From:
Army Engineering Design Branch
Vehicle Development Record
Ottawa, 1946
Volume 1

Painting
In the initial stages the specifications for paint were based on those developed by the British War Office.  From time to time, modifications have been made to the specifications to suit manufacturing conditions in Canada although the basic requirements laid down by the British War Office were retained.

Those basic requirements were-

1.  That the finish must be ‘matte’ to decrease the amount of reflection from the sun or lights which reduced the tendency to reveal the vehicle’s location.

2.  That the finish must be gas decontaminable and gas resistant.  This requirement was to prevent blistering of the paint of a vehicle which had been subjected to an enemy gas attack and also that the surface could be cleansed from the gas itself otherwise it would be deterimental to personnel of the vehicle who might come in contact with it.

3.  Certain restrictions were laid down as to the precentage of lead compounds paticularly for the paint used for the interior of ‘closed type’ armoured vehicles.  This to reduce the hazards from lead poisoning when, due to impingment of explosives, particles might flake off and be absorbed by the occupants

The paint applied by the Vehicle Manufacturer was considered the basic colour on top of which the Army could apply the camouflage disruptive colour.

Due to the pooling of vehicles, and the difficulty in determining in production their ultimate destination, it was decided later, to paint all vehicles the one colour in production and , where necessary, the Army would repaint with the colour required in any particular theatre of war.

At one stage the British Ministry of Supply requested that all vehicles going to the Middle East be camouflaged.  However, it proved impractical to carry this out in production as proper camouflaging required a continuitiy of design and a variation from vehicle to vehicle to prevent a ‘stereotyped’ appearance.  It was impossible for the manufacturer to produce a continuity of design in production where, in many instances, the chassis and cabs were not matched untill arrival at destination.

The Canadian Army followed British Army practices fairly closely when it came to vehicle camouflage colours and patterns.  The British colours and patterns were laid down in Army Council Instructions (ACI) and Military Training Pamphlets (MTP).  These were reflected in most cases in Canadian Army Routine Orders (CARO).  While definitive proof has still to be uncovered, it seems that MTP 20 of June 1939 was followed by the Canadian Army.  This called for a  horizontal/diagonal patterns of two greens:     Khaki Green G3 ( No.23 Middle Bronze Green) and Light Green No.5 (Light Bronze Green).
 
 
 
 

At some as yet undiscovered time shortly hererafter, the British (and the Canadians) replaced Light Green No.5 with a colour known as Nobel's Dark Tarmac No.4.  To the best of our knowledge in 2002, the colour is best described as a dark, muddy gray.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Follows is the first Canadian reference to vehicle painting and camouflage.

Canadian Army Routine Orders (Overseas)
CMHQ London
14 October 1941

1121 - DISRUPTIVE PAINTING OF CANVAS COVERS AND HOODS OF VEHICLES

1.  As paint, spraying, khaki green, No.3 and paint, spraying, dark tarmac No.4 have injurious effect on canvas covers and hoods of vehicles, the use of these paints for disruptive painting of vehicle covers and hoods will be discontinued forthwith.

2.  In future, the following paints will be used for the disruptive painting of canvas covers and hoods of vehicles, and demands will be submitted as necessary through the D.A.D.O.S. of the formation to the Canadian Stores Depot, Crookham.

        Catalogue
            No.                            Section H-1
            HA                            Paint, camouflage, bituminous emulsion
            6188                          Standard Colour No.1A
            6179                          Standard Colour No.7

3.  The bodies of vehicles will continue to be painted with paint, spraying, khaki green, No.3 and paint, spraying, dark tarmac No.4

4.  Military Training Pamphlet No.20 - "Camouflage - Distruptive Painting of Vehicles, 1939" - will be amended in due course.

Yes, it DOES look odd.
A truck painted green and grey carrying a tarp painted a different shade of green and very dark brown.  But it was done, at least till the next change in orders.
 
 
 
 
 
 

By this time, the British had come up with a series of Standard Camouflage Colours.  Like all major changes in the Army, these were introduced gradually at first suplimenting Greens G3 and G5 then replacing them. They were produced in enamel for painting wood and metal and bituminous emulsion for canvas Its interesting that all had an official number but only one,
SCC 15, had an 'official' name.

STANDARD CAMOUFLAGE COLOURS

SCC1a -  "Very Dark Brown"
SCC2 -    'Dark Brown' /  "Service Colour" / 'Service Drab'
SCC4 -    'Dark Earth' (NOT the RAF colour)
SCC5 -    "Light Mud"
SCC7 -    'Dark Olive Green'
SCC11b   'Desert Pink'
SCC13  - "Jungle Green"
SCC14  - "Black";'Charcoal'
SCC15  -  Olive Drab