RAF colors Desert Scheme & M.T.O. 1940-1945

Desert camouflage over North Africa

The Royal Air Force drew up a color specification of its own for the overseas fronts. While at home the flying was done in dark green and brown, the machines sent to Egypt and to Suez were given a pair above made up of a dark earth brown and a lighter sandy tone. The undersurfaces were painted a bright azure, which disappears against a southern sky better than the home gray-blue. The same specification then moved across Malta and Sicily into the whole Mediterranean area.

The set holds eight bottles of seventeen milliliters. According to the number series of the shades it is a formulation meant for an airbrush, that is with a finer pigment and a thinner consistency than paints for a brush.

• Upper surfaces - the dark earth and the sandy tone make the pair of the desert scheme, while the dark green serves on machines remarked from the home finish.
• The underside - four blue positions from light to deep dark cover the azure of the desert as well as the darker Mediterranean variant.
• Bands and markings - a greenish light tone matches the band on the tail section and the areas of in-theater identification.

The paints can be laid on with a brush as well, but they give their full benefit in an airbrush, where they make a thin coat without visible texture. Working at low pressure and layering is recommended. The same palette will serve for the aircraft of other Allied users who in this area took over British machines along with their finish. Thinner, varnish and masking aids are not included.