"Cold War US Vehicle Tactical Markings?" Topic

Just watched the on-line video of the "Border Watchers" from the 1960s on Youtube, about the 2nd and 14th Armored Cav. in West Germany.

None of the olive drab M60A1s and other vehicles had those nice targets painted on, otherwise known as white stars, so that will make my life easier for painting and finishing armor.

They did have goldish-yellow tactical unit markings on them though, instead, e.g. triangles (pointy-end up on the front end of the M60's turret sides) and diamonds (on the lower hull glacis as well. An M113 also had the diamond markings near the rear of the hull.

M114s and M109s seemed to be without tactical markings.

So, anyone know if these are/were just used for various exercises to denote companies or platoons, and if they'd be covered up during war, or if they'd be left in place?

Clearly, the big white stars were over painted, or left off totally, during the period – seems as if the video footage was from the early to mid-1960s, since the Bundesgrenschutz were in gray Wehrmacht-style uniforms, and wearing WWII era helmets, or soft caps, and even WWII-style low, and high-cut boots. They were carrying/firing FN rifles and machine guns.

Those were local unit markings. The Army looked at standardized tactical markings in the early 80s. They work in the dessert, but anything hanging on the bustle rack of a tank gets removed when it goes through trees and tall brush.

Thanks CS.

I didn't see any on the rear of the vehicles, so may need to relook there, but not sure they showed much in the way of rear views of them, anyway.

In the 80's we had bright yellow stop signs with a black T centered in it on the back ramp of our scout 113's. The color and shape was dependant on the unit, not sure if it was battalion, brigade or division. The mortars had an upside down T on their tracks. The tanks had signs attached to their bussle racks.

In the 1970s, my armored cavalry had the standard makings in black. This became a problem with the black portion of the camp paint. Sometimes you would brown or tan spray paint the area so the black markings could be overplayed. With the star the position may be shifted a few inches .
Being divisional cavalry asset, we did not use brigade tactical markings.
We did have names stenciled on them for the driver and TC. For about six months when I got there, the tracks were named on their gun tubes. Bouncing Betty, Bertha and Baby bang.

also see this thread
TMP link

Each Battalion had their own tactical markings that were on the back of the turrets for the M1s and were on the rear of the Bradleys and M113s hull. The Osprey Vanguard series for the M1 and Bradley have the tactical signs inside them

It was a cold War issue with the four color scheme of all vehicles. The paint shop had a set of paint guidelines and overlays so every vehicle of the same type was painted the same. The First cavalry used Winter Europe. The 2nd Armored had a scheme with a lot of green replaced with a shrimp color.
So it was easy to tell us apart in exercises.