A WIF or not a Wif that is the question.

[raafif]

Some Japanese naval aircraft, especially formation leaders, were painted in some very garish colours.

Can you please explain in more detail ??  Even the experts at J-Aircraft.com ignored my question on confirmation of the Broome red-painted cowls as if it's a pig-ignorant newbie statement.

[NARSES2]

Some Japanese naval aircraft, especially formation leaders, were painted in some very garish colours.

Can you please explain in more detail ??  Even the experts at J-Aircraft.com ignored my question on confirmation of the Broome red-painted cowls as if it's a pig-ignorant newbie statement.

Nothing specific I'm afraid it's just that a fair few photo's and descriptions I've read seem to confirm this. It seemed to be more a Naval Air Arm "thing" rather then a Army one. More to do with having to navigate over the trackless oceans and for the strike force having to arrive at the same time. Lots of carrier aircraft had distinguishing colours on the tail but I assume this was to identify which carrier they were from. I'm no expert but I've seen a fair few photo's in books and museums around the world which show these "oddities" and when you take in to account eye witness statements (albeit often from people under incredible stress at the time) then the evidence would suggest that the IJN had some fairly colourfull aircraft early in the war. I'll see if I have anything that supports the red painted Zero cowls.

Chris

[McGreig]

In a book on the attack of Broome, West Australia one witness stated that the Zeros had coloured cowlings -- red & yellow were stated - maybe section ID colours ? But as no-one else has confirmation maybe he was seeing things

It's not my specialist area, but all the references that I can find, old and new, show only black (or blue-black) cowlings on wartime Japanese naval aircraft.

In order of publication I've looked at "Aircam 16 – Mitsubishi A6M1/2/2N Zero-Sen" (1970), Ian K Baker's "Nippon's Naval Air Force" (1991), AeroMaster's "Eagles of the Rising Sun" (1995), Osprey's "Imperial Japanese Navy Aces" (1998) and Osprey's "Aichi 99 Kanbaku 'Val' Units 1937-42" (2011).

They all show black cowlings as standard.

Pre-war there was a fairly standard scheme of light grey/aluminium with black cowlings and red tails, but with regard to brightly coloured wartime formation leaders etc, the following quote from Ian K Baker is probably relevant:

"Reported and illustrated before the end of the war and on numerous occasions since, the notion of yellow-painted operational Kates or Vals amongst the attacking forces in the early months of the Pacific War is unsupportable – Even if portrayed by a highly regarded illustrator in a classic, collectable British publication."

And while the Osprey book on the Val shows a D3A1 from Soryu in a scheme of red mottle over the basic light grey, the text explains at some length that this is the only profile in the book not based on photographic evidence or official records.

So, while it would be foolhardy to say that they never existed, brightly coloured Zero cowlings do seem unlikely.

And having said all that, I am contemplating finishing a new Airfix Zero in an overall yellow scheme with a red cowling, although this will be an aircraft taken over by the fledgling PLAAF and used as a trainer - - -

[raafif]

thanks guys, I look forward to your finds.

I have never regarded profiles as any sort of "proof".  But sometimes consider them as partial evidence with caveates -- ie yellow fuselage may mean yellowy-brown cam (factual in IJAAF) or varnished ply (ala Airfix WW1 Albatross).  The 1970s profile of a Rufe in magenta !! seems to reflect real patches of dark maroon on a few early IJAAF bombers.

Then there's the story in a book by a poet in Stalingrad of the KV-1 fitted with double tracks -- often ridiculed by modellers & armchair historians but there's no reason to doubt it as the book had literally no other military descriptions, being about the plight of the civilian people to survive cold & hunger.

[NARSES2]

Right I've had a look through some of my books and have to agree with McGreig. There's no evidence of brightly coloured Japanese aircraft. There is a profile of a yellow Val in the SAM volume "Combat Colours 4 - Pearl Harbour and Beyond" but the authors admits there is no photographic evidence and also depicts the same aircraft in the standard light grey.

However in the same publication the author mentions that there are pieces from a shot down Val,Kate and Zero in the Pearl Harbour museum on which the top surface colour (both Amiro and dark green) has been painted over a bright red primer. I have a lot of photo's from the museum but from the days of wet film so finding them will be difficult  So maybe the "Broome" Zero simply had not had the top coat applied to it's cowling ? Note there is no mention however of any evidence of cowlings undercoated this way.

Some Japanese naval aircraft, especially formation leaders, were painted in some very garish colours. All down to a case of "follow the leader" whilst navigating to and from the target area.

I may have raised hopes here. I meant that they had some fairly bright and colourfull markings usually red/blue/yellow stripes on the rear fuselage and tail not that the entire airframes were painted this way.

[raafif]

I do like the Japanese tail decorations, nice n bright & gaudy, makes for great models

Don't think that Broome guy had come from the UK but maybe he was having a flash-back to the Blitz & his mind saw yellow-nosed 109's  

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Jus' remind me, what what this thread about, again ??

Ian

[Old Wombat]

It all started with this, Ian, .....

Ive just posted this on another model forum and hope for What Ifs input.


Im sure most modellers are aware that box art on many  kit releases are fanciful especially the more vintage of there number.

However some of them are based in/on factual schemes.  I have seen many "drone" types,target tugs and targets painted in a wide spectrum of schemes (eg: The Hellcats from the atomic bomb tests)

The Panther,Fury,T-33 etc are well documented in very colourful "drone" schemes.

The $64,0000 question: Is there any documented evidence that the scheme below (from a 1950s Hawk kit) is an actual scheme or a flight of fancy by the illustrator.






Its got to be a must for a really cool WIF

..... Then "thread-drift" happened.





Ain't it cool!

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Erm, yes... I was being ironic, but as ever, I fell at the first fence 

Ian

[Old Wombat]

Nah, yez wuz tripped!