PBY-5A Catalina - Dimensions of the Markings

[Giangio]

Hi everyone, so my next project will be a 1/48 Cat from Revell, but i'm having some troubles with the markings.

Credits: Wingspalette

This is the Camo that i would like to do but i have no idea on the dimensions of the insignias, i got some books on this aircraft but it seems like that a lot of Catalinas had insignias of different dimensions even if both aircraft served during the same period of the war.

I have some spare decals from wolfpack and i would like to use them on the PBY-5A (even if on the marking sheet it says that they should be on a PBY-5) but i don't know if is historically accurate. Maybe someone knows about this issue that i'm having and can help me

As you can see the dimensions of the markings is different from the 5 and 5A, but i don't know if this is caused by the different version of the plane or because the camouflage after may 1943 is different

Apologize if i made some grammar mistakes,

Greetings from Italy 

 

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

The Star changed size multiple times early on. When going from the small neutrality star on the -5, to the larger early war star on the -5a. The red dot in the middle makes it an neutrality star/early war marking. Sometime early in 1942 around April or May they switched to a larger size and removed the red dot. This was mainly to avoid confusion with Japanese aircraft. However it was service wide. The reason you see different stars in the same units falls to one simple fact. You cant stand down a whole unit to be repainted in war. So aircraft would be re-painted as they went to maintenance or repair. I hope this helps in some fashion. 

 

Dennis

Edited March 27, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Giangio]

2 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

The Star changed size multiple times early on. When going from the small neutrality star on the -5, to the larger early war star on the -5a. The red dot in the middle makes it an neutrality star/early war marking. Sometime early in 1942 around April or May they switched to a larger size and removed the red dot. This was mainly to avoid confusion with Japanese aircraft. However it was service wide. The reason you see different stars in the same units falls to one simple fact. You cant stand down a whole unit to be repainted in war. So aircraft would be re-painted as they went to maintenance or repair. I hope this helps in some fashion. 

 

Dennis

Thank you very much, it helped a lot 😁

Edited March 27, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[fernandocouto]

On ‎28‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 00:20, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Sometime early in 1942 around April or May they switched to a larger size and removed the red dot. This was mainly to avoid confusion with Japanese aircraft.

 

Dennis

Did some over-sized roundels get revised later? I got a monogram 1/48th SBD which decal has some roundels repainted outer rim with lighter blue.

Or this was painted after Operation Torch to cover yellow ring?

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Yes they did change sizes. Heres a nice chart to give you a rough idea.  

A few examples i will use the F4F wildcat as it served from from pre-war thru to the end of hostilities. Pre-war/early war neutrality star very small in 6 locations. 

Next is the large early war roundel on top, again 6 locations. 

Then the mid 1943 red surround⬆️. With the addition of bars we went to 4 locations. Starboard, port, upper port wing, & lower starboard wing. Here is the slightly smaller roundel with the “Torch” yellow surround. ⬇️ This was 6 position.

So from the small to large to the medium. When the U.S. added the bars they standardized the sizing. With one notable exception. In Europe from mid 1943 on. The P-47’s followed by P-51’s used by the 8th & 9th Air forces sometimes carried a 5th star on the lower port wing. To aid in visual Identification by friendly ground forces and bomber crews. P-47s tended to look a bit like Fw-190’s to gunners and infantry. P-51’s looked like Messerschmitts. I hope this makes some sense and helps you. 

 

Dennis

[kruzikrucken]

The Monogram Aircraft Colour Guide for US Navy and Marine aircraft lists on page 66 the dimensions according the Januar 2nd 1942 guideline as follows

wing insigna:

Circle size upper wing: 138"

Circle size lower wing: 136"

From tip of wing to centre of star :

upper wing - float down: 144"

lower wing - edge of float well: 90"

 

Fuselage: circle size 53" , centered between pilot's cabin  and bottom of hull, circumference to just clear propeller guard strip

 

These are the official guidelines - I would assume any arcraft painted/repainted after that date followed the guideline (and any before potentially deviate slightly)

 

You noticed that your drawing shows an antenna array which is not in the kit?

 

Thomas

[Sydhuey]

as has been said you will need to ID the actual aircraft you want and its time period as even within the same unit the marking size will be different.