Ok Ive just got me the academy M3 Grant. According to the painting instructions for it - the internals are supposed to be painted white. I cant believe that that is correct. Can anyone tell em what the correct colour should be for the British internal colour please?
Interior of US made tanks was white.
Thanks Bob - I must say that Im surprised at the colour but at least I know what to do about it.
Why is it surprising? The internal bright color allowed for any dim light inside to be magnified for the crew’s ability to function. Of course, the inside face of hatches would be painted to match the external colors.
I guess its just that white is such a stark colour. I kinda thought it might have been tinted with another colour but Im not gonna worry about it. BTW does that include the steel plating on the floor being white? Its gonna be interesting contrasting that withall the scuff marks.
Even the inside of modern tanks like the M48, M60, M551, M1/A1/A2 are white today.
Here is a link to an album of the interior of the M3 Lee (basically the same tank).
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/lee.htm
While this is a modern M88A1 recovery vehicle, you cansee that just about everything is painted white inside, treadplate included.
World War2 tanks had a white and some times a very light blue(Duck egg blue) interiors!..Kenny
Looks like there was some non-skid paint applied or perhaps rubber mats…
The Brits painted their interiors silver for a good part of the war.
Hey thanks Bob those pictures on that site are great for detail 
When in the war was this? Got a picture? Gotta see that before I believe it [:D]
Walkarounds of Imperial War Museum and Bovington will show this. Even reading the wartime manuals confirms this.
Here’re Littlefield’s restored Vickers VI tank and Cromwell and Comet:
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/vickers_04.jpg
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/vickers_03.jpg
Not only does white intensify the dim lighting inside an AFV but it also makes it easier to spot leaks of fluids (hydraulic, lubricants, etc) that can dead-line a track vehicle even before the first shot is fired.