RAF vehicles

[Larry Hayward]

I realise now the photo above was not an Austin. The engine cover hid the detail I was looking for, as in the attached photo of an RAF Bedford MSC in October 1940 with 83 Sqn c/o IWM.

By comparison this Bedford looks to have a cab as yet in need of disruptive camo, to match the rear wooden body. Could it be that the cab is still in RAF Blue at this stage of the war and soon to be completed when the proper paint arrives? It is hard to tell, but with the RAF insignia, it looks quite fresh and the paint appears to have a sheen. If it is in a base coat of G3 camo the RAF insignia would surely have been painted over?

Certainly the cab of the Bedford in the second photo (right) suggests the cab is still in RAF Blue glossy finish, with perhaps a very thin spray of G3 which has worn off or yet to be completed. So were vehicles painted in stages?

Also I guess that whatever the colours used on the wood of the body, they were different paint type from the metal parts?

Incidentally, I find it hard to distinguish a Bedford MSC from an ML. What are the distinguishing features?