M113 ACAV Interior colors....

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

I have a question about interior colors for a Vietnam era M113 ACAV.

I know that the floor is aluminum and the majority of the interior is a light green. What I’m not sure about is the interior faces of the various hatches and the ramp. Were they the interior green, or the darker OD green?

Thanks,

Paul

2

Interior surfaces of the hatches and ramp should be the same dark green as the exterior.

3

Thanks.

4

we painted most of the interior of my M-106 4.2" mortar gun tracks outside green as the hatches unfloded and the entire “cargo area” was exposed. interior around TC seat and driver’s compartment was still light green. FDC was all light green except the hatches and inside of back ramp.

5

My understanding is the lighter interior color is to aid visibility when it is all closed up. Makes sense that for a vehicle with the top hatch open and a much bigger opening, to paint it the exterior color.

Thanks for the info.

Paul

6

Just FYI trivia. They did the same thing with the interiors of TAB VEES in the late eighties. It actually made a big difference from the grey stuff they had before.

7

8

For a Vietnam era M113, the interior walls of the driver and troop compartments could also have been White. Even in the 80s, we were still getting engine compartment panels that were in white on occasion. At some point in M113 production the interior color was switched from White to Light Green to be less conspicuous when the ramp is open.

9

Karl, thanks for the picture. The call-outs for my kit have the seat covers as OD instead of black. Maybe canvas versus leather?

Stik, I’ve seen white in older armor (Shermans for instance). Never thought about it for the APC. Since my vehicle will represent a fictional unit from an unspecified time, I think I’ll keep to the light green.

Thanks,

Paul

10

You’re welcome, Paul—glad I could help. If you look through this Fotki album, there are a bunch more pics of the interior of this vehicle.

M113

I’ve seen the seats for this in both colors. I think earlier ones were in OD. Interestingly too, in 'Nam they sometimes lined the floors of these in sand bags to guard against mine explosions.

Enjoy!

11

I have seen seat cushions in both black or OD, with the OD being the more common. It was more of an all weather fabric rather than leather or canvas in both cases similar to a vinyl like on my personal Jeep’s spare tire cover.

12

Definitely was not leather nor was it canvas. It was a vinyl canvas. In this shot of one of my M113A3 you can see the hard rubber backed jump seat back, the black vinyl seat bottom (it went on like a shower cap or a Jeep spare tire cover), and the OD green vinyl troop seat cushions.

You can also see the black seat belts, but in some vehicles, the belts were OD green.