WWII US NAVY ASW AIRCRAFT COLORS

Three tones for submarine hunters

From 1943 onward American naval machines patrolling over the Atlantic were given a distinct finish. While combat aircraft in the Pacific carried blue tones, the anti-submarine units went over to a light combination of two grays and white. The reason was practical: against a bright sky a light-colored aircraft blends into the background and the enemy spots it valuable seconds later.

The box holds a darker and a lighter gull gray to the FS 36231 and FS 16440 standards, plus white FS 17875. The boundary between the tones was soft and ran roughly at the level of the upper edge of the fuselage, although on some machines it reached higher than on others, so it pays to look at a photograph of the particular aircraft.

The three suit the Consolidated PBY Catalina, the PB4Y-1 Liberator, the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, the Martin Mariner and the Avengers from escort carriers, which formed the core of the hunter groups. The same grays also serve for US naval aviation of the 1950s.

These are water-thinnable acrylics that dry matte. The white is the hardest of the three to get covering, so apply it over a light base and preferably in several fine passes rather than in a single heavy coat that would flood the riveting.

Surface soiling deserves particular attention. Patrol aircraft spent long hours over the ocean and their light finish quickly picked up exhaust staining, oil from the engine nacelles and white salt marks. A restrained application of these marks gives a finished model a credibility that a clean spray job never gains, and on light surfaces the effect is more visible than on dark camouflage.