British & Indian Armoured Units Of the Burma Campaign: A Painting Guide By R Mark Davies V1.8 © www.fireandfury.com Introduction Field Marshal William ‘Bill’ Slim’s XIVth Army is commonly known as the ‘Forgotten Army’, even though its deeds are perhaps now better known than they were when they earned their nickname in the 1940s. However, among wargamers the XIVth Army’s campaign to defend India and then to liberate Burma from the Japanese, remains the ‘Forgotten Wargames Period’ of World War 2. A very large part of the reason for this must be that while the ‘big picture’ is easily accessible, information on the details of the War Against Japan remain elusive and very difficult for the average wargamer to research. One need only look at the gigantic, yawning disparity between the number of books available on the Normandy Campaign compared to the number available on the Burma Campaign. Considering that Slim’s final victory against the Japanese was quite possibly one of the greatest British military achievements of all time, the lack of books available on the subject is very sad. From a wargamer’s point of view, the campaign presents a wide variety of different tactical situations; many of them far removed from the pure jungle warfare that most people might expect. I’ve made it my mission therefore, to shed a little light on the campaign, so that wargamers can join me in playing what I consider to be one of the most interesting campaigns of World War 2. I’ve already made a start –the orders of battle and army lists for the British Commonwealth, US-Chinese and Japanese armies in Burma are already available on the Battlefront: WWIIwebsite at www.fireandfury.com along with a number ofvaried scenarios. Presented here then, is a guide to the paint schemes of the British and Indian armoured units of the campaign. There are still many pieces of the puzzle to discover, but in the meantimeI’ve given them my best guess. The common misconception is that British and Indian tanks in the Burma Campaign were usually just monotonous Jungle Green, devoid of markings. However, that view usually comes from people who have only looked at dust- smeared and stowage-covered vehicles in black and white photos. In reality thesevehicles were often as colourful and interesting in their markings as their comrades in Normandy, though new photos do often throw up more puzzles than answers. Collected here is the sum-total of my knowledge on the subject. I hope it is of use and encourages new players to join the ‘Forgotten Army’ of Burma wargamers. Please get in touch if you can correct my mistakes or add something new to the document. British & Indian Camouflage Paint Colours 1941-45 British and Indian vehicles in the Far East were painted a single uniform camouflage colour. There were no official disruptive camouflage schemes and to date I have not come across any confirmed examples of locally-adopted disruptive schemes. However, photographs of the 7th Armoured Brigade’s Stuarts in 1942 do tend to suggest a banded camouflage in some photos. Some have suggested that this might be the remnants of their previous Middle Eastern camouflage, though records do state that the brigade repainted its vehicles in transit to the Far East. It may therefore be merely a trick of light, dust, damp or poor photographic reproduction. The standard camouflage colours used by the British and Indian Armies were: Middle Bronze Green (a.k.a. ‘Khaki Green No.3’) This was the standard colour for all British vehicles in the Far East in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The closest match is Humbrol 80, though note that prior to the Japanese attack, vehicles would normally be polished to a gloss, resulting in a deeper, darker tone. A suggested match is Vallejo 895(88). Standard Camouflage Colour (S.C.C.) 13 ‘Jungle Green’ This colour replaced Middle Bronze Green on British vehicles in the Far East from 1943. It was a very drab and muddy green and darker than US Olive Drab. The title ‘Jungle Green’ was not official and it was significantly different to the Jungle Green dye used in uniform manufacture, which was rather bluish and faded to a greyish tone. S.C.C. 13 was however, used for weapons and personal equipment such as helmets. Mix Humbrol 159 + 155 + 33 in ratio 4:3:1. A suggested match is Vallejo 893(95). S.C.C. 15 Olive Drab This was introduced in April 1944 and although not officially used in the Far East, vehicles and equipment delivered from the UK or Canada would normally arrive painted in S.C.C. 15 and might not be repainted prior to deployment in the field. The colour was introduced to match US Olive Drab, which it did when fresh, though it faded to green unlike US Olive Drab, which faded to grey. Mix: Humbrol 150 + 159 + 33in ratio 5:5:2. A reasonable match is Humbrol 159 + 33in ratio 8:1. A suggested match is Vallejo 924(94). S.C.C. 16 Very Dark Drab This colour was introduced in the Far East in 1944, though according to Dennis Oliver’s work, does not appear to have been employed in the field until 1945 and possibly only by 50th Indian Tank Brigade. It was certainly used for the Shermans of 19th Lancers in the final Arakan battles. It was a very dark, dull, dirty brown green. Darker than both S.C.C. 13 and US Olive Drab. It is also sometimes referred to as S.C.C. 207 and was recorded as being too dark to be used in the painting of personal equipment. Mix Humbrol 155 + 66 + 33in ratio 10:2:1. A suggested match is Vallejo 897(98). US Olive Drab US equipment delivered directly from the USA would normally arrive painted in US Olive Drab and would often find its way into the field still painted in this colour. The closest match is Humbrol 155. A suggested match is Vallejo Brown-Violet 887(93). British & Indian Vehicle Markings Listed on the following pages are the known marking schemes for the British and Indian armoured units in the Burma Campaign, as well as a few semi-educated guesses. By and large they followed the usual British marking regulations regarding placement and style of markings, but there were a few oddities: 7th Armoured Brigade (I Burma Corps 1942) Arm of Service Signs for 7th Armoured Brigade 60 HQ 7th Armoured Brigade 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars 61 (Stuart I) 2nd RTR 62 (Stuart I) 76 414th Field Battery (Essex Yeomanry), Royal Horse Artillery (25pdr) 77 Battery, 95th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (2pdr) Notes 1. The 7th Armoured Brigade was transferred from the Middle East –originally destined for Singapore, it was diverted to Burma. Sources conflict regarding paint schemes, though one veteran’s memoirs definitely state that the tanks were repainted in ‘Jungle Green’ (almost certainly Mid Bronze Green, as SCC 13 Jungle Green did not exist in 1942) and the red jerboa formation signs were painted green to match. A photo of a Stuart in Burma with the AoS serial ’60’ is identified as belonging to 2 RTR in most books, though researchhas shown this to be incorrect, as the Brigade HQ had 60, with 2 RTR having 62. Note that this system of AoS serials was made obsoleteatthe end of 1941, though 7th Armoured Brigade had probably not caught up with the latest AoS instruction while in transit to Burma. 2. Although they did not have any AFVs (apart maybe, from the odd Carrier), I have included the attached RA units in the above list. 3. There were many other AFVs involved in the Retreat From Burma –the Rolls Royce Armoured Cars of the Burma Auxiliary Force, the Universal Carriers of battalion Carrier Platoons and the Wheeled Armoured Carriers of some of the Indian infantry battalions. However, I have no idea what markings they may (or may not) have had. The few photos I can find of Carriers in Burma circa 1942 do not appear to have any markings. 4. Unusually, 7th Armoured Brigade painted its markings the ‘wrong way round’, with the formation sign (the Green Jerboa) on theright-hand side and the AoS marking on the left. Unfortunately I didn’t realise this when I painted mine (see photos below)! Squadron Tac-Signs for 7th Armoured Brigade RHQ A Sqn B Sqn C Sqn 7 H Troop numbers were often painted within the squadron tac-sign, in the same colour as the tacsign. The troop numbers were sequential through the regiment, so A Sqn would have 1-4, B Sqn would have 5-8 and C Sqn 9-12. I have not identified markings for Sqn HQ tanks, 2 RTR though ‘HQ’ was often used. Below and Right: More Stuarts of 7th Armoured Brigade in Burma, 1942. Below: A Universal Carrier of an unidentified unit during the Retreat from Burma, 1942. 50th Indian Tank Brigade (Indian XV Corps 1943-45) 19th Lancers 1945 marking Arm of Service Signs for 50th Indian Tank Brigade 50 HQ 50th Indian Tank Brigade 25th Dragoons 51 (Lee) 146th RAC (9th Duke of Wellington’s Regt [West Riding]) 52 (Valentine in 1st Arakan Campaign, then Lee (ten Grants served with ‘A’ Sqn) Indian 19th (King George V’s Own) Lancers 53 (Sherman V) 54 or 45 Indian 45th Cavalry (Stuart III) Notes 1. In 1945 the AoS signs were meant to be changed from red/yellow to plain red, but it is not clear if this order was ever carried out. 2. The AoS markings shown here for 45th Cavalry are conjectural, as I have been unable to confirm the correct markings for the regiment and the ‘gypsy caravan’ arrangement of stowage in photos often makes it impossible to identify markings. The regiment had previously been the Corps Armoured Recce Regiment for XXXIII Corps prior to its attachment to 50th Tank Brigade in September 1944 (see XXXIIICorps page), so should have had white squadron signs. However, a photo taken at Kohima of a Stuart ‘minesweeper’ tank belonging to45th Cavalry (see XXXIII Corps section below) appears to show squadron signs that are darker than the troop/tank number painted within, so it might be that the regiment had green squadron signs (indicating the fourth regiment of an armoured/tank brigade) throughout. 3. 146th RAC probably used an older AoS serial during their involvement in the First Arakan Campaign of 1942-43. However, I’ve no idea what this may have been. 4. In 1945 the 19th Lancers also carried an additional marking alongside the 50th Tank Brigade sign (see above right). Note that the colours of blue and yellow are conjectural. It has been suggest that this was a sign for the Indian XXXIV Corps (which was created in 1944). However, the 23rd Indian Division history shows the XXXIV Corps sign as a leaping tiger. The 19th Lancers at this time also carried unusual squadron tac-signs (see below) and do not appear to have carried AoS signs. Squadron Tac-Signs for 50th Indian Tank Brigade RHQ A Sqn B Sqn C Sqn RHQ A Sqn B Sqn C Sqn 25 D 19 L 19 L 146 RAC (1945) Numbers were painted within the squadron tac-sign which indicated the seniority within the squadron. SHQ would have 45 C ‘1’ and the four troops would have 2, 3, 4 or 5. These (conjectural) numbers were painted in the same colour as the tac-sign, except for 19th Lancers in 1945, which painted the numbers in black. The squadron tac-signs were usually painted on the rear-quarters of the turret. Left: A Lee of 50th Indian Tank Brigade in the Arakan. Below: Lees of 25th Dragoons at Ngakyedauk Pass (‘The Admin Box’), 1944. Above: Shermans of ‘B’ Squadron, 19th Lancers, in the Arakan in 1945. Note the non-standard squadron tac-sign and number ‘1’ inside the tac-sign. In this instance, it indicates the 1st Troop of ‘B’ Squadron, which would probably be the regiment’s No. 5 Troop. Note also the small, quartered black & white circle painted just below the camouflage net. There were three of these painted on random locations on the side of each tank in the regiment. They were used for testing and adjusting the main gun-sights. Right: A Sherman of ‘B’ Squadron, 19th Lancers near Kangaw in 1945. Note that all tanks of the 19th Lancers in 1945 seem to have carried bamboo poles and camouflage nets on the sides of the hull. Left: A Grant Mk I of ‘A’ Sqn, 146th RAC on Ramree island in 1945. Grant Mk Is, with the larger, British-designed turret, were very rare in Burma and served mainly with 149th RAC in 254th Tank Brigade. However, ten Grants served with ‘A’ Sqn, 146th RAC in 50th Tank Brigade (alongside two Lees). Note also the Universal Carrier with extended, deep-wading sides for amphibious landing. Right: A Grant Mk I of ‘A’ Sqn, 146th RAC, photographed on Ramree Island in 1945.. 254th Indian Tank Brigade (Indian IV Corps 1943-45) Arm of Service Signs for 254th Indian Tank Brigade 3 HQ 254th Indian Tank Brigade 3rd Carabiniers 4 (Lee) 149th RAC (7th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) 5 (RHQ, A & B Sqns with Grant –C Sqn with XV Corps in Sherman) 150th RAC (10th York & Lancaster Regt) 6 (Lee) Indian 7th Light Cavalry 7 or 37 (Stuart III) Notes 1. I have not identified the 254th Tank Brigade’s formation sign in any photos. The sign certainly does not seem to have been usedby the Shermans of C Sqn, 149th RAC, which served with XV Corps in the Arakan. However, photos of Lees are often very indistinct and the tanks themselves are plastered in dust, mud and stowage, so it’s often difficult enough to make out the huge Allied Stars painted on them, let alone formation signs. 2. The 254th Tank Brigade used a unique system of AoS serials, as shown here, which it seems to have retained until the end of the war. 3. There is one photo showing a Lee of 254th Tank Brigade with the number ‘10’ (presumably an individual vehicle number) paintedinwhite on the upper-front glacis plate (next to the driver’s vision-port) and the same number painted on the turret-rear (see photo below). 4. 150th RAC used X, Y & Z to identify its squadrons, rather than the usual A, B & C. 5. Bryan Perrett suggests ’37’ as the AoS serial for 7th Cavalry, combined with the XIVth Army formation sign, based on a veteran’s recollections. Squadron Tac-Signs for 254th Indian Tank Brigade RHQ X Sqn Y Sqn Z Sqn RHQ A Sqn B Sqn C Sqn 150 RAC 3 Carab Numbers were painted within the squadron tac-sign which usually indicated the seniority within the squadron. SHQ would have ‘1’ and the four troops 149 RAC would have 2, 3, 4 or 5. These numbers were painted in the same colour as the tac-sign. The squadron tac- signs were usually painted centrally on the turret side. 7 LC However, photos of Stuarts from 7 LC show a dark (black?) centre to the tacsigns and the numbers ’31’, ’32’ and ’37’ in white. These were certainly individual tank numbers.