Jagdpanther – Department of Corrections – External Paint Finish - Part 2 - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

Our last article on the Jagdpanther external paint finish added to a lively debate on whether the Jagdpanther left the assembly halls of MNH with a base coat of rotbraun (red brown) and not dunkelgelb (dark yellow)- which was formally ordered to be the base coat on German vehicles after April 1943. This rotbraun paint was used both as a primer and one of the 3 key camouflage colours of the period together with dunkelgelb and olivgruen (olive green). 1945 is a period in which paint finish archive information is very limited. We were very fortunate to have been provided access to a photo (long since released into the public domain) of the Jagdpanther captured by US forces and examined by specialists at the Aberdeen Proving Ground under the guidance of Colonel Jarrett. This was taken not long after the war by Colonel Jarrett and shows a vehicle most definitely finished with a base coat of rotbraun. This photograph was given to our trustee and friend Tom Jentz by his friend Colonel Jarrett. A number of individuals dispute the image’s authenticity claiming it had been colourised or that the Jagdpanther had been subjected to a repaint based loosely on its original finish but with the pattern and colour mix incorrectly applied. We followed up on each of these points while Tom was still alive when we painted our Jagdpanther. The release of the restored Jagdpanther was followed by a lot of noise from many quarters attacking the colour combination. We returned to the subject when one of our members raised the topic once again together with some images of the JP at the time of capture in Europe during the war. The images were analysed intensely yet little could be determined one way or the other given the differing angles of the images taken versus the colour example. There was not enough data to declare a retrial. We were comfortable with the paint treatment at that point. New evidence on colours has since emerged from a number of Jagdpanthers sent into action in Northern Poland in February 1945. The unit history of one of the German units operating in the campaign reportedly states the JPs were received in February and knocked out in the same month. One was partially cut up after the war with the rest of the vehicle buried. A recent excavation revealed the remains of the large left hand panel still covered in rotbraun. This further strengthens our contention that the colour finish of our restored JP is based on evidence and not conjecture. This does not mean that all JPs were finished with the same paint scheme; there is not a sufficiently large sample base to substantiate this idea. The existence, however, of two original examples painted in this colour shows that some JPs were finished in this way and justifies our original decision.

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