The enemy will usually see vehicles at an angle. At least two adjoining surfaces will be visible to him at once. For example, from close-range ground observation he might see a side and the front; from the air, or on an aerial photograph, he might see the top, a side, and the front. For this reason, vehicle patterns are designed to disrupt the cube shape of vehicles from all angles, to disrupt shadows cast by tarpaulin bows, to tie in with the shadow at the rear of a vehicle when it is faced into the sun, to tie in with the large dark shadow areas of windows, mudguards, wheels, and undercarriage, and to be bold enough to be effective at a distance.

    Patterns are composed of a light color and a dark color. Black or olive drab have proved satisfactory dark colors in several theaters of operations. The light color is selected to match a light color typical of and predominant in the terrain in which the vehicle operates. White or light gray paint is applied to the undersurfaces of vehicles to cause them to reflect light, thus lightening the dark shadows of the undercarriage. This is called countershading.

    Camouflage painting is not a cure-all. Alone, it cannot be relied on to do more than render a vehicle obscure, making it hard for an enemy gunner to locate the vehicle and confusing him as to the location of vulnerable areas. Nor can it conceal a moving vehicle, because other sight factors, such as dust, reflections, and motion itself, will betray its presence. However, camouflage painting is a valuable supplement to other camouflage measures. Added to good siting, dispersion, camouflage discipline, and the use of nets and drapes, it increases the benefits to be derived from these measures. Together, and intelligently used, they will provide a high degree of concealment for any vehicle.

    In the following illustrations the national symbol has been left off the vehicles in order to show the pattern-painting method more clearly. This is not to be construed as authority for leaving off this symbol on all occasions. Paragraph 10a(3), AR 850-5, as changed, provides that the decision to obliterate the national symbol completely rests with the theater commander; the decision to obscure the national symbol, for reasons of tactical expediency, rests with the lower commanders concerned.