I am wondering what colors were probably used to camouflage the Lanz tractor in this photo. I read the webpages on German artillery camouflage here but remain confused. Any help is appreciated!
The scheme is common to late war artillery; particulary foot artillery. Several surviving examples in original paint schemes survive today in the Brussels Musee. Attached is the trail of a Flak gun which illustrates the colors used.
The Brussels example is a late war Buntfarben paint job - like most of the museum's German exhibits picked up from the left behinds of the retreating German army in November/December 1918. These were items abandoned by Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht - and specifially 4th and 6th Armies marching through Belgium on their way to Germany. They do not feature grey hues; there are different tones of ochre, greens, brown, red-brown, very red brown, and black dividing lines.
The tractor is seen in the first half of 1918, as part of Colonel Bruchmüller's battering train. There ought to be a 'feldgrau' base colour (whatever that means...), to which dapples of various colours have been added - but without black dividing lines. It's a rather common 1917/18 artillery dapple pattern, but the nature of the colours used is open to debate. There was no supply of specific camouflage colours, and the units on the ground used everything they could lay their hands on.
The tractor is seen in the first half of 1918, as part of Colonel Bruchmüller's battering train. There ought to be a 'feldgrau' base colour (whatever that means...), to which dapples of various colours have been added - but without black dividing lines. It's a rather common 1917/18 artillery dapple pattern, but the nature of the colours used is open to debate. There was no supply of specific camouflage colours, and the units on the ground used everything they could lay their hands on.
Thanks Mad Zeppelin. I agree concerning the towing wagon (tube on the transport wagon). Here annother picture.
Just an additional thougth: Lanz tractors originally had a light bluish-gray color tint. Could be that they didn't overpaint the blue with 'feldgrau' and just added some dapples as described above ...
BTW the tractor on the right in Marcs picture is again the rare Kaelble; only two had been built. One of them found its way to Aberdeen after the war together with the Big Bertha! Any further information on "Colonel Bruchmüller's battering train"?
Cheers, Peter
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