RAF V-BOMBER COLORS 1960S

White against the nuclear flash

The Vickers Valiant, the Avro Vulcan and the Handley Page Victor made up the so-called V-force, which in the 1960s carried the British nuclear deterrent. Their brilliant white finish was not for show. It was there to reflect the thermal flash of the aircraft's own weapon and protect the structure at the moment the machine left the target. Once the emphasis of the task moved to low-level penetration, however, the upper surfaces received green-and-gray camouflage and only the underside stayed light.

It is exactly this change that the set covers with three tones. The white serves for the anti-flash finishes and for the underside of the later schemes, while RAF Dark Green and RAF Medium Sea Grey form the pair used for the upper camouflage. Their use need not be limited to the heavy machines: the same tones were worn by the Canberra, the Lightning and the trainers of the Royal Air Force of the period.

A practical note on the order of work: the white goes on first and over the whole airframe, and only then is the masking done and the green and gray fields of the upper surfaces sprayed. The reverse order tends to end with the dark tone showing through the white coat, and the whole surface has to be sprayed again.

Shades based on period standards

This range is mixed to match historical color standards, and in the bottle it has a consistency that can be sprayed practically without adjustment. The most demanding of the three is the white: it needs a light base and rather more very thin coats than one heavy one, otherwise the plastic and the joint lines show through.

The set consists of bottles of paint. It contains no kit and no thinner.