Met veel bouwplezier gemaakt 😀
The Berlin Brigade Scheme
Among former frontiers of the Cold War, Berlin holds a place of its own. If governments in Washington and Moscow felt threatened by the missiles that could cover the distance between continents in minutes - it is difficult to imagine how Berliners must have felt on the cold front. The constant tension put extraordinary requirements on men and equipment stationed within the city for its defense. For the military planners, the confined area of West Berlin presented a totally unique set of challenges. Some of them were perhaps never solved, but others lead to some innovative military thinking.
In 1982, the 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards tank squadron in Berlin initiated a series of experiments with replacing a normal Deep Bronze Green paint scheme of the British Army with something giving a more effective camouflage in the urban environment.
The resulting Chieftain paint scheme must still rank as one of the most unusual and visually appealing tank camouflages ever devised. Influenced by the “dazzle” scheme of Royal Navy in WWII, the striking rectangular pattern was intended not only to conceal, but also to mislead, and was reportedly extremely effective.
The scheme was subsequently adopted by all British forces in Berlin. All vehicles were painted exactly to the same pattern, thereby denying the Soviets a possibility to determine the strength of the British Forces by recognizing individual tanks.
The Berlin Brigade Scheme
Among former frontiers of the Cold War, Berlin holds a place of its own. If governments in Washington and Moscow felt threatened by the missiles that could cover the distance between continents in minutes - it is difficult to imagine how Berliners must have felt on the cold front. The constant tension put extraordinary requirements on men and equipment stationed within the city for its defense. For the military planners, the confined area of West Berlin presented a totally unique set of challenges. Some of them were perhaps never solved, but others lead to some innovative military thinking.
In 1982, the 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards tank squadron in Berlin initiated a series of experiments with replacing a normal Deep Bronze Green paint scheme of the British Army with something giving a more effective camouflage in the urban environment.
The resulting Chieftain paint scheme must still rank as one of the most unusual and visually appealing tank camouflages ever devised. Influenced by the “dazzle” scheme of Royal Navy in WWII, the striking rectangular pattern was intended not only to conceal, but also to mislead, and was reportedly extremely effective.
The scheme was subsequently adopted by all British forces in Berlin. All vehicles were painted exactly to the same pattern, thereby denying the Soviets a possibility to determine the strength of the British Forces by recognizing individual tanks.
