What is OD color?

For those who collect World War II items, it's hard to believe that someone doesn't know what "olive brown" or "OD" means. But not everyone remembers the familiar military slogan: "If that thing moves, kill it;" If you don't move, spray OD color. " ?

As the name implies, olive brown is a color, usually referred to as OD color. It is like a deep olive green, which is the main color of the US Army. In addition to the third-class soldiers running around the ground, other US services and even the armies of many other countries in the world are using this color.

The title background of every page of Olive-Drab.com website uses the color closest to OD color, and tries to display it on the computer screen. Although it may look different on different screens, it should be dark green, similar to the feeling of green olives. ?

It is worth mentioning that not everyone agrees with this definition, so many greens that look more or less similar are called olive brown. Even within the US military, the definition of this color is "erratic", but after World War II, influenced by the change of FS-595 coating standard, it evolved into the current definition, so naturally there are many variants.

The history of olive brown

In the process of research, it is also difficult to find accurate records of the past olive brown body state. Re-coloring the old photos, the final effect may be completely different from what the naked eye saw at that time. Various factors in photography will change the effect of color redrawing. Even if you really hold an old item, its paint or dye may fade over time or change in an unimaginable way. In short, it is difficult to restore the true effect of OD color.

All vehicles, field suits, fittings, ammunition cans and other materials of the US Army have used OD color for many years. Olive brown was often used as vehicle coloring in World War II, which required a flat effect without any luster. In the transitional period after World War II, before the use of modern camouflage patterns, American vehicles were still semi-dull, dark od colors with white five-pointed stars, just like the trucks in the above picture. Up to now, automobile camouflage patterns still contain OD color, and many equipments and articles also keep this color.

Olive brown is also one of the few colors that directly use color names to indicate the type of articles, especially when printing and dyeing fabrics used for uniforms or equipment (see Olive-Drab.com World War II clothing page). Because olive brown is closely related to the army, Olive-Drab.com website uses this name to express the theme of the website intuitively.