Camouflage
In 1932, the first Panzer I prototypes, the 1. Serie/La.S. and Kleintraktor, were painted in “Feldgrau” (Eng:
field gray). This specific camouflage was put on all military vehicles to disguise them as commercial
vehicles.
Feldgrau
(Field gray)
Later during the same year, the first ‘real’ Panzer Is received the Buntfarbenanstrich (Eng: multi-colored-
camouflage). This was a three-tone camouflage consisting of earth-yellow, matt green, and matt brown. The
pattern was to be applied in random patches and could either be feathered or separated by thin black lines.
The three
colors (from left to right): Erdgelb (Eng: earth yellow), Matt Braun (Eng: matt brown), and Matt Grün (Eng.
matt green).
In July 1937, an order was given to stop painting all tanks in Buntfarbenanstrich. Tanks would now be
painted in dark gray and dark brown. The base color was gray, with patches of brown applied randomly but
not overlapping the gray. The order only applied initially to newly produced tanks. Tanks with the old
camouflage would only be repainted if necessary due to damage to the old pattern. Tools and equipment
stayed in the old camouflage. In November 1938, the order was given to paint every tank in the new pattern,
with ⅔ of the tank covered in gray and ⅓ in brown. Although the reason why this new pattern was
introduced is unknown, it is highly likely that it was because the gray and brown paints were much cheaper.
Furthermore, gray has the effect of blending in with the surroundings over long ranges, making it a fairly
effective camouflage pattern.
From left to
right: Dunkelbraun (Eng: dark brown) and Dunkelgrau (Eng: dark gray)
To save paint, in June 1940, the order was given to stop buying paint directly from suppliers and obtain it
through the Ordnance Department. A month later, it was ordered that all vehicles would only be painted in
dark gray.
Dunkelgrau
(dark gray) Ral 7021
For the Afrika Korps, a special camouflage pattern was issued. In March 1941, when the first tanks arrived
in Libya, the order was given to paint all equipment and vehicles in Gelbbraun (Eng: yellow-brown) with
Graugrün (Eng: gray-green) patches. This pattern would be applied in the same way as brown and gray: ⅔
of the tank in yellow-brown and ⅓ in gray-green. Unlike the brown and gray pattern, the edges would not be
sharply defined but rather feathered together.
From left to
right: Gelbbraun (Eng: yellow brown) Ral 8000 and Graugrün (Eng: gray-green) Ral 7008
In March 1942, the camouflage for all vehicles in the Afrika Korps was changed to a base brown (⅔) and
light gray patches (⅓). Before applying the new pattern, all old paint supplies had to be used up.
From left to
right: Sandbraun (Eng: sand brown) Ral 8020 and Hellgrau (Eng: light gray) Ral 7027
On 18th February 1943, the order was given to paint all vehicles and larger equipment in Dunkelgelb (Eng:
dark yellow). Olive-green and red-brown would act as camouflage stripes, which could be acquired through
normal supply channels. The application of olive-green and red-brown was made optional, since not all
units, especially on the Eastern Front, had access to these paints. Note that by this point, all Panzer Is had
been pulled out of frontline service. Panzer Is that continued service as training tanks were painted in dark
yellow.
Dunkelgelb
(Eng: dark yellow) Ral 7028. Note the color is not perfect, since the original pallet for Ral 7028 was lost
during the war.
