[MVolkJ]

Interesting. I also believed the green/brown paint was a tropical thing. Seems it was an across-the-board measure.

I too have a painted rifle; my '15 LSA has green paint on the barrel and knox form. The last part of its service life was spent in Aussie hands, but it didn't get there until after 1938 at the earliest; I'm guessing the paint was applied when the rifle was in British hands and was not removed when the Aussies overhauled it in 1944.

-Mark

 

[MVolkJ]

Of the Lithgows I've observed, none of them that I've ever inspected had the paint. Perhaps there was a later "removal" order, as 4thGordons has suggested... or the practice just wasn't commonly done by the Australians. They seem to have not cared about removing it from my LSA, however.

-Mark