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I am fairly certain this has been asked and answered before, but I can't find it. What colour was the inside of a German tank hatch? Was it the interior coloour, or did it match the outside, so it did not show up when raised?

Richard I wrote a piece about German Tank interiors earlier this year, I just put it back up.

Thanks, I have seen it. I knew I had seen it before somewhere.

A bit of incidental info on Tiger interiors...
http://tiger1.info/EN/Hachette-Inside-Colours.html

silversurfer1947 wrote:I am fairly certain this has been asked and answered before, but I can't find it. What colour was the inside of a German tank hatch? Was it the interior coloour, or did it match the outside, so it did not show up when raised?

The Color inside of Hatches was generally the same like the interior - except the inside of Hatch is visible when open.
Then the hatch´s inside is RAL 8012 redbrown = Primer.
On October 31, 1944 it was ordered not to paint the interior of tanks!
The parts for the interior equipment are mounted in the supplied color.
If they were not painted, they were mounted as they are.
On February 15, 1945, the order was canceled and the Interior was painted...

I would be interested in your source because my information suggests otherwise

jhamm wrote:

silversurfer1947 wrote:I am fairly certain this has been asked and answered before, but I can't find it. What colour was the inside of a German tank hatch? Was it the interior coloour, or did it match the outside, so it did not show up when raised?

The Color inside of Hatches was generally the same like the interior - except the inside of Hatch is visible when open.
Then the hatch´s inside is RAL 8012 redbrown = Primer.
On October 31, 1944 it was ordered not to paint the interior of tanks!
The parts for the interior equipment are mounted in the supplied color.
If they were not painted, they were mounted as they are.
On February 15, 1945, the order was canceled and the Interior was painted...

Now I'm confused

I do wonder where expert info comes from, on occasion. David Byrden is an acknowledged expert on all things Tiger 1, (hence the inclusion of the reference earlier to tank interior).
Here's another plausible take- from the article below:
https://resourcesformodellers.wordpress ... e-colours/
"...It is generally accepted that the interiors of most German armoured vehicles of this time were painted using RAL 9001 ‘Cremewiss’ or most commonly called ‘Elfenbein’. The interior of the hatches is open to speculation, however on early vehicles it is sometimes light grey, and on most other vehicles the factory painted the hatches in the base colour of the vehicle. Most of the equipment was left black or red primer as finished in the factory..."

I guess some 'experts' quote other 'experts', without reference to actual source material. Thus, if the first expert is in error. well..... Then again, travelling to Germany, in the quest for the best original sources
on WW2 equipment, is a task best left to the truly OCD.

My source is as 43rr acknowledges David Byrdens "Tank Info",
I also gained similar information from the Curator of the "Tank Museum" at Bovington, Dorset.
Off hand I am not aware of better sources being available but I will happily listen to quoted other sources in case there is other information which could carry the argument.

Hello,
my source are different books of Hilary Louis Doyle, Thomas L. Jentz, Walter J. Spielberger and Waldemar Trojca.
the Book "Real Colors of WWII" by Jürgen Kiroff - Przemyslaw Skulski - Mike Starmer - Steven Zaloga
and the German Tank Museum Munster

The last 6 Tiger I was producded at August 1944 and was not affected by the order.