A Somua of the 1st DLM, (1st Light Mechanized Division), 18th Dragoons, 4th Section
Somua view 1
Somua view 2
Somua view 3
Somua Mediafire download
Somua / PzS35
Started by
Kruppcake
, Mar 23 2012 - 01:25
3 replies to this topic
#2 Posted Mar 23 2012 - 01:39
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Who in the heck thought painting it those colors was a good idea(Historically speaking, not you)?
#3 Posted Mar 23 2012 - 01:44
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Legiondude, on Mar 23 2012 - 01:39, said:
Who in the heck thought painting it those colors was a good idea(Historically speaking, not you)?
The purpose of the camouflage is to break up the tank's silhouette. The tank's been painted to blend with the horizon. The lighter tracks is for countershading. Seen from a very long distance it could work, though I do think the colours are a bit too oversaturated on this skin.
#4 Posted Mar 23 2012 - 01:55
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amade, on Mar 23 2012 - 01:44, said:
The purpose of the camouflage is to break up the tank's silhouette. The tank's been painted to blend with the horizon. The lighter tracks is for countershading. Seen from a very long distance it could work, though I do think the colours are a bit too oversaturated on this skin.
Believe it or not, I cut the saturation a bit from the photograph I used as a model!
This particular kind of "layered" camo was common for French armor at the time of the Battle of France. As was already mentioned, camo's purpose is to break up the outlines of a tank, not just for purposes of concealment, but also for purposes of confusing enemy gunners by making the true aspect, shillouhette and dimensions of the tank hard to discern, and thus throw off aim.
The French certainly had some colorful and interesting camo patterns, with a great degree of variability between them. French tank units were allowed a high degree of freedom and latitude in how they executed the official tactical markings and camo patterns. Because of this, you can find a good variety of color tones, marking sizes and locations, making variations and pattern execution.
I don't know how well it actually worked. A lot of the tank battles in the French campaign were fought at relatively close ranges, where camo is often less effective. Perhaps a historically implied comment on their effectiveness is that the French stopped using this particular camo scheme after 1940.
