German v Allied AFV Camouflage Schemes

Started by T13A, 10 February 2018, 10:45:59 AM

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T13A

Hi

Just looking at jfariahitech's fantastic photos of a Tiger 1 and a Stu III in another thread made me wonder how effective the German AFV  camouflage actually was in say Normandy, compared with allied camouflage schemes. Any thoughts?

Cheers Paul
T13A Out!

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

These are just general comments. Cammo will not help if the target being observed is moving, although it could make identification harder. Paint jobs dont break up outlines - but may help the target merge with the ground from above, and into a foliage cover if it is so placed. Hence lots of German cammo schemes - whilst the allies tended to use less. That said the painting the underside of fireflies guns white seems to have workerd reasonably well. Also it often doesn't show in b/w photos, but lots of US vehicles were green on OD camo'ed - must had had some effect otherwise they wouldn't have bothered.

IanS
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Lord Kermit of Birkenhead
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Ace of Spades

The US did some tanks in OD and sand but I believe this was mainly in Italy; in Normandy they started with black over OD and this was carried through by some units till the end of the war when it  became even more prominent. In the end all units applied the camouflage on their tanks themselves and most were done when tanks appeared in workshops for quick repairs and maintenance. The black paint was then usually quickly sprayed over whatever was still on the tank incl. sandbags, tools and dirt. The black on OD scheme was probably just done to break up the silhouette and make identification somewhat more difficult. Let's face it; US tanks were usually on the move and the danger of being spotted or hit from the air was negligable. There often just wasn't the time or the nescessity to apply camo. The black on OD scheme is also virtually restricted to combat vehicles like tanks, TD's and scouting vehicles. Softskins, artillery, even halftracks etc. are hardly seen in any type of camo.
The US did camouflage it's combat vehicles more extensively during the winter on '44 - '45 when a lot of them recieved a white-wash but that's about it.
USMC tanks and other vehicles were more often camouflaged in various patterns but whether it did anything for the effectiveness I could not say.
With German combat vehicles being more often on the defensive (in ambushes and prepared positions) and the total lack of air cover camouflage painting would certainly make more sense.

Cheers,
Rob
2014 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!