Landships II

sliptay · Private

Need help with original colour for WW1 German K14 105mm Cannon captured at Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917

Pzkpfw-e · Commander in Chief

There's no guarantee that the colours shown in that photo are original, it looks too fresh to me, having been sitting outside for several years.
Article on German artillery colours here.
landships.info/landships/artillery_articles.html#

CharlieC · Legend

You might get some ideas from the collection at the Brussels museum - many of the pieces still have their original

colours. Try the Landships II article on the 15cm sFH 13 lang. The black and white image of the K14 in the 1920s

doesn't look much like WW1 German camouflage patterns - the b&w image on your website of a captured 10cm gun is a more

reliable guide. If all else fails you can always paint the gun Feldgrau.

Regards,

Charlie

-- Edited by CharlieC on Thursday 3rd of September 2015 12:38:52 AM

CharlieC · Legend

There is a K14 at the Bundeswehr Museum in Koblenz which is painted red-brown | green | yellow (Landships II).

Taking an image of this gun and monochroming gives an image which isn't too far away from the 1920s image of the captured K14.

Personally I think the yellow on the Koblenz gun is too yellow I think a pale ochre (clay yellow) might be closer to the WW1 colour.

Regards,

Charlie

mad zeppelin · Commander in Chief

There were no standardised colours to be used for camouflage. What was used was what was at hand, and it was used at the discretion of the crews - or by order of the local commander at maximum. Exhibits still in original colours may give you an idea what was actually used (the Brussels army museum and AWM Canberra have lots of such exhibits). Most museum items, however, seem to have been re-painted at the discretion of the museum staff sometimes during their long life. (All exhibits of the Koblenz collection share the latter fate.) - Basically, until the introduction of the Buntfarben-Anstrich in 1918, you have a grey base colour, which very often (but not always and everywhere) was garnished with dapples of various sizes and colours. Buntfarben then changes to larger areas of green, redbrown and clay-yellow, often separated by black lines, at least according to the OHL order. But again, no exact hues were prescribed and troops used what was at hand.