EE Canberra and Martin B-57

[PR19_Kit]

Question. The early Canberra B.2's were in a grey/green over white camouflage scheme.

Not according to Micheal Bowyers' 'Bombing Colours 1937-73'.

He says the first Canberra 101 Sqdn. scheme was Medium Sea Grey uppers with Black undersides, all in gloss.

The second scheme, from August 1951, was Medium Sea Grey and Light Slate Grey camo'd uppers with PRU Blue lower surfaces which came well up the fuselage sides.

From Jan 1953 their Airships called for the whole airframe to be High Speed Silver and that lasted until the end of the Canberra's Bomber Command service.

[Gondor]

There's an XtraDecal sheet which has one with grey/green with high speed silver undersides scheme Chris, is that what you're thinking off

EDIT: (bit later).  It appears that T.17's had grey/green with white undersides, around 1962 onwards. Can't find any photos of B.2's with white undersides though. The website I found a photo of the East Midlands Aeropark T.17 of, says the T.17's were converted B.2's.

EDIT 2: (a bit later again)  Found some pics of B.2's with white undersides, seems to be around 1977/8 but could have been earlier.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/2684379/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd

1976 one

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/2143720/L/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd


This photo  was taken in 1992, I'm thinking though it might have been training squadrons that had white undersides.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/1245983/L/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd

All three of those pictures are of aircraft with Light Aircraft Grey undersides. The first picture does look white but that is due to the colour balance being wrong or something else to do with the picture as no 100 Squadron aircraft wore white undersides.

Interpreting pictures is notoriously difficult. You would think that it gets easy with colour pictures rather than black and white, that actually gives you three colours to get wrong when making a print and you can do almost anything with colour these days with programs like photshop. Types of film used also makes a difference depending on the age of the picture too, but I can assure you that Canberra's at that time of the first picture at least wore Light Aircraft Grey on the undersides other than the TT.18's of 7 Squadron which had black and yellow diagonal bands.

Gondor

[kitnut617]

There's an XtraDecal sheet which has one with grey/green with high speed silver undersides scheme Chris, is that what you're thinking off

EDIT: (bit later).  It appears that T.17's had grey/green with white undersides, around 1962 onwards. Can't find any photos of B.2's with white undersides though. The website I found a photo of the East Midlands Aeropark T.17 of, says the T.17's were converted B.2's.

EDIT 2: (a bit later again)  Found some pics of B.2's with white undersides, seems to be around 1977/8 but could have been earlier.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/2684379/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd

1976 one

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/2143720/L/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd


This photo  was taken in 1992, I'm thinking though it might have been training squadrons that had white undersides.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/English-Electric-Canberra/1245983/L/&sid=31c474950751eaa24abd7a9de1768afd

All three of those pictures are of aircraft with Light Aircraft Grey undersides. The first picture does look white but that is due to the colour balance being wrong or something else to do with the picture as no 100 Squadron aircraft wore white undersides.

Interpreting pictures is notoriously difficult. You would think that it gets easy with colour pictures rather than black and white, that actually gives you three colours to get wrong when making a print and you can do almost anything with colour these days with programs like photshop. Types of film used also makes a difference depending on the age of the picture too, but I can assure you that Canberra's at that time of the first picture at least wore Light Aircraft Grey on the undersides other than the TT.18's of 7 Squadron which had black and yellow diagonal bands.

Gondor

I had wondered if it was a light grey, although a very light grey ---

Has anyone seen the T.17 at East Midlands Aeropark, because the photo I seen of that (and there's a few) all look white too, so could be a way to confirm the colour --

[NARSES2]

Right as luck would have it the May Airfix magazine had some pictures from the Huddersfield show which included a Canberra in the scheme I was after. This enabled me to dig out this site after a quick search which has an aircraft in the scheme I want to use. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page.

Now I am assuming this does have white undersides and it's not my eyes/brains ? Just need to know what grey is being used ?

Ta

Chris

http://www.rafweb.org/Squadrons/Sqn%20Markings/SqnMark009A.htm

[PR19_Kit]

Well I don't know where that scheme came from, it's not mentioned in 'Bombing Colours' at all, as far as I can see anyway.

[Gondor]

It does look as if it was one of the all over white aircraft which has had the upper surfaces repainted rather than being out of the factory making it a local modification which would fit in with the information that Kit and myself have.

Gondor

[Mossie]

Found this that might help Chris.  Seems to be a special, which further backs up Kits and Gondor's comments.  There's a nice build on the site that I found it too.
http://ipmscanberrasig.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/6838886

[NARSES2]

Cheers gents, especially Mossie 

Looks like my A.W. is going to be used in the Nuclear Weapons trials 

[ChernayaAkula]

Lovely scheme! 

[PR19_Kit]

Ahah, yes, the nuke tests would explain the non-standard white undersides. 

[ysi_maniac]

Turboprop Canberra and Phanberra

[rickshaw]

Interesting combination of the B-57 and the F-4.   

[NARSES2]

Top one in particular looks very good 

I'm now imagining a radial engined Canberra B.2

[jcf]

http://alert5.com/2019/03/08/nasa-wb-57-runway-excursion/

Woops.

[PR19_Kit]

Oh dear, that's a pity, there's only two of them left flying I think.