Some several entries back, Gina stated that 'I am equally certain they did not purchase paint locally... there is an absolute lack of evidence to support the contention and an ocean of evidence that the Army supply chain worked', a premise more or less agreed with by Lang in the next post.
To what extent camouflage paint was purchased locally is, I think, one of those great 'unknowns'. It was certainly officially sanctioned during the 'dark days' of early 1942, viz, Mechanization Circular 301 of 2 January 1942, para 3:
'Gas resisting paints should be used, if available, but disruptive painting is not to be postponed on this account. Camouflage paint, Type "B" Australian Standard Specification Emergency Standard No. (E) K.507 is to be used for colours other than gas resisting. Paints are to be purchased locally. Australian Paint manufacturers are at present supplying gas resisting paints in Khaki Green No.3 and Light Stone BSC No.61 (British Standard Colour No.61).'
The circular also states clearly that the basic colour was KG3 - in this case, I doubt the authorities got their KG3 and KG(J) mixed up, so I believe we have to take it as read that KG3 was in production and on issue at that point. (KG(J) was the non-gas resisting equivalent to KG3 and available as one of the camouflage paints of the Emergency Standard (E) K.507, which was first issued by Standards Australia in December 1941. So KG(J) was the alternative to KG3 when KG3 gas resisting was not available through the normal army supply chain.
MC301 is one of the many camouflage documents not reproduced in Taubert's book. It was held at NAA Canberra in file A705/1 Item 211/9/430 when I copied it in the early 1980s, but I can't seem to find it under that ref in Recordsearch.
My two bob's worth..... back to my mid-morning brew!
Mike
