N6539F

I'm involved in putting together a biography on someone that was a pilot on the main B-17 in Operation Rusty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rusty states "two Boeing B-17Bs were modified to fly at extreme altitudes and very long ranges. They were painted blue to minimize contrast with the sky, stripped of all unnecessary weight, and any identification marks were removed." For my own fun I've acquired the kit and conversion kit to build a model of this aircraft. I have several mysteries to solve before making a model loosely based on this specific aircraft. One is going to be camera locations and level of conversion to C model specs. Would the bathtub that was later replaced by the ball turret have been filled with cameras? The second is the paint scheme. If you read Paul T. Cullen's biography, it states that he was sent to observe RAF recon in Africa. Another source says it was during the Syrian campaign. His assignment corresponds to the beginning of this campaign. I don't know when PRU blue first came out but it was at least prior to 1941. Roosevelt had been in Cairo at least a year prior to Operation Rusty. He was a strong proponent for the US using British aircraft for photo-recon missions. Cullen would have observed the effectiveness of the PRU blue. http://34th.photorecon.org/html/aircraft/haze.html states that Haze was tested by USAAC until December 1941. Lockheed was given orders to paint their F-5's with it in March 1942 about the same time as the B-17's would have been prepped for the April mission. Operation Rusty was a push the envelope mission. It would make sense to use the newest camouflage to give it an edge. On the other hand if you are pushing the edge why not use proven technology where you can. Roosevelt and Cullen were involved with preparing for the mission and may or may not have recommended the use of PRU blue having seen it in action. http://www.theworldwars.net/resources/resource.php?r=camo_usaaf states that the US didn't start painting their aircraft in PRU blue until 1944. I'm leaning towards Haze over PRU. @Dana Bell your book seems to be the primary reference quoted on many internet sites talking about Haze Blue paint. I joined this forum after finding some feedback by you in this thread What are your thoughts on this? Thank you in advance. Below is the only pic I can find of camera installations in a B-17. Looking at the markings it was probably considered an RB-17G not an F-9C.