NFReg74 Posted May 31, 2019 Share #1 Posted May 31, 2019 Everything I have read on the net indicates that all M-1s produced during the war were painted dark green however, you see some early shells that are "olive" green. I have two front seam McCords (207C and 325D) that show no sign of being repainted and both have different colors. 207C is brighter, more olive than 325D. So, did they actually paint different shades of OD during the war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFReg74 Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted May 31, 2019 325D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFReg74 Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted May 31, 2019 207C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted May 31, 2019 Share #4 Posted May 31, 2019 I too have seen a similar thing in my own collection. It seems that helmets do have variations in color. While this could be reasonably expected with different manufacturers perhaps it is because they were made in different factories or on different manufacturing lines? Could be plausible especially as they have different lot numbers. Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFReg74 Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted May 31, 2019 Better picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugme Posted May 31, 2019 Share #6 Posted May 31, 2019 Paint was mixed in huge batches every day. So, one day may have been a tad different than the other day. However, the biggest reason would be the settling of pigment during the day. Early in the day, the freshly mixed paint would be more green. Olive drab is made up of the pigments: yellow, blue and black. As the day wore on and heavier pigment(lead based yellow) would settle. If not stirred regularly, the paint would now be darker. Then when it did get stirred later in the day, the paint, which had gone down substantially, would now be a lighter shade of OD as the yellow was now reintroduced into the paint. Thus by the end of the day, the OD could be darker or lighter than it was in the beginning. Finally, you have to take into consideration things like sun fade, sea salt exposure, heat, time spent in the elements etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 31, 2019 Share #7 Posted May 31, 2019 Paint was not mixed to computer perfect standards so I think it can be reasonably assumed there were some minor variations of "dark green" as war production was more important than the exact same shade of green on every helmet. Additionally, these shells are now over 75 years old so maybe there has been some fading due to age, storage, or actual wartime use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted June 1, 2019 Share #8 Posted June 1, 2019 Then there's the field repainting, no doubt a different medium being in use then what was used in factory's in America. https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675076669_reclamation-activities_helmets-piled-up_man-cleaning_helmets-of-soldiers-and-medics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFReg74 Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share #9 Posted June 2, 2019 Thanks for the great info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GITom1944 Posted June 2, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 2, 2019 ...one day may have been a tad different than the other day. However, the biggest reason would be the settling of pigment during the day. I've wondered about this too. I've had a number of WW2 corked pots that have an almost apple green color but there is no evidence they were repainted. I appreciate Bugme's info. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now