Meteor FR9 colour shemes........

[AnonymousAA72]

May seem a bit random this, but while running through a few old magazines searching info for my "Best of British GB", came across Scale Aircraft Modelling Vol 1 No 6 from March 1979 featuring Single Seat Gloster Meteors. Which I thought some of you may find of interest regarding previous threads on these aircraft having the High Altitude Day Bomber Scheme colours applied. (See also Model Aircraft Monthly Vol 6 Iss 1 - article on CA's FR9 by Tony O'Toole)

Here's some of the FR9/PR10 schemes from that article and if you look at the bottom diagram you'll see "WX969" from 208 Sqn with a high demarkation to its camouflage. Now Mike Keeps artwork makes no reference to the upper surface colours being Medium Sea Grey and Light Slate Grey, in fact these seem to be listed as Dark Sea Grey & Dark Green - but I think that this is an error on his part. In fact in the later Suez Campaign SAM - his drawings show the same aircraft (still in Dark Sea Grey/Dark Green/PRU Blue) but the upper demarkation is then explained by these strange Orange panels (I'll try to find that article and scan in those schemes)!!

Any thoughts?

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hi Bill - thats scheme has always puzzled me too. the warpaint book has a plan view colour drawing of the MSG/LSG over PRU blue scheme which it calls the "early" scheme used on FR9s, but the text doesn't seem to mention it at all ( I have the book in storage at the moment and cant find the flipping thing either!!)

I recall the Suez aircraft you mention from the same SAM article - and those dayglo orange panels on the tops of the nacelles and the fuselage. Theres also a BW photo i think which seems to show the dayglo panels - but hasn't it also been contended that these could just be MSG areas catching the light? ( was that in Tony O'Toole's article perhaps?)

The Meteors were based on Malta if i recall and were supposed to be used as some sort of exclusion CAP for the operation I think.

It would be good to shed some light on this interesting meteor scheme - I have a 1/48th Aeroclub F8 thats half converted to an FR9 in the loft - and I'd always fancied this scheme for it - it was just the lack of clarity about it, that has really prevented me doing anything with the model!

Hopefully BM can shed a bit of illumination!

Cheers

Jonners

[Dave Fleming]

I think all the illumination was shed by Paul Lucas and Tony O'Toole in the MAM article. The high level demarcation MSG/LSG scheme existed. Mike didn't know about it and theorised that the orange panels were the reason for it.

For example, if you didn't know about it, what interpretation would you put on this photo?

Edited September 20, 2008 by Dave Fleming

[AnonymousAA72]

I think all the illumination was shed by Paul Lucas and Tony O'Toole in the MAM article. The high level demarcation MSG/LSG scheme existed. Mike didn't know about it and theorised that the orange panels were the reason for it.

For example, if you didn't know about it, what interpretation would you put on this photo?

I studied this photo a lot after you posted it previously Dave (shame there's no serial on the MSG/LSG aircraft), and also the one where 208 Sqn are flying over the Pyramid's (can you post that again?).

I also found this - where the light areas are explained by being white panels!! To reflect heat from internal bays (perhaps a bit like Lightnings had in latter years)

Now the author has this as Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green - but given what we now know - I think it safe to say that this particular aircraft was in MSG/LSG

Meteor FR9

EDIT: Just had another look at this pic and noted the serial number! Which belongs to a Lynx!!!!!

Another thoiught...WHY would Mike Keep suggest "Orange" to explain these "lighter" panels? If, as I've seen it suggested that these markings were for an exercise - prior to "Musketeer" then why orange? Not exactly a used RAF colour, unless they had stocks of it on Malta???

Edited September 21, 2008 by Bill Clark

[Dave Fleming]

I studied this photo a lot after you posted it previously Dave (shame there's no serial on the MSG/LSG aircraft), and also the one where 208 Sqn are flying over the Pyramid's (can you post that again?).

I also found this - where the light areas are explained by being white panels!! To reflect heat from internal bays (perhaps a bit like Lightnings had in latter years)

Now the author has this as Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green - but given what we now know - I think it safe to say that this particular aircraft was in MSG/LSG

Meteor FR9

EDIT: Just had another look at this pic and noted the serial number! Which belongs to a Lynx!!!!!

Another thoiught...WHY would Mike Keep suggest "Orange" to explain these "lighter" panels? If, as I've seen it suggested that these markings were for an exercise - prior to "Musketeer" then why orange? Not exactly a used RAF colour, unless they had stocks of it on Malta???

Don't think the pyramids one was mine - not to say I didn't save it somewhere, I'll have a look.

Some of the Meteors had yellow/orange noses, so Mike may have got the idea form those

[AnonymousAA72]

Thought some of you may find this photo interesting...Not a Meteor(!) but this Vampire FB.9 appears to have the MSG/LSG/PRU finish.....

It was scanned from "Coronation Wings" by Eric Bucklow. It was taken on 15th July 1953 the day of the Coronation Review at Odiham.

Note (i) The high demarkation line, on the booms and on the nose, (ii) How light the "grey" areas appears compared to the lower PRU Blue AND

if you look carefully you'll see an RAF Sabre at the end of the line in Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey - and it appears a lot darker than ALL of the Vampires.

According to the caption these Vampires were on the books of 19 & 48 MU's, so I assume they were new (or newly painted?) and were being readied for squadron service.

The FB9 was a tropicalised version of the FB5 and most spent their times overseas.

At this time camouflage on fighters was still some way off - ALL of the Meteor F4's & F8's in the book are all silver. Some FR9's received camouflage (none seem to have the same scheme though. Canberra's included in the line up of course had the same scheme.....

Any thoughts????

[Dave Fleming]

Yep, Lucas did an article in MAM that outlined the serial range for Vampires in this colour scheme! There was one 602 Vampire that had long been described as being in 'desert' camouflage, which was thought to be just PRU blue undersides - I think it was one of those aircraft.