The history of the Jeep is a vast and interesting one.  A vehicle doesn’t exist in one form or another for over 75 years and not build up some interesting facts and stories along the way.  This latest one comes from Jalopnik about how a paint job the Jeep had during the war was there to help protect soldiers.

The Jeep of WW2 typically featured a star known as the “invasion star.”  It was on the roof of the old Jeeps and in some cases, the star would be surrounded by brown paint.  It turns out that the brown paint was not a stylistic choice, but one made in hope of protecting the soldiers from chemical attacks.

“The paint’s purpose was to protect against chemical weapons attacks.  It’s called “M5 liquid vesicant detector paint””

The paint worked as a warning for the soldiers in the Jeep.  If the paint went from brown to red, that meant the soldiers were in danger of a chemical attack.  It was placed on the roof of the Jeep to be easily observed.

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