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The yellow circular marking on vehicles visible from the front and rear, (Gil, thread 7) was called the 'bridge plate' and you could chalk the weight of the vehicle on it so that the weight could be readily known in order to negotiate damaged bridges or the usual Bailey or current pontoon type bridges
Just had a look at mine and it has tow large daubs of yellow paint - on the side panel but towards one end. I'll try and take a pic tomorrow.
I just took a cotton swab and sprayed it with DEET. Rubbed it on the yellow spot, and got no reaction. BUT- I wouldn't consider that conclusive, as it was applied back in 1962 (dated case tag). I hardly doubt the chem paint would retain its efficacy over such an extended time period. Consequently, It did a pretty decent job of cleaning the dirt off the chest.
Sort of analogous to Tritium. I bought a Citizen self winding watch back in the mid-80's, complete with luminous markers on the hands and numbers. It's been 30 years, and those markers no longer glow. That's OK, because I got fat, and the watch no longer fits, so I don't wear it anymore!
The bridge plate was yellow, was usually circular, was mounted or painted on the front of the vehicle and had a number painted on in black to indicate to bridge sentries the rough weight in tons of the approaching vehicle. If the bridge was rated at say 10 tons and the approaching vehicle weighed 30 tons, the sentry was to stop it otherwise the bridge would collapse under the weight.
The gas detection paint was a different vehicle marking and was mustard in colour and was painted as an irregular blob on an upper surface of the WWII vehicle in a position where the driver could see it. If droplets of poison gas fell on it, they would change colour thus alerting the driver. If the driver was in a jeep that would be of little comfort as the jeeps usually did not have doors and the driver was usually very exposed to anything falling from the sky.
I have been in the military vehicle collecting hobby since 1977 and have owned many jeeps, CMP vehicles, Welbikes, BSA airborne bicycles etc,
I have found the yellow circles painted on the ends of the lids on several No.15 MK. I chests for the No. 4 MK.I (T) sniper equipment as well as a yellow band painted around one end in one case. I do not believe that this yellow paint has anything to do with gas detection paint. Remember that these chests were for storage and transit, not front line combat.
My belief is that it is simply a storesmen's marking, perhaps as a quick identification symbol for the contents of the chest. If so it could have saved a lot of work in stacking and sorting heavy chests filled with Bren Guns, sniper equipment, Boys Anti-tank rifles, Vickers MMGs etc.
I expect that the yellow paint blobs are simply a method of assisting stock checks in a dimly-lit store. If you have to count 17 green boxes of a certain type stacked up with 31 of another type, and 5 of a third type, then having identifiable markings is what you need.
That is quite literally why so many painted butt markings on rifles are so prominent and in white or other hi-visibility paint. Counting a hundred and twenty unit weapons in a poorly-lit basement armoury can be quite tricky (especially if one has been hidden to see if the duty officer really is counting them all....).
Its also why the markings occur in different configurations, or not at all. Each major unit (typically regiment, battalion or base establishment) would have a unique marking scheme. If certain "blobs" are very widespread, I'd say that'd be an indication of a large grouping of weapons - at a depot or similar.
Just spoke to our old Armourer in 2 PARA.
He says, place yourself in the time, after the war and up to the early seventies which was his time, and a time when the chests were everywhere in his armoury. A pain in the arse as he said always in the way with very limited space.
7.62 LMGs/L42's and other specialist weapons were deemed to him as a Battalion armourer as not taken out daily like the rest of the Platoon Infantry weapons ie SLR's/GPMG's/SMG's so were cased in their chests and the yellow was just a signifying mark passed down between armourers to quickly spot these "special" weapons no more than that.
LMG's were often on strength for the attached arms like RE who were always putting up fences or building sangers in NI and were also in their chests.
I think I remember a thread from way back about the yellow paint being applied by a commercial firearms distributor indicating where the crate and contents were to be shipped. Does that ring any bells?
Has anyone noticed any other colour paint "blobs" on military storage chests? It would seem logical that we would see other types of equipment chests with different coloured paint "blobs" on them. Stores identification would seem more likely than a gas detection/reaction paint.
I have never noticed the yellow blobs except from them being mentioned on the forum. And there seems to be plenty of 'em! It seems as there's too many to be just some unit storeman blanket stackers method of identifying what's what. The Armourers wouldn't be interested in the actual chests unless it needed some sort of repair in my limited experience! Even as recently as a few years ago only the L42 and L96 chests were kept in the armoury racks because the rifles were kept inside. The other boxes/chests/cases were stored in some out of the way store-room. Even if the rifle/LMG/GPMG had to go into the Base or Command Workshops, according to the regulations it should go in as a complete CES but this didn't happen in real life. Just the weapon went in, fault fixed and out again. Field workshops, then just the what was designated '....simple equipment scale' , simply the rifle.LMG/MMG would go in.
Due to the amount of these yellow dots observed world wide, based on nothing more than my limited knowledge of '....the system' and not having seen (or maybe noticed) them in service I'd say that it was an identifying marker at the main Ordnance Depots for disposal. Additionally, it could also indicate that it was being disposed of in its 'simple equipment state'. That is, just the rifle and telescope less the other odds and sods usually found in the chests. Maybe that's why now, part of the fun is chasing and finding all the other bits and pieces
You often see grey paint on Bren chests which has been used to cover up/over any stencilled wording relating to GUN or BREN which I assume to have been done just before or just after disposal. I have found that this can easily be removed by carefully rubbing with fine wire wool soaked in metholated spirit. (Please take sensible safety precautions when using it including eye protection.) I think that emulsion paint must have been used because it comes off so easily. Why it always seems to be grey paint that I've seen used for this purpose I have no idea.