Colours of Commonwealth vehicles

[Kaczor]

I have a question - were the vehicles transferred from the USA under Lend-Lease to the UK later repainted? I'm mainly talking about the M5 and M4 from 1944, when the British Olive Drab SCC 15 appeared. E.g. would a Stuart or from the 1st Polish Armored Division be painted in an American or British OD? (which, as we know, was greener than the brownish American one)

[Jofaur86]

Hello, I don't know if I can help? but here is my modest contribution
https://www.alamyimages.fr/photos-image ... y=relevant
https://www.maquettecharpromo.fr/peintu ... 71693.html
Maybe it won't help much? At one time I found a specific site, but did not put it aside
Have a Good Day …

[RobW]

Would it depend on when and how it got to the unit? Ie did they have it for training or was it fresh off the boat to replace a combat loss?

As a separate question, how consistent are the two colours? We joke about 4BO being 50 shades of green, was OD any better?

[Herr Dr. Professor]

"We joke about 4BO being 50 shades of green, was OD any better?"
https://mojobob.com/stuff/Zaloga%20-%20Olive%20Drab.pdf

[Jofaur86]

Hello,trouvé sur le net ….
US vehicles were painted olive drab. All those of American or Canadian manufacture, which were delivered to the British, within the framework of the Pre-lease law, are of this color.

The British, who are simple people, do nothing like everyone else. They have also developed their range of paints for their vehicles. Which explains why we find North American-made vehicles with English colors. For example, when the English invented the Sherman Firefly. By fitting the 17-pounder gun into a Sherman's turret, the tanks were repainted with a bronze-green hue. Vehicles that ended up in workshops for heavy repairs often came out with an English tint. Bronze green, but also sometimes khaki drab. The English have even created an olive green drab, in a different tone, lighter than the US olive drab.
The Books Mig .
https://www.zinnfigur.com/fr/Livres-et- ... icain.html

[Jofaur86]

From Forum in France, for 1/35 or other small scales, Sorry for the language
https://maquette-garden.forumactif.com/ ... es-anglais
https://panzerchronique.jimdofree.com/r ... n-sherman/( French)
https://3945km.com/2019/03/18/sherman-t ... word-2016/
https://www.39-45.org/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=44537
Okay, this is all I found? maybe not what you are looking for? but a bit of history in the last link,
Good reading

[jarndice]

Even after WW2 there were inconsistancies, The Berlin Brigade Centurions were not in Deep Bronze Green but in Olive Drab, In West Germany our Nato Coy Vehicles were in Nato i/r brown again not Deep Bronze Green.

[Kaczor]

"We joke about 4BO being 50 shades of green, was OD any better?"
https://mojobob.com/stuff/Zaloga%20-%20Olive%20Drab.pdf

Well known article but outdated as many of those model paints are no longer available (e.g. Tamiya changed formula for OD)

Thank you all

[tankme]

I've been doing a lot of research into Mike Starmer's SCC15 and other's SCC15 as I have multiple British tanks waiting for paint at this point. My Firefly was painted with Starmer's version of SCC15 from Dean Goodin and for repairs I was able to mix up the paint and match what he did. From my research into the M5 specifically, I saw articles referencing other vehicles in SCC15. The M5 tank was not specifically mentioned.

I found this specifically that mentions the M5, but it's referring to M5 half-tracks. I also says other vehicles modified for British use which would include the M5A1:

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/ind ... ns/page/3/

"It appears that S.C.C.15 Olive Drab was formulated and used to avoid the necessity to repaint American lend-lease equipment. As a consequence most US vehicles retained their original US colour with British markings added. Vehicles like the Sherman Firefly, M3A3 Stuart and M5/M9 half-track series and other vehicles of American origin that were extensively modified to British requirements in 1943 were almost certainly repainted in S.C.C.2 (brown) with disruptive painting if required, then later S.C.C.15."

Again, the first sentence of this quote would suggest that, by avoiding the “necessity to repaint American lend-lease equipment”, that there was indeed repainting of American equipment being carried out.

I think I would have to go through all the Stuart books I've got to see if it's mentioned in there.

[Kaczor]

Thanks. Of course, it goes without saying that vehicles of British design such as the Cromwell or the late Churchill were painted in the British OD?

Recently for S.C.C.15 I made a Tamiya mix I found on another forum: 5 parts XF-81 "Dark Green 2 (RAF), 1 part XF-71 "Cockpit green (IJN)", 1 part Olive Green. I will use it to slightly differentiate between American and British (Polish) vehicles.