Fleet Air Arm biplanes

[Nick]

Can anyone give a rough idea of how FAA camo was done in WW2?

I've read that biplanes had different shades on the tops and bottoms of both upper and lower wings. There's also doubt about the aircraft underside being Sky or Sky Grey, think this depends on when the change was made in 1941-ish.
The choices of Extra Dark Sea Grey, Dark Slate Grey etc are baffling.

http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter2/swordfish.htm  is a very good site.

Why? I'm building a Curtiss SBC-4 Cleveland in FAA colours in 1941, idea being the Royal Navy got all 50 of the French order that was being delivered just as France fell in 1940.

[Thorvic]

Well you have the option to use the US estimation of the FAA colour scheme and you could have the French colours with the FAA markings.

See if anybody has the Albacore colour schemes as thats probably your best guide for actual UK  FAA colours for that type of aircraft.

G

[Mossie]

Nick, there's a painting diagram for a Sea Gladiator on Don Color that might be useful, it's a bit small but zoom in with ctrl + to view it larger:
http://www.jpsmodell.de/dc/schemes/uk_faa_sea1a_e.htm
http://www.jpsmodell.de/dc/draw/faa_gladi_sea1a.jpg

There's the trop scheme as well, no diagram but just swap the colours into the above diagram appropriately:
http://www.jpsmodell.de/dc/schemes/uk_faa_sea38trop_e.htm

[NARSES2]

Nick

Here's the colour call outs from the Trumpeter Swordfish.

However if your aircraft has been repainted in FAA colours they probably wouldn't have bothered with the "shadow colours" just gone with dark sea grey/dark slate grey. Undersides depends again on when repainted. If in 1940 the sky grey (light grey) if repaint in 41 then probably sky. At the end of the day it would have depended on what they had around because this must have been seen as a temporary expediant ?

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/swordfish/swordfish_profile01.shtml

[Mossie]

Nick

At the end of the day it would have depended on what they had around because this must have been seen as a temporary expediant ?

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/swordfish/swordfish_profile01.shtml

Maybe they were shipped off somewhere else in the Empire then?  Malta as a 1435 Flt alternative, Kallang (tad early in the timeline maybe, but you could have them there before the fall of Singapore or bring it forward), or RAF Habbaniya?  You could have ex-FAA aircraft pulled in as reinforcments for any of them (especially Malta)?

[PR19_Kit]

You would NOT want them to be in Habbaniya in 1941, they might never get away!

That was when the Siege took place, and everything available was used to fight off the pro-Nazi Iraqis who'd just staged a coup d'etat in Bahgdad.

[Mossie]

That was exactly the reason I mentioned it, the force there punched above their weight.  Most aircraft made it, inflicting heavier casualties.

[Nick]

While I think about it, does anybody have suitable markings such as squadron badges and serial codes?

The kit ones are for the RAF machine AS468 at RAF Hendon in October 1940 and are a little warped and yellowed. Being old they may not work...

[PR19_Kit]

That was exactly the reason I mentioned it, the force there punched above their weight.  Most aircraft made it, inflicting heavier casualties.

My Dad was there at the time, having been stupid enough to fly up there to see some of his old mates from 4 FTS. He then found hiinself flying Audaxes again, after some years, and dropping bombs from them for goodness sake!

[Mossie]

Wow!  Hats off to your Dad Kit!

[rickshaw]

That was exactly the reason I mentioned it, the force there punched above their weight.  Most aircraft made it, inflicting heavier casualties.

My Dad was there at the time, having been stupid enough to fly up there to see some of his old mates from 4 FTS. He then found hiinself flying Audaxes again, after some years, and dropping bombs from them for goodness sake!

Interesting.  Was there a separate campaign medal or clasp issued for that or was it just considered part and parcel of the Middle East medal?

[PR19_Kit]

Interesting.  Was there a separate campaign medal or clasp issued for that or was it just considered part and parcel of the Middle East medal?

'Thread Drift Rules OK' 

Not that I know of, I can't recall Dad having any 'special' medals apart from the usual WWII ones. There's an excellent book about the siege, written by the station commander at the time, called 'The War that Never Was' by AVM A.G Dudgeon, published by Airlife. It has loads of maps but bizarrely contains NO photographs at all!

Mum has some photos of one of Dad's Audaxes upside down after a 'hard landing', and a couple of the R-R Armoured Cars that he was a Flight Commander on at the time (multi-tasking existed even then  ) but I've seen very few photos of the event.

[NARSES2]

While I think about it, does anybody have suitable markings such as squadron badges and serial codes?

I'll have a look for you Nick

There's an excellent book about the siege, written by the station commander at the time, called 'The War that Never Was' by AVM A.G Dudgeon, published by Airlife. It has loads of maps but bizarrely contains NO photographs at all!

It is a good book, and the lack of photo's threw me as well. "Dust Clouds in the Middle East" by Christopher Shores does include some photos in its Iraq section

[Old Wombat]

Never knew about that battle, Kit. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[scooter]

Keeping with the thread drift- in Part 3, Chap 15 Two Side Shows in Len Deighton's book Blood, Tears and Folly discusses the Battle of Habbaniya, eventually Syria.