Soviet Armour and Soft Skinned Vehicle Colour is a controversial topic at the best of times with polarized proponents arguing ‘any green will do’, ‘it’s close enough’, ‘crews used what is available’ to those wanting to have “accurate colour reproduction” to be as close as possible to authenticity.
Looking at black and white photographs from the period one would conclude they were all one colour, which to a degree is accurate, however, Soviet vehicles were painted in a basic green with camouflage colours. Depending on how good the era image is camouflage patterns can be seen to the
We have a tendency to draw from our own experiences what the colours are as referenced in artistic representations and museum pieces. Driving through the countryside throughout the seasons we observe the colour of soils, dry and wet. Dirt is dirt… right? Is it the same colour everywhere say for the red soil of Vietnam? One would think so but it is not the case for parts of Europe have different regionalized soil colours. One particular soil type turned out to be a logistical nightmare for the Germans…”black earth”.
Black earth or dark earth is rich in organic matter hence the blackish colour. When wet it behaved like a sponge retaining rain and snowmelt turning roads and fields into a quagmire for vehicles. The Russians call it “Chernozem” where “Chern(y)” means black and “Zemija” earth.
What
The Russians used 8 Colour Schemas from 1927 to 1945.
1) Protective Green 1927–37 (light olive drab)
2) 3B AU (black-green to light black-green)
3) Protective Green (brighter olive green to light olive green)
4) 4BO (olive drab)
5) 6K & 7K (reddish brown to yellow ochre )
6) Z–2 & IZ–3 (lighter green to brownish-green)
7) 6RP (black-brown to a NATO BLACK colour)
8) White Washable Paint (ground natural chalk or limestone)
What’s all the fuss about colours? The Red Army used non-standard paint to prime and paint all vehicles including wooden portions. Starting in 1935 the standard Red Army vehicle colour was 3B AU, a colour resembling Olive Drab. Standards and regulations were created for uniformity and application of colours.
The idea for a dark green is to blend in with the surrounding foliage and vegetation. Colours like 6K, 7K or blackish 6RP were to blend in with exposed soil and shadows to break up the vehicle profile.
Unexpected consequences came with the use of 3B AU. The Germans discovered by using filters on their sighting optics the light wave signature from plant chlorophyll and 3B AU differed, highlighting the vehicle concealed in the woods or among shrubs, bushes and other undergrowth not readily visible through binoculars or the naked eye.
Remember the Predator science fiction movies where the alien could see it’s human prey body heat signatures, the same idea, the difference being how the light reflection differed between pants and vehicles.
3B AU is an acronym of Alkidono Uretanovaya (Alkyd –urethane protective base). This paint was composed of the following components in weight 100 parts of linseed oil, 72.5 of lead white, 47.5 of zinc oxide, 33 of yellow ochre pigment, 7 of burnt amber pigment, 4.75 of elutriated graphite and 2.4 of ultramarine blue.
The mixture of pigments used in the paint reflected a different light spectrum than the chlorophyll which gives colour to the vegetation. The problem caused the Soviet Army to abandon the use of 3B AU in favour of 4BO.
