BRITISH ARMY COLORS NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45

From Normandy to the Rhine

British vehicles went into the invasion in the olive shade that the army introduced in the spring of 1944 in place of the older dark brown. One of the reasons was the wish to come closer to American equipment, with which British and Canadian formations were to share the same battlefield and the same supply columns. Even so, the older brown finish did not disappear from service overnight, and in the first weeks after the landings both could be seen side by side.

What is inside

The set contains four water-thinnable acrylics. Besides the olive already mentioned there is a very dark brown, which was used for the disruptive patches of the older scheme, then a black used as a supplementary camouflage color and a washable white for the winter overspray of the turn of 1944 and 1945.

Where it is useful

Its range matches equipment from infantry and cruiser tanks through self-propelled guns and artillery tractors to the cargo trucks of the supply columns. Apply the paints over a unified base, because British olive tones are dark and on a varied base they separate out across an area. Given how quickly equipment became dirty in the fighting in the Netherlands and in the Ruhr, count on the factory finish being only the start of the work; the viewer will mostly see clean paint on the inner faces of hatches and under the fenders. That is exactly why it pays to keep the shade at hand after the main spraying is done.

A note on the schemes

Units in the field went on working on the finish. Patches from stocks of whatever paint was available appeared, tactical markings were oversprayed and whole areas were caked in mud, so two vehicles of the same regiment could look noticeably different.