Date of introduction of Dark Sea Grey/Dark Green scheme on RAF Fighters?

[Dave Fleming]

As per heading, I should know this but I can't find my reference anywhere!

[sloegin57]

As per heading, I should know this but I can't find my reference anywhere!

According to Bowyer (Fighting Colours), "Fighter Command notified Units that the change was to be made on August 21" (1941 that is) but drawings had already appeared as early as July 24th. If you have a copy it's Page 54, Paragraph 3, Line 8.

Dennis

[Dave Fleming]

Sorry Dennis, should have been more clear, I meant the post war scheme - 1953 springs to mind, but it may have been later

[Giorgio N]

The first reference to the scheme I know of appears in an AMO dated 1951 (AMO A.217/51) that required for fighters falling into the "day fighters- long range and day intruders a scheme of dark green and dark sea grey over PRU blue. Some aircrafts could therefore have been painted in these colours in late 1951. The first aircrafts to be delivered from the factory in this scheme were probably the Venom FB.1s the following year

Edited June 5, 2013 by Giorgio N

[sloegin57]

Sorry Dennis, should have been more clear, I meant the post war scheme - 1953 springs to mind, but it may have been later

No problem - getting bored scanning slides of a Harrier getting stuffed into a Belfast.

First reference I can find is for the Hornet squadrons being camouflaged for ground attack duties with blue bellies and red/blue roundels in, if I read Bowyer correctly, June 1950 - he also mentions Spit LF16E's of 17 squadron being in gloss camo in the same year. If you mean the introduction of DSG/DG on 'modern" fighters, then the first mention I can find (again in Bowyer as its the nearest reference to me at present) is of a Sabre 4 of 67 squadron at Duxford in mid '53 but the first "in service', re-finished aircraft mentioned are the Meteors of 41squadron on February 13 1954.

So '53 yes but it took a while, a long while, to be universal.

HTH

Dennis

Edited June 5, 2013 by sloegin57

[Dave Fleming]

Thanks guys,

It certainly did take a while to become universal - it came to mind watching a snippet of the Coronation flypast, and how many aircraft were in silver.

I'm sure Paul Lucas covered it in one of his MAM articles, I really need to catalogue and collate those.

Dave

Interesting side quiz - what was the LAST RAF fighter in the scheme?

Edited June 5, 2013 by Dave Fleming

[Test Graham]

Lightning of course - being the last RAF fighter. Pre-Typhoon, anyway.

[Giorgio N]

Speaking of Hornets in 1950, there was a letter on MAM from John Aero that explained as these had been painted using dark green and ocean grey, not dark sea grey. Maybe John can tell us more ?

Some more reading yesterday found references to a number of different tests and official documents that appeared between 1951 and 1953. The adoption of this scheme seems to have been a long and convoluted affair that passed through a number of different revisions depending on which aircrafts and which commands were involved. While some aircrafts used the scheme as early as 1951, others got it later. with Fighter Command aircrafts being "ordered" to use the scheme (with silver undersides) in september 1953 (AMO A.228/53).

Of course the actual repainting of the aircrafts involved did not take place immediately after the promulgation of the various official documents.

Paul Lucas wrote a number of articles for MAM with reference to all these documents. Unfortunately there's not one single article with everything explained in detail but the information is spread across a number of issues dedicated to different aircrafts. The article with more info together is probably the one on the Meteor included in the July 2008 issue. Seems to me that there would be room for a book on the evolution of the various post-war British colour schemes !

[Dave Fleming]

Lightning of course - being the last RAF fighter. Pre-Typhoon, anyway.

Indeed, lasting longer than the Phantom, which had shed the grey/green by 1985 (IIRC 92 had the last onE)