article
Vietnam Camouflage. TAC SEA Designs (1964-1996)
As the US’s participation in the Vietnam War escalated, the need to create new camouflage schemes appropriate for the combat conditions in South-East Asia became apparent. In 1964, Tactical Air Command introduced its very first disruptive camouflage scheme which began to be seen in the skies over Vietnam from 1965 onward. This has led to its erroneous labeling as the South-East Asia (SEA) scheme when in fact, it was applied to virtually all TAC aircraft regardless of whether they were deployed in that theater or not. The new TAC camouflage scheme was based on a disruptive pattern consisting of two low contrast greens and a brown. The greens consisted of FS 34079 Forest Green, a dark green that was also widely used by the US Army, along with FS 34102 Medium Green, a dark olive green when freshly painted but which often took a lighter and deeper tone. The brown was FS 30219 Dark Tan which had a tendency to fade towards a lighter, desert yellow. Undersides were painted in FS 36622 Camouflage Gray, a slightly warm light gray that in many photographs appears more like an off white. The disruptive pattern was specific for each aircraft as determined in T.O. 1-1-4, although its freehand application resulted in noticeable variations across each individual airframe.
As already mentioned, the new TAC camouflage scheme’s association with the Vietnam War has led to it being invariably referred to as the SEA scheme ever since. Nevertheless, an actual SEA scheme existed which had the FS 36622 undersides replaced with FS 17038 Black. This was applied in the South-East Asia theater to aircraft used for night operations, gunships (AC-47, AC-119), F-4Ds from the 479th Tactical Fighter Squadron, and the F-111 (not including the strategic FB-111 variant). In the particular case of the F-111, the SEA scheme was used almost exclusively until its retirement from active USAF service in 1996. There are also numerous photographs that show Europe-based F-4s with an unidentified light green color instead of FS 30219. This was initially believed to be a new scheme adapted for temperate environments but is now known to have been the result of bad FS 30219 paint batches, although the question remains why these were allowed in an air force generally known for its strict adherence to standards. Around 1979, it was decided to convert the TAC scheme into a full wraparound, omitting the FS 36622 undersides. This change coincided with a switch to less conspicuous black (FS 37038) markings and insignia. Although this variant was relatively short-lived, the wraparound camouflage and all-black markings were carried over to the Euro I scheme that followed.
The TAC camouflage scheme (or localized variations of it) was adopted many air forces worldwide given its suitability for many different environments. It was particularly popular in Latin America and Asia but also taken up by a number of NATO countries that adopted the F-4. Even in temperate regions like Central Europe, it was a considerable improvement over natural metal finishes which had hitherto been the standard on TAC aircraft. Overall, the TAC camouflage scheme stands as one of the most iconic of the mid-Cold War period and especially of the Vietnam War, so much that it probably deserves its mislabel as the SEA scheme after all.
Greece adopted this camouflage on its fighter jets HAF, from the beginning of 1970.
F-5 Freedom Fighter
F-4 Phantom II
F-84F Thunderstreak
F-102A Delta Dagger
F-104 Starfighter
A-7 Corsair II
C-130 Hercules
Paint guide:
- FS 34102 Medium Green: This is a complicated color to interpret. On one hand, the color chips show relatively modest contrast with the darker FS 34079. However, many photos show much greater contrast and also a deeper tone to the olive green seen in the color chips. Gunze H303/C303 is closer in tone to the chip but noticeably lighter, whereas the AK Real Colors and MRP version is deeper and closer to the photos.
- FS 34079 Forest Green: This is one of the few military colors that tends to be almost universally accurate so it’s hard to go wrong. The Italeri version (4726AP) is labeled as RAF Dark Green, which is often matched to FS 34079 although it is noticeably browner.
FS 30219 | FS 34102 | FS 34079 | FS 36622 | FS 17038 | |
Dark Tan | Medium Green | Forest Green | Camouflage Gray | Black | |
Schemes | |||||
TAC | Upper Camo | Upper Camo | Upper Camo | Lower | |
TAC SEA | Upper Camo | Upper Camo | Upper Camo | Lower | |
TAC Wraparound | Wrap Camo | Wrap Camo | Wrap Camo | ||
Color matches | |||||
Gunze Mr. Color | C310 | C303 | C309 | C311 | C2 |
Gunze Mr. Hobby | H310 | H303 | H309 | H311 | H2 |
Humbrol | 118 | 117 | 116 | 28 | 21 |
Italeri | 4709AP | 4862AP | 4726AP (!) | 4763AP (!) | 4695AP |
Model Master | 1742 | 1713 | 1710 | 1733 | 1747 |
Revell | – | – | – | – | 07 |
Tamiya Acrylic | – | – | – | – | X-1 |
Tamiya Lacquer | – | – | – | – | LP-1 |
Vallejo Model Air | 71.125 | 71.289 | 71.294 | 71.296 | – |
Vallejo Model Color | 70.874* | – | 70.893 | – | 70.861 |
AKAN | 6/72021 | 6/72003 | 6/72002 | 6/72023 | – |
AK 3Gen Acrylic | AK11121 | AK11342 | AK11346 | AK11890 | – |
AK Real Color | RC895 | RC905 | RC900 | RC922 | – |
AMMO by Mig | A.MIG-202 | A.MIG-004 | A.MIG-206* | A.MIG-226 | – |
Hataka | HTK-_012 | HTK-_021 | HTK-_016 | HTK-_039 | HTK-_100 |
Lifecolor | UA 015 | UA 002 | UA 001 | UA 021 | LC 52 |
Mission Models | MMP-066 | MMP-028** | MMP-058 | MMP-095 | – |
Mr. Paint | MRP-103 | MRP-102 | MRP-101 | MRP-104 | MRP-172 |
Xtracolor | X102 | X116 | X110 | X140 | X012 |
Xtracrylix | XA1102 | XA1116 | XA1110 | XA1140 | XA1012 |