By Canadian Press

Ready, aim, oops! Historic tank turns lemon-lime yellow

May 24, 2019 | 10:24 AM

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — A Korean War era tank owned by the West Virginia National Guard has turned bright lemon-lime yellow. The reason was a mystery until the sponsor of a science fiction club at Bluefield State College owned up to the mistake in a letter to The Bluefield Daily Telegraph .

Jerry Conner said the U.S.S. Yeager Chapter of Starfleet International has been cleaning and painting the tank for about 20 years, and took a colour sample to a local paint supplier, aiming to match the sample with two gallons of fresh paint.

“We were worried when we opened the containers and found something nowhere near our sample,” Connor said in the letter. He said they painted the whole tank anyway, assuming it would turn olive drab once it dried. It didn’t.

City Manager Dane Rideout said his staff is working with the club to acquire historically accurate paint for the M41 Walker Bulldog.

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

Question of the Week

Should Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson apologize or resign after it was found he breached a section of council's code of conduct for allowing false or misleading information to be communicated?

Dec 09, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Donald has it wrong - again

Dec 08, 2024

“We want to be as historically-accurate as we can be,” he said.

Rideout said a copy of the receipt from the paint sold to the college club does list the colour as “tank green.”

“At least the yellow of the tank is a nice match for the red of our faces,” Conner said.

___

Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, http://www.bdtonline.com

The Associated Press