User:SergeantSelfExplanatory/sandbox 1200

MERDC camouflage
MERDC Winter Verdant colorway in exercise Bright Star 1985
Type	List of vehicle camouflage patterns
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	US Army US Marine Corps South Korean Army
Wars	Cold War Gulf War
Production history
Designer	MERADCOM
Variants	Winter Verdant; Summer Verdant; Tropical; Snow with Trees; Snow with Open Terrain; Gray Desert; Red Desert

MERDC camouflage is a system of standardized camouflage paint schemes for military vehicles developed by the US Army Materiel Command's (AMC) Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command (MERDC, also as MERADCOM) during the 1970s. Each vehicle-specific paint scheme consisted of a color placement pattern and a combination of four out of twelve colors from the Federal Standard 595 (FS595) color reference. The colors and pattern scheme could be adjusted as the environments changed.

Background

Apply paint within IR-compliant reflectance levels.

Development

In 1972, MERADCOM conducted vehicle camouflage trials.

In 1974, MERDC camouflage was adopted. Gradually, all seven pattern colorways and white solid color for arctic were painted onto vehicles.

Patterns

Winter US & Europe - verdant

Snow - temperate w/ trees & shrubs

Snow - temperate w/ open terrain

Summer US & Europe - verdant

Tropics - verdant

Gray desert

Red desert

Winter arctic

Colors used in MERDC camouflage paint schemes

Color	FS 595 code
White	n/a
Desert sand	30279
Sand	30277
Earth yellow	30257
Earth red	30117
Field drab	30118
Earth brown	30099
Olive drab	34087
Light green	34151
Dark green	34102
Forest green	34079
Black	37038

Service

Europe

Nuclear missile BGM-109G Gryphon on Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) in Winter Verdant colorway in the 1980s

M60 and M113 in Winter Verdant colorway in 1979

United States

M60 in Summer Verdant colorway in 1978

From 197X to 199X, the MERDC Summer Verdant colorway was used during stateside exercises at Fort Knox, KY and Fort Pickett, VA.

Temperate and Arctic zones

M-973 small unit support vehicle in the Snow with Trees colorway being offloaded during Brim Frost '87

During Brim Frost exercises in the 1980s in Alaska

US Desert Southwest/Middle east

Gray Desert colorway at 29 Palms MCWGCC in 1982

Gray Desert colorway seen on 5-ton truck of B Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kuwait in the Gulf War, February 1991

Equipment of the 24th Infantry Division is loaded aboard a rapid-response vehicle cargo ship in preparation for deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 23 January 1991

In From 197X to 199X, the MERDC Gray Desert colorway was used during Combined-arms exercises at Marine Corps Twentynine Palms base.

In Egypt during Bright Star exercises in Egypt between the US Military and the Egyptian military.

In Beruit

In early 1991, the Gray Desert colorway saw limited use in Operation Desert Storm. Any vehicles not painted in a desert camouflage colorway, particularly those in MERDC Verdant, Temperate, and Arctic colorways, in NATO 3-color, or in solid Forest Green, had to be repainted as solid desert tan 'Sand'.

Replacement

In 1984, the NATO 3-color camouflage was adopted. There was concern within NATO that the enemy was able to tell which country they were fighting based on the camouflage of the vehicles.

External links

Historical US Vehicle Colour Schemes in Team Yankee - US Military Cold War camouflage posture

The Army's New AFV Camo Paint Job - US Militaria Forum

Camouflaged HUEY 1st Cavalry Division Ft Hood TRICAP Era - US Militaria Forum

Mk19's and helicopters - ARC Discussion Forums