British Airborne equipment paint recipe please.

[Johnny Boy]

I've sort of started my Airborne project which I'm keeping small, Honest!! and was wondering the best representation of the green for PIATs, Mortars Vickers MMG, ammo boxes Drop containers etc etc. When I did it all in 20mm I was still using enamels and having been through my paints and Can't really decide. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance
JB

[Tony Barton]

I use Vallejo Olive Grey 888 to represent the SCC15 Olive Drab used by 1944 for most equipment like mortars, Bren ammo boxes etc.
It's pretty close to Mike Starmer's colour chips for British vehicle colours. Ammunition boxes were often made in a chocolate brown shade something like Vallejo Burnt Umber 941, but perhaps a bit more red-brown. Drop Containers scarcely survive, so I am uncertain about them, but the Olive Drab is fairly probable.

[Harry Faversham]

If memory serves, drop containers were either different colours, or had a coloured band, denoting what lurked within.

[2010sunburst]

Wasn’t the designation given by the colour of the attached parachutes, rather than the containers, Harry? 

[Harry Faversham]

More than likely,  these days I've forgotten more about Airborne stuff, than most people know... literally!

    

[Jemima Fawr]

Drop Containers scarcely survive, so I am uncertain about them, but the Olive Drab is fairly probable.

I'm sorry to say that RAF Initial Officer Training in the 80s involved carrying hundreds of the bloody things all over Lincolnshire (the cylindrical CLE type and the square-section Type F)...    I wonder if they're still got them in the exercise equipment stores?

Ours were so battered that all the paint had chipped off, but they were originally painted in a variety of colours: white, pale grey, RAF blue-grey or olive drab are all known.  As has been said, the parachute colour indicated the load-type.  I've not come across examples of them being painted according to load.

[carlos marighela]

'Twas the other side that marked the canisters specifically to indicate their contents. I believe they also used coloured parachutes so the load could be followed to ground.

[Johnny Boy]

Evening all, many thanks for your input it's very much appreciated. The CLE containers were a bit of an aside but now I think I'll be including them more in scenarios.(Run Ginger!!!) I spotted the thread below from Blue Willow which you might find interesting in the box underneath this thread but put the link in anyway.
Thanks very much again
JB
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=126196.msg1593200#msg1593200

[bluewillow]

I have a whole blog post about drop canisters, containers and baskets. Drop canisters were different colours depending upon the operation but could be RAF light blue, white, black or most common scc 15 OD green.


https://kampfgruppewillow.blogspot.com/2020/06/d-day-and-arnhem-supplies-from-sky.html


Cheers
Matt