Bomber Command aircrew uniform colours

[AlanG]

Just doing some research for a future project and was wondering what uniforms were worn whilst flying and the respective colours (in Vallejo if possible) would be.

[Airborne01]

Apologies for having just seen this Alan; a very good reference is as follows:
PRODGER MJ (1977)
Luftwaffe vs RAF. Flying Clothing of the Air War 1939-45. Schiffer Military History. ISBN 0-7643-0234-5

The colour plates are very good and should be easy to translate to your chosen paint source! Hope this helps!
Steve

[Tim Marlow]

Men at arms number 225 from Osprey might be used as well Alan. Similar range to Steve’s, above, but RAF only. Seems to go for about a fiver plus postage second hand……

[Ian M]

Men at arms number 225 from Osprey might be used as well Alan. Similar range to Steve’s, above, but RAF only. Seems to go for about a fiver plus postage second hand……

You beat me to it Tim!

[rtfoe]

I thought everyone in the RAF wore a sought of dark blue and some individuals like Bader wore tan overalls although he wasn't from bomber command. What they wore under their tunics and over for extra warmth could be different...mummies crochet jumper perhaps. I wonder if they wore electric heated suites? Just a thought.

Cheers,
Richard

[The Smythe Meister]

I used this pic as a ref for my Mossie crew,for reference purposes only of course !!
Andy(mine didn't come out anywhere near as good as those of course )

[Airborne01]

I thought everyone in the RAF wore a sought of dark blue and some individuals like Bader wore tan overalls although he wasn't from bomber command. What they wore under their tunics and over for extra warmth could be different...mummies crochet jumper perhaps. I wonder if they wore electric heated suites? Just a thought.

Cheers,
Richard

They certainly did at various times Richard - but generally the suits seem to have been as efficient as a politician in a pub brawl ...
Steve

[adt70hk]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1183752[/ATTACH]
I used this pic as a ref for my Mossie crew,for reference purposes only of course !!
Andy(mine didn't come out anywhere near as good as those of course :smiling3: )

Thanks for sharing Andy....very helpful for my Mossie pilots!!

[stona]

I'm not aware of any British WW2 bomber being equipped to power electrically heated suits, which rather makes the suits themselves a moot point.

Plenty of layers and a warm jacket, as your mum used to tell you!

British bombers had some form of rudimentary heating, from the engines. The heating of the Lancaster famously slowly baked the navigator while everyone else slowly froze, so efficient it was not.

Spare a thought for Mosquito crews, particularly those operating types with a pressure cabin. They might fly at 35,000 feet, but the pressurisation only reduced that apparent altitude by about 10-12,000 feet, meaning they still felt as if they were flying not far below the summit of Mt. Everest!

[Airborne01]

Hi Steve!
There was an amazing range of electrically powered clothing issued to the RAF: these included gloves, suits and suit liners, waistcoats, boots and bootees, 'clothing' (at least four types) and the infamous 'Channel' suits. They all seem to be inherently fragile and/or possess the ability to inflict burns on the unfortunate wearer! Still, they were early days!
Steve

[rtfoe]

Could the electrically powered clothing be for the Liberators and Frotresses of the coastal command. But then again they wouldn't be flying very high if they want to spot submarines.
I heard about British planes designed with heating ducts from the engines.

Cheers,
Richard

[Airborne01]

Could the electrically powered clothing be for the Liberators and Frotresses of the coastal command. But then again they wouldn't be flying very high if they want to spot submarines.
I heard about British planes designed with heating ducts from the engines.

Cheers,
Richard

I suspect the 'designers' were trying to cover all eventualities Richard - a 'Horses for Courses' committee approach in which no single requirement was identified and rectified! Mind you, I've heard (probably correctly) that a camel is a horse designed by a committee ...
Steve

[stona]

Could the electrically powered clothing be for the Liberators and Frotresses of the coastal command. But then again they wouldn't be flying very high if they want to spot submarines.
I heard about British planes designed with heating ducts from the engines.

Cheers,
Richard

That's a possibility. In their US configuration they had provision for the use of electrically heated suits. I don't know if that was retained on the UK versions.