|
Post by fots2 on Apr 19, 2013 0:56:41 GMT 8
Fortman That is a good question as to what color coastal defense guns were painted. It is difficult to determine when viewing black and white photos. You would assume some sort of preservative coating is required especially since these guns are exposed to salty sea air. Technical Manual 9-421 dated October 10th, 1942 has a paragraph on painting the 3-inch Seacoast Gun. In this case the recommended colors are ‘olive drab’ plus ‘red’ for specific locations. I do not know if this paint scheme applies to all types of Seacoast guns though. I did not find the same information for the 12-inch guns such as those at Battery Crockett. Here are the three pages of the manual that mentions painting of the guns.
|
|
|
Post by fortman on Apr 19, 2013 20:37:45 GMT 8
Hi Fots,
As usual, you have delivered more than expected. Many thanks. I would think that all the guns would have been painted as per your attached document, so that really answers my question.
Regards,
fortman
|
|
|
Post by fots2 on Apr 19, 2013 20:41:32 GMT 8
You are very welcome sir. I expect you are correct in that this paint scheme was commonly used for other (or all) guns.
|
|
|
Post by batteryboy on May 13, 2013 7:18:08 GMT 8
Ok, let me dive into this as far as my notes are concerned.
There was the notion that the most of the coastal guns in the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic bays were painted similarly to their US counterparts, such that the barrels were in a light grey color and the carriages were in Olive Drab or dark green. In the Philippines, it was said to have been different. Smaller to medium caliber seacoast gun (3-inch to 155mm) would have generally been in OD as such was the case here in the P.I. As for the heavies, most of the accounts and testimonies mention and even if you look at the B/W photos, they look to be in dark color so OD would have been a logical choice (basing on the photos). However, just to muddle the waters, some of the earlier or pre-war photos taken may have been using Orthochromatic film that makes the lighter colors stand out darker as the real dark shades so there might be chance that some guns may have been painted differently during their lifetime.
FWIW,
|
|
|
Post by fortman on May 15, 2013 23:15:54 GMT 8
Thanks Batteryboy,
It is interesting how seemingly mundane facts are not so clear after all.
fortman
|
|