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Doug,

It is my understanding that the camouflage efforts were a project under the auspices of Project MASSTER (Modern Army Selected Systems Test Evaluation and Review). As well as the projects at Knox there was a test program at Ft. Sill that involved a 50-50 painting of light Sand over Forest Green in smoth patterns with sharp edges. One trooper said that this wasn't popular as tere was sand in the paint to reduce reflections, so the painting was done by hand. When I visited there I saw M109s, at least one M198 several trucks, etc in this scheme. There were reports of an M48A3 or an M60A1 painted up also.

As modelers we heard rumors (in those pre-internet days) and saw small pieces in magazines. Back in those days we would visit recruiting offices to get the free photos and color brochures that were always plentiful. One fellow didn't have new photos but showed my buddy and I a film strip of the 2nd Armored at Ft. Hood - low and behold the US Army was painting tanks in camouflage patterns!!!! (this was the large unit test of the MERDC patterns that later became standard). The troopies were also in camo uniforms (early BDUs). I started writing letters to the PIO at the 2nd Armored to get photos. Before long I had a contact in the National Guard mention that an agent from Army Security and Intelligence Agency had asked if they knew anything about me because I was asking questions about a test operation. Guys, if it's a SECRET don't put it on recruiting films! Anyway I get a small smile out of the idea that somewhere deep in an archive is an official government report that verifies that I am a nerd.

Anyway, there were some interesting goings on at the time in regards to camouflage. That is when the BDUs were being developed, the lightweight camo nets came out and about the time the idea of Duo-Tex schemes were experimented. I remember visiting Ft. Hood later and seeing a battalion of M60A2s painted in one of the MERDC desert schemes - very cool looking on the M60A2.

Gary

Gary,

Photobucket is balking at my upload attempt, so I'll just do it here. I think this was one of the camo test patterns, and I'm reinforced in that view what with the mounting of accessory gear like the searchlight and the fake .50 cal, which would be to keep correct "profile" during visual detection-rate studies.

I've cranked the brightness and contrast to make the colors more visible, since the vehicle was photographed in a shady area.

D.

Doug, Do you have a bifgger version of this you can send me? I've got a collection going on Flickr. tumbleweed at arholloway.com

Interesting this is an M551A1 but still has one of the old tubes with the bore evacuator. Guess they used them until they were gone.