German Panzer Colors

PzKpfw. IV Ausf. E - Balkins, (Spring 1941) 

During the invasion of France, Poland, the Low Countries and the initial thrust into "Mother Russia" (22 June 1941), dark gray was the standard color mandated for all tactical vehicles.  Since 1939, German vehicles came from the factory in this color which covered the entire exterior of the vehicle including hatches that opened outward.  

StuG III Ausf . B - Russian Front (Winter 1941)

With the approach of the winter of 41' order HM 1941, Number 1128, dated 18 November 1941, specified the issuing a washable  winter white camouflage paint that was to be used to cover the dark gray color of German combat vehicles. This paint, to be thinned with water and liberally applied, was to be supplied to all vehicles when snow was on the ground. The plan called for this white paint to be applied during the winter months and the to be removed  when spring arrived. Needless to say, the paint was inferior in quality, hard to obtain and its application hap-hazardly done when it was procured. 

PzKpkw. IV Ausf. F1 - Russian Front (Spring 1942)

The spring of 1942 saw the return of the dark gray base color.  Herein, field commanders were given a lot of latitude in the paint schemes being applied to their vehicles and the troops took to camouflaging their tanks and other vehicles with mud, tree branches and even odd-ball patterns of dark green or dark brown paint. It should be noted that due to heavy losses of vehicles on the Russian Front, vehicles painted in tropical colors (tan, yellow-brown and brown/gray) and intended for shipment to the Afrikan Theater, were diverted and shipped to the Eastern Front (Russia) as replacements. Their arrival further even confused the color schemes then already in use on the Russian Front.  

PzKpfw. VI (Tiger I) - Rusian Front (Winter 1942)

With the arrival of winter in 1942, the camouflaging system was again as chaotic as it had been the previous year and again all kinds of attempts were tried in an effort to camouflage German tactical vehicles. Dark green and splotches of brown were commonly applied after the white paste in the effort to break up the solid dark gray color of tanks and other armored vehicles and a myriad of bizarre "tactical paint patterns" evolved.  Given the fact that the white paste (paint), as well as the other colors, required diluting, water was often used (gas being to rare a commodity) and it easily streaked in the moist and damp Russian winter months. Adding the natural accumulation of mud, grit, dents and rust, it would be a miracle if any two tactical vehicles even remotely resembled each other. But this situation was soon to change. 

PzKpfw. IV Ausf. H - Russian Front -Spring 1943-May 1945)

Reality Check

How standardized were all these changes ? Hardly at all ! When envisioned and applied back on the "home front" the "tri-color" paint scheme looked great and was impressive to say the least. However, the conditions "in the rear" differed greatly from those "on the line" and any similarity was a crap-shoot to say the least. As demonstrated above, some serious miniature modelers have taken this fact into account as pristine paint patterns (regardless of type) were far from the norm on the battleline. 

Panzer prints courtesy of http://www.rtvmodeler.com/Guiatanques/colorespanzer.htm

Coming Soon..............Russian Panzer Colors