air recognition signs on Brit vehicles in Normandy question

maybe the whole top on the Achilles/m10/Achilles II was painted because the top of the turret could be taken off. just a guess

In the OSPREY Modelling Manual for the M-4 Sherman one article depicts a Sherman Firefly with the entire turret top painted in bright yellow. The book gives the unit and references the order in discussion at the start of this thread. The reason given for the bright paint job on the turret was to avoid confusion of Allied Pilots and to avoid any possible "friendly" fire incidents.

piotr-panzer, don't forget that while the common marking was the circle and star which was quite despised by the British and the Commonwealth troops as well, so much in fact that as a method of "rebellion" the stencil for these being painted on were often placed cock-eyed intentionally. So don't worry if you slip up on a decal placement when doing a British/Commonwealth vehicle.

I hope this helps

Cheers;

Gregory

piotr-panzer,to the forum. I'm sure you will enjoy it. As for your question,petbat has covered it rather well.I've never come across what you are describing in all the books I have read and the pictures I've seen.

Firstly, welcome to the Forums.

I personally have never heard or read of this, but that does not mean that the order never went out . I imagine few crews followed this order - a bit busy at the time.

Most Allied Tankers were issued coloured air recognition panels. These were large flourescent panels sewn onto canvas strips that were then tied to the vehicle. There were 3 colours - Magenta (sometimes referred to as red), Blue and Yellow - and they were to be used in a preset order/pairings for that day/week whatever. In actuallity, the preset pairing, etc proved too difficult to manage and were let go for months; The Blue panels were particularly hard to see from the air, and consequently the crews didn't bother much with any of them in the end.

Archer make these in flourescent inks see:
http://www.archertransfers.com/AR35169Y.html
http://www.archertransfers.com/AR35169BL.html
http://www.archertransfers.com/AR35169R.html