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Painting US Airborne troops

By Evan Allen

All my figures are painted with the Vallejo range of


paints so if you use another brand then just check with
the colour charts included in the article to find the
closest match. These are my personal suggestions only
so please treat them as a guide and not “gospel”. I’ve
also refrained from my usual technique of adding a
little white to the basic uniform colour and drybrushing
highlights so you can see the actual colour more clearly.

The M1942 Uniform

The first combat uniform issued to US Airborne


troopers, the M1942, was purpose designed for
Airborne troops by Maj. William Yarborough (who was
also the designer of the US Airborne parachute wings).

The design included


features such as pockets cut
on the diagonal to allow
easy access while wearing
webbing equipment and
large, expanding, bellows
style leg pockets that
became a trademark of the
wartime US airborne
trooper. The M1942
uniform was used only by
Paratroopers and wasn’t
issued to Glider troops. The
Paratroopers taking part in
combat jumps in North
Africa, Sicily, Italy and
Normandy wore this
uniform and even one
battalion that jumped
during “Market Garden” in
Holland was still wearing
this uniform.

This uniform was made

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from light cotton that was a


pale greenish-tan colour
and I must admit to
spending an awful lot of
time experimenting to
achieve, what I hope to be,
the closest match possible.

I don’t usually mix different colours to achieve my basic uniforms but this uniform,
unfortunately, seems to defy any single colour in the entire vast Vallejo range.
Eventually I settled on a mix of Middlestone (882) + 20% US Dark Green (893).

The other colours I chose are:

Model- Games
Uniform item FWP Humbrol Tamiya
master Workshop
Weapon Furn. Flat Brown
170 1735 XF10 Scorched Brown
(wood) (984)
Webbing & Green Grey
83 1704 XF60 Cammo Green
Equip. (886)
US Olive Drab
Helmet 155 2050 XF62 Catchan Green
(887)
Flat Brown
Jump Boots 62 1701 XF10 Scorched Brown
(984)
The M1942 uniform was
practical to wear in combat
when it was warm but it
offered no protection from
the elements when the
weather turned nasty. Also,
being made from
lightweight cotton, the
knees and elbows tended to
wear out quickly so many
an airborne trooper bribed
his unit parachute rigger to
sew patches over the
elbows and knees. The
material commonly used
for this was cotton duck
from old parachute packs
and was olive drab in
colour.

I’ve painted patches on the


elbows and knees of this
figure over an otherwise
standard M1942 uniform
with US Olive Drab (887).
You could even mix these
with “unpatched” troopers
for a bit of variety.

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The Glidermen

The Glider borne troops


were basically standard
infantrymen who woke up
one day to find themselves
called Glidermen, there
were no calls for volunteers
here!

With a job equally as


dangerous as their
Paratrooper brothers they
were denied the extra
“jump pay” until just prior
to the “Market Garden”
landings when, finally, they
achieved official
recognition of the
hazardous nature of their
job. The uniform worn by
these intrepid airborne
soldiers was almost exactly
the same as the “leg
infantryman”.

The only allowance for airborne duties was the issue of jump boots to some fortunate
troopers and other than that this figure has been painted as an ordinary infantryman
in the M1941 uniform.

The colours I chose are:

Uniform Model- Games


FWP Humbrol Tamiya
item master Workshop
Jacket/leggings Khaki (988) 121 1792 XF57 Kommado Khaki
USA Field Drab
Trousers 118 1702 XF49 Graveyard Earth
(873)
Green Grey
Webbing 83 1704 XF60 Cammo Green
(886)
US Olive Drab
Helmet 155 2050 XF62 Catchan Green
(887)
Flat Brown
Boots 62 1701 XF10 Scorched Brown
(984)

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The M1943 Uniform

After the US Airborne


forces were withdrawn
from Normandy they were
refitted and brought back
up to strength ready for the
next mission. This
included the widespread
issue of the brand new
M1943 olive drab uniform
to the veterans of the 82nd
and 101st divisions. This
wasn’t just a paratroop
uniform but the beginning
of the US Army’s push to
standardize the combat
uniform. All airborne units
received the M1943
uniform, even the Glider
troops, but the
paratroopers were quick to
modify theirs by adding
bigger leg pockets.

The new airborne divisions arriving fresh from the States already wore this new
uniform and it was the uniform seen dropping from the sky, or climbing out of a
glider, during “Market Garden” in Holland and “Varsity” over the Rhine and into
Germany proper.

This figure is painted as wearing the new M1943 olive drab uniform. The uniform
colour I used is US Dark Green (893). The rest is the same as for the earlier paratroop
uniform colours details.

For all the airborne equipment like mortars and bazookas etc. I use:

Model- Games
Item FWP Humbrol Tamiya
master Workshop
Support US Olive Drab
155 2050 XF62 Catchan Green
Weapons (887)

as the US Army used pretty much the same colour of Olive drab on
everything.

I hope I’ve given you enough to help get you started on painting your
airborne force and also a feel for the kind of troops that you’ll be
leading, I’m sure, to tabletop success whether from the sky or as elite
“leg infantry” with a bit of Armour in support.

Happy gaming
Cheers,
Evan.

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History of the US Airborne...

Last Updated On Tuesday, April 30, 2019 by Wayne at Battlefront

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