"Viet Nam Armor & Helo Colors" Topic

Hi all -

I know a variation of this has been asked before, but I couldn't find the thread.

Looking at photos of equipment in Viet Nam, I am left with the impression that the US Army (at least) went to a darker version of Olive Drab after WWII. Does anyone know if this is indeed the case, or just a matter of different dilutions of paint in the field?

Also, I have some Huey's and Cobras that need painting - but I suspect that they were neither the Helo Gray-Black they are now nor the exact same color as the armor.

Clarifications, suggestions and/or first-hand information is most welcome.

TIA,

Wyatt

From the color plates in the Meso book "Airmobile" of both the Cobra and the Huey (both Hog and Slick)there appears to be two very different color schemes. The dark olive drab (almost brown) is one variant, while a lighter green is the other. I've seen both Cobras and Hueys in both.

From the color film clips I've seen in "Vietnam: A Television History" and plates (from "Armor in Vietnam") it seems that the armor was the same lighter color green used for Hueys and Cobras (and LOACHs). Not sure if this was a "late-war" and "early-war" differentiation (can't remember off the top of my head), but I take the Squadron-Signal books as one of the foremost authorities on historical accuracy for this period. Let me have a quick re-read for ya.

-B6

I'm trying to remember the M-113s and M-551s I saw there. The green was heavily covered over with an earth yellow or red type color as a lot of dust. I'd guess the only clean APCs over there were the ones used by AF for AB defense.

Jim

There's a good article on the subject here:

mil-mod.nl/featod.html

What I remember of the pre-MRDEC OD green is a lot of variation based on simple weathering of the paint. When it was new, it was glossy and dark. As it was exposed to the elements, it lost gloss and got lighter.

I also remember a lot of equipment that was clearly not painted with the "official" shades, but using commercially available paint (even latex!) which often was quite a bit lighter. When we got around to applying the 4-color CARC paint schemes in the mid-79s, this was often a problem, as the old paint was peeling like a case of scabies.

Some new equipment was also supplied with non-standard lighter shades by the manufacturer. So in short: "standard" often wasn't.

Allen

Make that "mid-70s", please...

Allen

Good info Allen!

This subject of weathering and dirt/dust covered equipment begs the question I've been wondering recently... where does the majority of dust collect on a chopper? I'd assume it to be mainly on the top due to the rotor wash and most pics I've seen show the underside of the chopper to be fairly "low-dust/dirt". Would this be a correct assumption?

-B6

Good question. I hadn't considered it. I just noticed, as a tanker, that helicopters always seemed to stay remarkably clean, compared to the amount of mud I had to hose off at the washrack!

Maybe an aviator can comment?

Allen

In Vietnam I think the Army moved away from the old olive drab towards something known as olive green.

The Army kept the Standard Dark Olive Green Paint job on their vehicles up until the mid 1970s...except for the Berlin Brigade. (Company F 40th Armor at the time). During the mid 1980s' our 1st AD M60A3s were camo standard, and the Ber. Bde still had the Dark Green tanks with the pretty white stars on them.
My Roomie back in the states was a TC with BB, and showed me the photos where they spend 3 days a week "Waxing their tanks" to a high gloss with Turtle wax, and using edge dressing and Armor All on the Rubber and roadwheels!
All Show..
He had been in BB for Four years and had never fired a round out of the main gun of his tank. BB tankers left their tanks in the Motor Pool, and came to Graf and used POMCUS stuff to train with in gunnery!

FYI..Speaking of Armor..
YES a bottle of Jack Daniels WILL fit in the Breach of a 105 on an M60A3...don't ask me how I know it...;-)

depends on where the vehicles and aircaft were in use.

also, on the age and use wear/ tear on the vehicle or aircraft, the color of the local dirt/dust, sun blasting, etc.

and the manufacturers' shade of the official "color" in use.

dark, almost black OD, brown- yellow OD, with overlay of crud from local terain color (red pink was very common in the III CORPS TACTICAL ZONE).

in NATO, lordy, lordy, many variations of "NATO GREEN" and OD.

DAWGIE

I've read that the correct color for the Hueys was FS34087, which the Testors enamel is supposed to be a good match. Humbrol also made the same color (155 iirc), but has recently changed this OD to the brownish varient, which should be good for the cobra.