The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 1-Training aircraft 1941-42

[wonwinglo]

Out of all of the subjects we get questions for here in the mailbag,and the one that creates the most mail is a particular colourscheme for 'x' model is that of aircraft colourschemes,the scope is so diverse that I decided that something be done and have broken down the subject into different sections in order to understand how the various schemes evolved due to different circumstances or sheer necessity,without a doubt wars and conflicts have made some dramatic changes over the years,operations from deserts,over water or jungles have all left their mark in the form of sometimes bizarre schemes and flights of fancy,some worked others did not,whilst this current selection deals with aircraft from 1939 onwards the first world war had a big impact on the colours used to either disguise or perhaps scare the living daylights out of the enemy ! but for the sake of convenience we will start with the all important training aircraft of 1941 to 1942 where it was vital to be able to distinguise between bombers,fighters and trainers.

The illustration above of the lovely old Avro Anson 1 which was to be the mainstay of the R.A.F for the training of vital navigators and bomb aimers in the advanced crew training role that suited this aircraft so qwell,the basic finish which was normally Titanine cellulose dope which had a matt sheen overall,the colours are dark earth and dark green applied in a mirror image pattern to the airframe,the undersurfaces are chrome yellow,sometimes termed as 'trainer yellow' and in some cases extendinging mid-way of the fuselage or as shown here just on the undersides themselves.The underwing serial numbers were painted in black and in the fashion shown ie to leading edge or trailing edge,they also appeared at the rear of the fuselage in smaller alpha/numeric format.A small change after 1941 was to paint the serial in yellow on the fuselage as opposed to the previous black.The numerous training aeroplanes used in Canada were painted overall yellow with a large serial of three or four numerics painted on the rear fuselage,likewise trainers in Rhodesia and Australia were painted overall trainer yellow.

Types in service and flying in the above colours included-

De Havilland Tiger Moth

Miles Magister

Miles Master ( Kestrel trainer) I & II

Miles Master III

Hawker Hind Trainer

North American Harvard I

Hawker Henley III

Airspeed Oxford I & II

Avro Anson I

Blackburn Botha I

Airspeed Horsa glider

So a representative collection in miniature of the above would be a piece of history in itself.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 2-Air Ambulance aircraft 1939-45



Insignia of the Red Cross of Geneva.

Widely used in the war years were air ambulance aircraft,particularly in North Africa,the aircraft used the logo of the Red Cross of Geneva which took two basic forms as used on aircraft,this was either with a square background as shown here,or with a circular background,this was displayed aft of the fuselage roundal and also below the wings inboard of the roundals and sometimes on the upper surfaces of the wings.

The most popular type in use was the Airspeed Oxford III,besides the red cross insignia the aircraft bore the normal camouflaged dark green & dark earth upper surfaces and white undersides.As a general rule the diameter of the cross is the same as the aircraft roundal.

Other types in use included the Bristol Bombay which had a single red cross painted onto the centre section so that it was highly visible from above,a few Lockheed Hudson aircraft were also pressed into services as air ambulances as well as De Havilland Dominie and a De Havilland DH.86 biplane.

One example of an aircraft that utilised the names of famous nurses written onto the nose was Airspeed Oxford P8833 named 'Nurse Cavell'

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to Aircraft markings-Part 3-Comms & Transport aircraft 1939-42



Lockheed Lodestar in B.O.A.C Wartime colourscheme 1941-42.

The R.A.F transport machines were camouflaged in the standard dark green & dark earth or in some cases dark earth & middle stone on the upper surfaces with what was termed duck egg blue undersides,the duck egg varied in shade from pale blue to a pale greenish colour,and it was not unknown to mix the odd contents of dope cans together to produce slightly non standard shades.In the Middle East the Bristol Bombay & Handley Page Harrow were used as freight aircraft,together with the Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Dakota.

Light communications aircraft in service included the Percival Q.6 Petrel,Miles Mentor,Percival Proctor,De Havilland Dominie,De Havilland Flamingo and the four engined De Havilland DH.86 and a single De Havilland Flamingo,all of these types were finished in dark green & dark earth on the upper surfaces with training yellow underneath,the serial number was painted underneath the wings in black cellulose dope.

Aircraft that were used by the Air Transport Auxiliary which were used as positioning aircraft for aircrew were painted the same colours as the other types used for communication.The crew ferries included the De Havilland Puss Moth,Leopard Moth,Foster Wikner Wicko Warferry,Avro Anson,De Havilland Hornet Moth and the Fairchild Argus.

Civil airliners and any available impressed civil aircraft were formed into an organisation called the National Air Communications,although these aircraft wore camoflage the aircraft bore civil registration letters but many light aircraft were commandeered and found use in the R.A.F as station hacks and personal transports,these aircraft had either yellow or silver undersides.

The drawing shows a typical example of aircraft that were used by British Overseas Airways corporation,these had an interesting mix of dark green and brown earth on the uppersides with a silver finish underneath,the aircraft bore civil registration letters in black on both upper & lower surfaces,these in turn had red,white and blue bands underneath the registration letters which had a silver outline to them.Red,white and blue vertical stripes were painted on the fin after the summer of 1940.A company called Railway Air Services operated DH.89a Rapides,DH.84 Dragons with similar markings to the B.O.A.C aircraft.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 4-High Altitude Bombers 1941.



High Altitude Bombers 1941.

R.A.F Boeing Fortress 1 from Number 90 squadron.

In the summer of 1941 Boeing Fortress I heavy bombers of No.90 Bomber squadron,Bomber Command,carried out daylight raids in the sub-stratosphere over France & Germany,these aircraft flew from a base in East Anglia,these aircraft were specially camouflaged in a particular pattern and are of special note,the upper surfaces were camouflaged in dark green & dark earth,however the lower surfaces were painted in a bright azure blue,note that no national markings were carried below the wings.

The Fortresses were later transferred to Coastal command where the azure blue was overpainted in white.

Authors note: The dark earth colour on the illustration above has faded on my original artwork due to degradation of colour pigment to give it a mauve tinge,disregard this and use standard dark earth for your models.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to Aircraft markings-Part 5 Luftwaffe schemes 1939-45



Messerschmitt Me.109 German fighter.

Camouflage systems used on aeroplanes used by the Luftwaffe varied widely and only a brief resume can be given here,the schemes can be broadly divided into those used on day fighters and day bombers plus those used for night flying operations.The majority of the high altitude Dornier Do.17 aircraft that were used for reconnaissance over the Maginot line early in the second world war,these were sprayed overall pale blue.The Heinkel He.III bombers shot down in the UK were finished in a dirty shade of forest green on the upper surfaces with a sky blue shade underneath.

Me.109 aircraft used in the Battle of Britain used many systems,one of the most common consisted of a dark blue or dark green upper surface to the wings,tail and fuselage deck,the rest of the fuselage and lower surfaces were painted a pale green or pale blue.Blue and grey mottled mottled tints together with whitish grey tints on the undersurfaces were also in favour.A few of the Me.109 fighters had the spinner and engine cowling painted in a vivid colour,this indicated a special squadron.

Dornier Do.215 and Junkers Ju.88 bombers used in daylight raids during the Battle of Britain were mostly dirty green or mottled blue/grey on the uper surfaces and a pale blue underneath.Me.110 two seat fighters were usually painted in a similar manner to the Me.109's.

Night flying bombers of all different types were painted either olive drab or a dark purple shade on the upper surfaces with pale blue underneath,it was not uncommon to convert a day bomber scheme using quickly removeable black distemper paint placed between the aircrafts belly and fuselage sides,with the upper surface colour remaining unchanged.

For operations over the North sea and the Atlantic mine laying & reconnaisance and shipping patrol aircraft were painted in a camouflage of irregular patches of dark & bluish grey and dark green on the upper surfaces sprayed as a mottle finish,with light green undersides.

Afrika Korps aeroplanes used in North Africa during the period of 1941 and 1942 were painted in a desert camouflage which took the form of leopard skin spots on the upper surfaces composed of patches of green,brown and purple plus additions of any colours associated with local natural vegetation,many Junkers Ju.87 dive bombers were painted this way.

German bombers used in the raids over Malta in 1941 and 1942 were finished in dark green on the upper surfaces and a light light blue or bright yellow on the undersides,at this point whirlyjig colours were painted onto the spinners of the airscrews to indicate certain flights and leaders etc.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 6-R.A.F Light & Medium bombers 39-42



R.A.F Bristol Blenheim IV Day bomber.

On declaration of war in 1939 the R.A.F Medium bomber squadrons in the UK were equipped with Fairey Battle & Bristol Blenheim monoplanes,the Blenheims were a mixed bag of Mk.I & Mk.IV but mostly the latter,the Mk.I's were later either converted to night fighters or sent off to the Middle East.All of these aircraft were shadow shaded on the upper surfaces with dark earth and dark green in the usual mirror image patterns,and the undersurfaces painted a matt black.

White underside serials were phased out during the summer of 1939 with all aircraft devoid of underwing markings by the following Autumn.

Historically a Bristol Blenheim IV from No.139 (B) squadron was the very first British aeroplane to cross the German frontier in the 1939-45 war,this aircraft made a reconnaisance flight over Wilhelmshaven taking valuable photographs of the German fleet for British intelligence.

Ten Fairey Battle squadrons were sent out to France to form an advanced air striking force during the first weeks of the war,these aircraft were literally thrown into battle regardless of loss but did splendid work as close support bombers being eventually returned to England where they were put on the strength of Coastal Command during the Summer of 1940,they then acquired a duck egg blue undersurface.

By 1941 the Blenheims were being used for operations from the UK but the weary Fairey Battles were retired during October 1940,the Blenheim continued to give sterling service on daylight raids over France,Holland & Belgium and these aircraft had a duck egg blue underside and later the controversial colour 'Sky Type S' which was basically a whitish shade with a touch of grey added.

The wavy line de-marcation between the upper & lower surface colours was abandoned in 1941 in favour of a clear cut straight line,medium day bombers were not involved in the changes to the upper surface camouflage in the Autumn of 1941 and retained their dark green & dark eath colouring.

Examples of British & American lease lend medium bomber aircraft-

Fairey Battle I

Bristol Blenheim IVL

Bristol Blenheim I

Vickers Armstrong Wellesley I & II

Douglas Boston II & III

Glen Martin Maryland I & II

Glen Martin Baltimore I

De Havilland Mosquito IV

Lockheed Ventura

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 7,American 8th Air Force 1942



C-47 Dakota of American 8th Air Force in Olive drab.

Aircraft of the Eighth Air Force of the U,S.Army began to operate from British soil in August 1942,and many of these aircraft,particularly the heavy bombers such as the Boeing B-17E,were camouflaged in the British fashion of dark green and dark earth on the upper surfaces with pale grey on the undersides.Douglas C-47 Dakota transport aircraft used in Great Britain in 1942 were mostly painted olive green on the upper surfaces with a neautral grey finish underneath,but there were exceptions to the rule and some aircraft were painted overall olive green.All the 8th Air Force machines carried the serial number in yellow across the fin and rudder,Spitfires of the American Eagle squadrons of the Royal Air Force were transferred to the 8th Air Force retaining their British camouflage and squadron code letters but now with American markings.Shortly the words U.S.Army ceased to be used underneath the wings of the operational aircraft.

Aeroplanes operating in other parts of the world with the U.S.Army used a similar camouflage system;heavy bombers,pursuit aircraft & attack bombers were painted olive green on the upper surfaces and neutral grey underneath.

By the end of 1942 the U.S.A.A.F were flying Spitfires,P-38 Lightnings,P-39 Airocobra's,Boeing B-17E's,B-17F's and Consolidated B-24C Liberator's and various versions of the Douglas C-47 Dakota in Great Britain.In Africa they used the P-38,A-20,A-24,B-17E,B-17F,B-24C & B-25,likewise the B-24,P-38,P-39,P-40E,P-40F,A-20,A-24,B-17D,B-17E,B-25 and B-26 were used in the Pacific area.

U.S.A.A.F machines used in North Africa were camouflaged in a colour known officially as Desert Sand.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to Aircraft markings-Part 8-Italian fighter aircraft 1942.



Fiat CR.42 Italian air force 1941.

All types of Italan aeroplanes both fighters & bombers were camouflaged with irregular patches of brown and terra-cotta against a light green background on the upper surfaces,the green portion covered aprox one third of the available area and the other colours in roughly equal proportions,the undersides were usually painted either a sandy brown or a dull silver finish.In most cases a white band encircled the rear fuselage,this formed a suitable canvas for the squadron number which was painted in black,good examples of this scheme can be found on the beautiful Macchi C.202 Saetta fighter.

The Fiat CR.42 shown above has a salmon underside which was sometimes used on this type of machine.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to Aircraft markings-Part 9-French fighters 1940



Morane-Saulnier MS.406 French fighter aircraft 1940.

Nearly all French military aeroplanes,including fighters,reconnaisance types and light bombers,were camouflaged on the upper surfaces with large irregular patches of flat light green,buff and a reddish brown colour,whilst the lower surfaces were done in pale grey or a pale sky blue,along with this some irregular patches of the pale blue were mixed in with the upper surface colours.Some aircraft such as the Potez 63 had the undersurface colour extend half way up the sides of the fuselage which met the uppersurface colour in an indetermined line.Whilst the roundals on British aeroplanes the roundals were kept well clear of the ailerons it was not uncommon for the markings on French machines to extend fully from leading edge to trailing edge in direct contrast.

Aircraft operating from the French aircraft carrier,and used by the French Navy were usually camouflaged on the upper surfaces with irregular patches of light grey/green and a darkish shade of purple,whilst the undersides were painted in a pale grey colour,aircraft that fitted this category were the Curtiss 77 Helldiver biplanes and Vought Sikorsky V-156 monoplanes from America.

French airmen and crews who escaped after the collapse came to England and helped to form several squadrons comprising the Free French air force,this Fighting French air force as it was later known operated Spitfires,Blenheim IV and Lysander amongst other types of aircraft,these were painted in exactly the same way as British fighters but had a small Cross of Lorraine on the nose.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings Part 10-R.A.F Night bombers 1939-1941



Handley Page Hampden R.A.F night bomber.

During the first winter of the war,1939-40 heavy bombers of the home based squadrons of Bomber Command were used both by day and by night.The faster machines like the Wellington & Hampden were employed on the day raids against German shipping and other naval targets,and the much slower more cumbersome Whitleys on leaflet dropping operations over Germany by night.All of these aircraft were camouflaged on the upper surfaces with standard dark earth & dark green shadow shading,whilst the undersurfaces were finished in a matt night black later revised in 1940-41 and known as RDM2 a black velvet anti reflective finish.Serial numbers below the wings were quickly painted over on the outbreak of war.Variations came about during 1940-41 also regarding the demarcation line between the upper surface camouflage and the lower black,wavy lines bcame a straight demarcation line and not always following the line between trailing edge of the wing and leading edge of the tailplane.

Heavy bombers of the Stirling and Halifax type,together with a few Wellingtons,were used on occasional daylight raids during 1941.These aircraft retained their night bomber camouflage.Some of the Lancasters retained their night bomber camouflage.Some of the Lancasters used for daylight raids after April 1942,were finished in day camouflage.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 11,Luftwaffe bombers 1935-1941



Heinkel He.III Luftwaffe bomber.

The existance of the Luftwaffe was first revealed by Germany in February 1935 and until that time it had been building in secret,since the Treaty of Versailles conditioned Germany to building only civil aircraft.Such types as the Heinkel III,easily converted to a bombing role,were built as civil transports.The civil registrations looked strange on the Dornier Do.17 & Heinkel aircraft being flown with early segment camouflage consisting of steel grey,dark green,mid green and brown done in a curved pattern on the upper surfaces of the aircraft,later this was changed to a straight splinter camouflage,prior to this factory finished machines left the works in an overall steel grey and the additional camouflage was usually added in the field in many variations with the squadrons.

In 1936 the German Air Ministry had invited tenders for large quantities of dopes and paint finishes,the winning company was called Ikarol,this company produced huge quantities of basic brown primer,camouflage green,aluminium base silver,light blue,white and sea green,they also developed a finish similar to the British velvet black RDM2 called 'caput mortum' meaning dead black.

Dark green uppersurfaces with light blue undersides were normal for most German bombers in the early war years,progressing to the splinter camouflage finish mentioned above.Another way of quickly changing the finish from a daylight bomber to one suitable finished for night operations was to spray on a temporary coat of black,this was made from non drying glyptal resin which would easily hose off if required quickly for other tasks.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 11-Commonwealth air training scheme



Commonwealth Air Training scheme 1940-1942.

On the outbreak of World War II, Oxfords were selected as one of the favoured trainer aircraft in Canada, Australia and New Zealand as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) or British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), and trained many Fleet Air Arm personnel. The BCATP evolved following a meeting of Government representatives from United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in Ottawa, and signed an agreement to set up the Plan in December 1939, converting Canada into what President Roosevelt later termed "the aerodrome of democracy." The first schools opened in Canada in April 1940, and by 24 November 1940 the first trainees from the Scheme arrived in the UK. A total of 8,751Oxfords served in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and the Middle East. In total 137,000 aircrew came to Canada from all corners of the globe to earn their wings in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. One of the main training schools was at the RCAF Station, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the Royal Navy had the eastern side of the airfield whilst the RCAF flew anti-submarine patrols in Cansos from the other side of the field.

The aircraft were finished in overall trainer yellow dope finish with natural metal cowls and the school number appeared on the side of the fuselage in large black figures,the serial number which consisted on a four digit was placed on the rear of the fuselage and on the undersides of the wings reading in opposite directions as the aircraft flew overhead.

Avro ( Canada ) Ansons,Tiger Moths ( with coupe cockpit & heaters as well ) Harvard Trainers,Bolingbrokes were all painted in this attractive training colourscheme.

Canada was chosen as host country because it had so much usable air space and because it was far from the battlefields of Europe. Yet it was close enough to ferry aircraft and crews across the Atlantic to the war-torn areas. Prime Minister Mackenzie King enthusiastically supported the plan hoping that in this way Canada could make a contribution to the war without having to send a huge army to Europe. The first school opened on April 29, 1940, and by July 1942 the entire plan was in operation. It continued until 1945.The all yellow aircraft will always be associated with Canada and their immense contribution to the war effort.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 12,U.S.Navy 1941-42



American Navy colours Douglas Dauntless April-December 1942.(lower)

Grumman Wildcat December 1941-March 1942.(upper)

In December 1941.aeroplanes of the U.S.Navy were mostly painted in a greyish-green on the upper surfaces and were doped pale grey underneath,there were as usual exceptions to this rule and some were painted pale grey overall,U.S.Navy aircraft operating in the Pacific byt the close of 1942 were the Grumman F4F-3 and F4F-4 fighters,the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers,Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo-bomber,the Consolidated PBY Catalina and PBY2Y Coronado flying boats and the Martin PBM Mariner flying boat in addition to the many catapult seaplanes and other reconnaisance aircraft.

The primary training aeroplanes of the U.S.Navy serving in 1941 and 1942 were painted in a chrome yellow colourscheme overall,the advanced trainers featured silver fuselages and chrome yellow wings and tail.The transport fleets were finished in a silver finish usually represented by the natural aluminium finish.

The lower ilustration above show the change after the attacks on Pearl Harbour whereby the red was removed from all National markings carried on all U.S aircraft.

[wonwinglo]

The Scale-Models guide to aircraft markings-Part 13,British day fighters 1939-40



Hawker Hurricane,73 squadron France 1939-40.

At the outbreak of war in September,1939,all home based fighters of Fighter Command were camouflaged in the sand & spinach finish on the upper surfaces and had the undersurfaces painted black & grey as the illustration above.As considerable numbers of biplane fighters such as the Gloster Gladiator & Gauntlet were still in service especially with the Auxiliary air force units these machines were camouflaged in the same way with both of the wings finished in the black/grey scheme with the exception that the top wing undersurface was a slightly lighter shade of grey but in some odd cases the upper wing was totally black on the undersides.

[Guest]

Further to the notes about the Black/Grey(?) undersurfaces this may help.

"

" On the 24th April, 1939, The Air Staff issued A.M.O, A.154/39, amended on the 27th April, 1939, by A.298/39, in which the specifications were laid down for aircraft currently in Royal Air Force service, or coming into production. The orders as applied to fighter aircraft called fot the upper surfaces to be painted in a disruptive pattern"

"on the 8th September 1939 the Directorate of Technical Development (D.T.D.) issued a memorandum 332, Issue 2 under the heading 'External Colour Schemes for Aircraft'. This showed the breakdown of the applicable camouflage pattern(s) indicated by the type of aircraft and it's role.

For single engined fighters Air Diagram A.D.1160 was applicable and it was upon this that all patterns for fighter aircraft camouflage was based.

The undersides were to be painted 'with the lower surface of the starboard plane and half the the under surface of the fuselage to be painted white. The corresponding port side is to be painted black'.

This instruction was open to mis-interpretation, and many aircraft, although the areas specified were Black and White, the undersides of the fuselage forward of a line across the fuselage level with the leading edge of the wing and aft of a line drawn across the trailing edges of the wing were painted Aluminium (silver) doped finish, as were the undersides of the tailplanes.

On fighter aircraft no national insignia were to be painted beneath the wings and those applied to the upper surfaces of the wings, and also on the sides of the fuselage, were to be Red and Blue type B roundels.

Immediately prior to the outbreak of war a telegram dated 2nd September 1939 (Ref X119), was sent to all Commands advising that (as air operations would undoubtably take place over the European Continent) all Royal Air Force machines that were to fly over France were to have Type A Red, White and Blue roundels painted beneath each wing."

"On the 6th June 1940, new orders were promulgated whereby the Black and White under surface finish on aircraft of Fighter Command was to give way to a new under surface scheme of Sky, Type S. All roundels on under surfaces were to be removed from the new scheme. This Order was to be brought into immediate effect on aircraft already in production, and those in squadron surface were to be repainted as and when time and operational requirements permitted. The aircraft for repair, etc., at Aircraft Servicing Units (ASUs) were also to be painted in the new scheme.

A further revision to the camouflage and markings fo day fighters was brought into effect on 1st August ,1940 from which time the size of the Red, White and Blue fin flash was standardised as being three 8in. wide bands of 27in. height."