Looking to use proper camoflague colors used on M60A3 tanks stationed in Europe. I have seen pictures of what appears to be 3 color schemes as well as 4 color schemes. If I go with a 3 color scheme, would I be incorrect in using the Tamiya NATO colors-XF67, 68 and 69? Thanks for help on this one.
Most of the A3s in Germany were not painted in the standard NATO colors you see stateside National Guard A3s painted in. The pattern was basically the four color pattern of green, earth brown, black and sand, but many were without the sand colored squiggles.
We often had to mix various cans of paint to get enough to cover the camouflage patterns. Sometimes the earth brown had extra green mixed in to make it last.
Rob,
Do you have any reference photos of this scheme? I’d be interested in seeing that 4-color look.
Chris
My dad was on an M60 over in germany not sure if it was an a3 variant. But as far as I can remember the photos hes shown me are of his tank in olive drab.
Rob, thank you. Good pictures. Okay, the stateside guard tanks were wearing a NATO scheme while active duty units had the four color scheme. What model paint would you recommend using for the dark green color? From what I have seen, the green is very dark and it is perhaps a bronze green?
Thanks again.
Mike
It was more of a dark olive green. when we got replacement parts, they would be in that standard field green that is now seen on current tanks, like the green from the NATO scheme. My crew and I were particularly hard on fenders and the factory fresh parts looked out of place on the tank. They didn’t match any of the colors, but my philosophy was that after minutes in the field, the fenders could have been painted pink and you would never know, as evidenced by the pictures.
The base color on the MERDC scheme tanks was supposed to be Dark Green 34079 from the factory, Units would add the other colors of the pattern upon arrival.
Thanks. So armor left the factory in a mono color scheme and then the camoflague colors were applied in respective theaters of operations. Interesting.
Yes. I was in the 5th Division stateside while Rob was in Germany. In 1986/87 there were several different schemes that could be seen on the M60s in our tank battalions- overall Dark Green, MERDC Spring (34079 and 34151 main colors with sand and black highlights/squiggles) or Fall (34079 and 30118 main colors with the sand and black squiggles) schemes. At Ft Polk, the Spring scheme was the most prevalent of the two. Probably due to the contant greenery there. And then there was another scheme I don’t have a name for and have not been able to track down The base color was 34079 with equal sized blotches of light green 34151, field drab 30118 and flat black. I never saw the NATO tri color on 5th ID M60 tanks, as they were replaced by M1s not too long after I left there.
Looks like 34079 is a good base color to start with. BTW, was the Fifth a mechanized or non mechanized division? Would have probably made a difference in terms of the number of organic tank battalions assigned.
in the 1980s 5th ID was a Mech division under the Division 86 TO&E. 1st Brigade had two tank battalions and one Mech infantry battalion. 2nd Brigade had two Mech infantry battalions and one tank battalion. The 3rd Brigade was a “round out” Brigade of the 256th Brigade, LA National Guard. I dont know if they were tank or infantry heavy. The Division also had an Armored Cav Squadron, which was a mix of tanks and other AFVs.
Well, to be a mech division, it would have 2 infantry heavy brigades and 1 tank heavy brigade. Since you state the 1st Bde was tank heavy and the 2nd mech heavy, the round out brigade would be mech heavy (2 inf, 1 tank).
Divisions in Germany had the full three active brigades. The 8th ID had a mech heavy brigade in Baumholder and in Mainz and the tank heavy brigade in Mannheim. It also had an independent tank battalion in Wildflicken and the divisional cavalry squadron in Mannheim.
The basic difference between an armor division and a mechanized infantry division is just one tank/infantry batttalion. A mech div was 5 inf, 4 tank and an armor div was 4 inf, 5 tank, excluding the ITB and div cav.
Another question with regard to the actual camoflague scheme. I would like to apply either the 3 color or 4 color scheme to a 1/35th scale A3 and just wondered where I could go to possible download a picture of these schemes that would be suitable for a model. The instructions that I have for the Tamiya A3 show what I would guess is a very early scheme and I am looking for something later. I will probably freehand the camoflague but I need something to look at while I airbrush the scheme. Thanks on this one.
The Tamiya instructions are good for the MERDC pattern. To do a three color variation, just substitute black for where the lightest color should be. So Green, Brown or Field Drab, and Black.
3-colour scheme - about 1990 vintage
http://www.tpub.com/content/automotiveaccessories/TB-43-0209/TB-43-02090223.htm
http://www.tpub.com/content/automotiveaccessories/TB-43-0209/TB-43-02090224.htm
By the time that sceme came in to use, M60s in Europe had been replaced by M1s.
Sounds like a plan. BTW, was the lower hull and road wheels painted in various camoflague colors or were they painted in the standard MERC green? Thanks.
I believe that on the MERDC camouflaged M60’s , the camouflage carries over onto the hull sides and roadwheels, but on the three-tone “NATO” cam, the hull sides below the fender line and roadwheels (but not the front and rear) are the base green.
EDIT: The “official” 1975 pattern for the MERDC scheme can be found in this document (though it does not seem to provide the pattern for the turret). http://www.olive-drab.com/archive/od_tb43_0147_camo.pdf (Fig. 3-9)
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Looks like Rob is happy to see someone!