Pintle Hitch: OD Green or Black?

[Jeff_Lee]

Checked all the paint ref charts and descriptions I know of, and searched Millers books and his posts, but it's hard to determine OD from Black on a B+W photo!
Did it leave the factory black or OD green?
Thanks, Jeff
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1951 M38 restoration project - Flightline Jeep MC 23923 DoD 6-51
1954 M-100 Trailer USMC Dunbar Kapple s/n M-750759 DoD 1-54
1947 Willys CJ2A - Harvest Green
1954 Ford F-100 Parts chaser - blueprinted Y-Block
Southeast Florida

[RonD2]

Hi Jeff,
Every illustration in the (black & white) Army manuals suggest OD to me. The pintle appears the same shade as the surrounding body parts that are known to be OD anyway.
I think if it was black paint it would really show the contrast and stand out.
Could be wrong, but I always thought the only visible black paint on a M38 from the factory was under the hood.

Just my 2 cents --- obviously not proof one way or the other.

Flight-line jeep? Checkerboard? Nice!

Got one of these? https://flagladyusa.com/airfield-vehicle-safety-flag-3-ft-x-3-ft.html

Good luck!
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Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51

“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari

[Jeff_Lee]

Hey Ron, that's what I was leaning towards. Most resto's I see are OD.

I just sandblasted and cleaned the hitch up, and gave it a coat of POR-15. It's so pretty in black right now, I thought it worth a check, ha.

The flag is a perfect addition to the Flight Line jeep!

Back to painting,
Jeff
_________________
1951 M38 restoration project - Flightline Jeep MC 23923 DoD 6-51
1954 M-100 Trailer USMC Dunbar Kapple s/n M-750759 DoD 1-54
1947 Willys CJ2A - Harvest Green
1954 Ford F-100 Parts chaser - blueprinted Y-Block
Southeast Florida

[JBJeep]

I'm restoring my M38A1 in USAF Strata blue.

I bought a flight line flag like the one above.
Amazon has them, I bought mine from Grainger because it was American made.
I recommend a "swiveling" flag staff...the top half rotates so the flag always trails correctly if you drive with it.
Also, there is pole that unscrews to reduce the length to 3' for easy transport or storage.

To finish off the Jeep, do a search for flight line control tower light signals chart.
There are plenty online from various agencies, you can even buy a decal from Amazon.
I downloaded the official Air Force dashboard graphic and had had a decal made (at FedEx Kinkos is for not much money. Or if you can live without the USAF verbage on the bottom buy the Amazon decal and call it "close enough").
Search "Air Force Visual Aid 13-221". There are pdfs you can download.
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1955 M38A1 MD 82551
Former owner/restorer of 1977 CJ-5, stock with factory V-8.
Used as a daily driver for seven years.