several pages of camouflage schemes and colours.

www.miniatures.de

Bob

[cliff]

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
Hi all - try this link

http://www.miniatures.de/html/ger/co...-standard.html

Bob

Thanks Bob that is one I did not have

Cheers
Cliff