Japanese military camouflage schemes of the Second World War

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The Japanese military used a number of standardized camouflage schemes for vehicles and aircraft during the Second World War.

[edit] Imperial Japanese Army (IJA)

The vehicle was sprayed overall with a khaki colour at the factory. Over this cloud--like patterns in earth and dark green colours was sprayed or brushed on.

There was no fixed scheme for the camouflage pattern. On top of the three basic colours yellow was used. Belts of smooth curved yellow were painted from the turret top down to all four sides. On other cases, vertical yellow lines were used on both sides of turret and chaissis with curved yellow lines on the front and back. These yellow belts came to have irregular winding curves. The effect was to breakup the vehicle shape and misdirect its direction. In the later half of the war the camouflage schemes did not use the yellow belts and consisted of the three main colours.

as tropical Jungle camouflage, in southern areas, the servers in battle front development a particular scheme were at this standart paint pattern added little rays or spots of clear green,clear brown,grey over basic pattern mentioned, or used same scheme, amongst your use in dense forests in Manchuria and Chinese front.

in case of winter in northern forests areas, some vehicles had white water paint brushed on same camouflage pattern in some dessert areas of east mongolia or north west Manchukuo,was indeed a paint pattern of adding little clear green or clear brown spots or little rays over basic camouflage scheme.

If similar scheme if observed in some aircraft of IJAAF in New Guinea area(Kawasaki Ki-61,etc).were over basic grey or dark green colour was covered of green or inverse gray spots or rays in upper surfaces for provocated similar misleading effects over Jungles.in similar way was painted Japanese aircraft in use of Royal Thailand Air Force in wartimes when over dark olive standart pattern was covered of little rays or spots of dark green.

[edit] Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)

The SNLF Armored Groups of the IJN in some cases used the same camouflage scheme as the IJA for jungle operations but generally used one of two patterns. Normal tanks and armoured vehicles were finished in all over khaki or grey while amphibious vehicles were all grey except that red was used for lower surfaces. Initially amphibious tanks were painted a solid dark grey like Navy vessels - this changed to green in 1943. Ka-Mi tanks landing on Leyte were painted solid green.

During the early part of WW2 the land-based naval medium bomber force - composed of Mitsubishi G3M and Mitsubishi G4M - used a similar camouflage pattern to that of the IJA tanks. Upper surfaces were in dark green and dark earth colours separated by thin curving belts of blue. The lower surfaces were in plain grey.

such camouflage pattern provided similar effect of misleading the size the bomber as well as overawing the enemy, when flying over jungles.

Later for naval fighter groups in New Guinea and Philippines (Mitsubishi A6M) was developed in front other camouflage scheme, were if had white or clear grey paint spots or rays brushed over standart naval obscure green for causing as similar effect over mentioned areas. Both schemes were later discarded and a standard naval dark green pattern was used instead.

The camouflage was also applied and some late produced vehicles were painted with waved stripes. The color of the stripes is not clear, but it will be dark grey or dark green.