Lone Sentry: Camouflage of Vehicles; Natural Materials (War Department Field Manual FM 5-20B, April 1944)

CONTENTS

Check List
Introduction
Aerial Observation
Ground Observation
Tracks
Siting
Dispersion
Shine
Shadows
[ Natural Materials ]
Vehicle Painting
Artificial Materials
Use of Nets
Digging In
Snow Camouflage

NATURAL MATERIALS

FIGURE 28.—Vehicle contrasted with natural background.

Camouflage measures for vehicles must often be hasty. Good siting in shadows and on the dark rough parts of the terrain pattern, as well as irregular dispersion, are essential, but they usually give only partial concealment. A much higher degree of concealment can be obtained by supplementing these measures with natural materials used to break up the shape and shadows of the vehicle. They are almost always available near a parking site and can be erected and removed quickly. They have the advantage of matching the local background. When cut foliage is used, it should be replaced as soon as it withers.

FIGURE 29.—Park a vehicle close to a clump of trees and use cut foliage to break up its shape and shadows. Cut foliage should always be placed upright in its normal growing position so that it looks the same as the surrounding foliage. Cover all surfaces which may shine. Tracks must not end here, but must be extended to another logical termination.

FIGURE 30 (1) and (2).—The characteristic black shadow in the open end of a cargo truck can be seen for a considerable distance. One way to conceal this shadow is to drop the rear tarpaulin. Another way is to use natural materials, as shown here.

[FIGURE 30 (1) and (2). Wrong. The characteristic black shadow in the open end of a cargo truck can be seen for a considerable distance. One way to conceal this shadow is to drop the rear tarpaulin. Another way is to use natural materials, as shown here.]

[FIGURE 30 (1) and (2). Right. The characteristic black shadow in the open end of a cargo truck can be seen for a considerable distance. One way to conceal this shadow is to drop the rear tarpaulin. Another way is to use natural materials, as shown here.]

FIGURE 31.—Even at close range this vehicle blends with the background. It is concealed with natural materials.

FIGURE 32.—Overhead cover is sparse here. This tank destroyer is sited so its over-all shadow is broken up. The long shadow line below the skirt is concealed from ground observation by natural materials.

FIGURE 33.—Trees break up the shape and over-all shadow of this half track. Dead vegetation is common in the surroundings, and it has been used to hide the shadows underneath the fenders and within the wheels.

FIGURE 34.—A combination of natural materials and blankets prevents shine from headlights and windshield on this truck.

FIGURE 35. — Green vegetation being boiled in 5-gallon cans to make adhesive.

A further use of natural materials is to aid concealment by altering the color of vehicles or by adding texture to them. These expedient measures make it easier to blend vehicles with their surroundings. Color may be altered by applying local mud to the body and tarpaulin. Apply the mud to form a pattern, following the pattern principles described on page 38. Texture may be added all over or in pattern shapes by attaching leaves, heavy grass, or coarse sand to the surface of a vehicle by means of an adhesive.

Old grease can be used as an adhesive, or a highly satisfactory dark-colored adhesive can be made from almost any green vegetation, such as leaves, shrubs, vines, weeds, crop plants, and most desert plants. To make an expedient adhesive out of natural materials, fill a 5- or 10-gallon metal bucket two-thirds full of freshly cut plant materials, packed tightly. Add water until plant materials are covered by about 2 inches. Boil for 1/2 hour, then transfer resulting liquid to a G.I. can or a 55-gallon drum and boil down until it is a paste with a consistency heavy enough to prevent it from running after it is applied. To avoid boiling over, never fill this container more than half way. Sixteen 5-gallon buckets of vegetation yield about 1 gallon of paste.

Apply adhesive paste in small patches. Press texturing materials on each patch before next one is applied. Texture applied this way resists rains. but may be scrubbed off with water.

FIGURE 36.—Vehicle camouflaged with leaves applied with green-vegetation adhesive.

FIGURE 37.—Thick mud being applied in a dis-ruptive pattern to a tank.



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