Abwehrschlacht | 29 Apr 2015 9:15 a.m. PST |
I know that German tanks were primed in red, but what about Soviet ones? I am wanting to include a couple of half built tanks in a factory scenery piece that I will soon be working on, so I'd like to have the tanks in a half made state. I'm sure someone in here will know the answer to this… |
Petrov | 29 Apr 2015 10:06 a.m. PST |
I think that they were not primed, straight paint. |
Marc33594 | 29 Apr 2015 10:43 a.m. PST |
Plenty of debate on this. From tanks recovered from bogs and swamps it was clear a red primer, similar to the German color, was used in places like the engine compartment. It was believed though for exterior of the vehicle a combination paint/primer was used. However some say there is evidence that around sometime in 1942 tanks did receive an overall reddish primer, once again similar to German primer. |
Abwehrschlacht | 29 Apr 2015 11:10 a.m. PST |
Thanks Marc, I figured it would have been some form of primer, otherwise there is too much chance of rust. There is the, probably, urban myth that Russian tanks were sent out of the factories with no paint on them in Stalingrad. I would assume that they were at least primed, if it actually happened at all. |
HistoryPhD | 29 Apr 2015 2:12 p.m. PST |
The same myth says they didn't get primer because they weren't going to survive long enough to rust. |
Intrepide | 29 Apr 2015 2:24 p.m. PST |
"The same myth says they didn't get primer because they weren't going to survive long enough to rust." IIRC there were incidents where the tanks were going directly from the factory into the front line, perhaps not even painted. I think it was from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. If my memory is correct (big if) it was mentioned in William Craig's excellent book, "Enemy at the Gates". It has been decades since I read it. My software may be corrupted. |
Andy ONeill | 29 Apr 2015 2:31 p.m. PST |
It's my understanding they used red lead like was routine for priming steel until way after the war. |
Samuel McAdorey | 29 Apr 2015 3:22 p.m. PST |
The Dzerhzhinsky Tractor Works stopped producing new tanks in August 42. From then until its capture in October it was used as a repair shop, so any tanks leaving it during the height of the battle would most likely have been painted. It would be neat to paint up tanks showing signs of repair, for example fenders that have only been primed, not painted. |
Abwehrschlacht | 30 Apr 2015 10:27 a.m. PST |
So, the unpainted tanks remains a myth… I think I first came across it in the W. Craig book as well, but treated it with a modicum of caution. It looks like red primer has won the day, thanks for the input guys! |