Interesting discussion about a subject I am not very familiar with. Learning every day! 
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Here is a great period color photo of the overalls worn by tankers. Obviously between dust and wear, lots of variation in the basic color
and some photos from Tunisia showing the uniforms worn in the winter '42/'43 there
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I knew the lower 2 but not the color picture. Thanks!
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Those coveralls appear to be unlined. More logical for North Africa than the winter bib-front over pants I mentioned.
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They are indeed unlined. The HBT overalls were meant for warm weather wear. To my knowledge, only tankers and mechanics were issued the uniform. Of course it could be worn over long underwear, sweaters, the standard wool uniforms, etc.The bib overalls were strictly were issued to the armored crewmen, along with the matching tanker jacket for cold weather wear.
Now mind you the winter conditions in Algeria and Tunisia were pretty damp and cold. So wear of the tanker winter uniform as seen in the photos of the Lee crewmen makes perfect sense. Particularly during the November through February portion of the campaign when US forces first went into battle. During March and April the weather gets much more temperate and warm as the days get longer and the rainy season passes. The climate is not too different than that in southern or central California away from the coast
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Ruck On, Bby! Erwin, u have more info than u know, Ruck On!
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Yes, the wool uniforms were worn in North Africa by US troops. They were standard issue and wear there.
US Army engineer placing demo charges under a Tiger hulk to blow it in place
105mm Howitzer gun crew in wool uniforms
US Army Ordnance types on knocked out Panzer IV El Guettar valley in wool uniforms
US Army Commo wire dogs checking phone lines… in wool uniforms…
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and for some good period close up color photos of the wool uniforms… this time in Italy…
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Good info gentlemen! Keep it flowing.
@PolishBrigade12 I love getting such info Steve. Research is part of the fun!
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Excellent photos!!!
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Life has tons of great original WWII color photos in their online archives. But it’s much harder to search for them than it used to be when they were first posted online several years back.
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Some photos of GIs in England before the Normandy Landings, Spring 1944… great for uniform color ideas
HBT Fatigues
Wool uniforms with M1941 Field Jacket
HBT Fatigues & 155mm rounds
HBT Fatigues, M1941 Field Jacket, Jerry cans
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Yep, exactly right!
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Not to change the subject, but I noticed 2 things that make me have questions. 1. The rims of every helmet rim appears to be worn to polished steel. Is this correct? 2. What are the red tabs on the Jerry cans? When would they be removed?
Thank you, Lakota
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The colored tags on jerry cans indicate the octane rating for gasoline; the red tags were labeled as 80 octane:
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The original design M1 helmet had a rim of stainless steel. I guess the paint didn’t adhere as well as it did in the later versions (which had the rim made from the same manganese steel as the helmet shell itself).
But the original stainless steel wasn’t always all or nothing. I have a couple of original condition examples where the paint wear on the rim was minimal.
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Looking at a few of those cams, noticed the blue stripes on them…
The markings go along with the red Octane Tags.
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Back on the topic of olive drab, but this time number 7. Any advice on the base color (brand /number) for this one?
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