Uniform colour query

[Sunray]

Ok men, what is the best 'off the shelf" colour for American WW2 Airborne combat jacket uniform?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

DDay, Vallejo green grey
Bastogne olive drab highlighted with army green

[Jim Ando]

Hi
Depends which part of the war you want.

D-day uniform is different to market garden.

Jim

[petercooman]

Don't know about paratroops, but heres a guide with colour references for the glider troops:

http://www.bardsabode.com/TomWise_101stGlider.pdf

[Ace of Spades]

For the earlier M-42 uniforms (not that they were called M42's in those days, but what the heck), the special jump suits with slanted breast pockets, (as used in Sicily and Normandy); I use a sandy colour. What I found works well is a can of Tamiya spraypaint in their 'Dark Yellow'; give's a perfect base colour in my opinion. For the later M43 combat uniform (Market-Garden, Ardennes, Rhine crossing) any shade of olive green will do. I've had several original jackets and trousers and depending on wear and contract they come in a greyish green through a real bright olive green to a relatively dark shade of green.

Good luck!
Rob

[Sunray]

Sorry men, should have specified the campaign-  I was thinking D day light green.  Many thanks for the answers

[julesav]

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D-day colour is sand or buff not green!

[NTM]

Time to post this link methinks 

https://atthefront.com/khaki.html

[sunjester]

Time to post this link methinks 

https://atthefront.com/khaki.html

Firstly what they are calling khaki isn't khaki! (Bloody Yanks )

Secondly a lot of his own examples may not be "khaki", but they sure as hell ain't GREEN (brown with a greenish tinge maybe).

I think paint the uniforms in what you think looks best, if someone tells you they aren't green enough, says they have faded with use and call your troops combat veterans! 

[fsn]

It's olive drab. Every thing in the US army in WWII was olive of some description. The tanks were olive, the uniform was olive, the Oyl was Olive. If it was grey it was called olive, if it was pink it was called olive, if it was used for cooking "fries" it was olive.

Just exactly what shade of olive? ... well there's another question.

[NTM]

The point is really that uniform very rarely is there is always a vast variance in shade etc. Even the same item can look completely different. The upshot is for the M42 Paratroop uniform you can use pretty much anything from pale tan to light green.

[Sunray]

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D-day colour is sand or buff not green!

Yes, some years ago I saw the original US Day uniform in a museum exhibit - and yes, the colour of the fabric was "sand" or buff - then when I consulted Andrew Mollo Army uniforms of World War 2 (Blandford Press, London, 1981), illustration 161, p.171 - "illustration of 82 Airborne, the standard parachutist's uniform was similar to the M.1943 combat dress but with different pocket arrangement " now I know that printer's ink can play tricks but the shade of the uniform is a light olive drab.   I was tempted to think that the uniform in the museum had bleached with age, but as discussed, its lighter buff shade might well be original. 
One close match might be Tamiya XF-21 which is described as "sky".

The only conclusion I can reach is that the D Day shade was lighter "olive drab"[sic] than the later war issue 

Thanks to all on the forum for an educated debate. Shades of green.

[NTM]

The only conclusion I can reach is that the D Day shade was lighter "olive drab"[sic] than the later war issue 

Correct the former was OD3 the latter OD7