Simon Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Hello everyone I'm about to embark (re-embark - it's been on the Shelf of Ultimate Shame for over a year now...) on the Airfix 1/72 Blenheim IV, and I'll be doing it as Blenheim IV Z7271 MQ-K as flown by Sgt. Jack Onions D.F.M. on July 19th 1941, for which he was awarded a Bar to his D.F.M. 226 Squadron's Blenheims seems to have been very camera-shy, and the only ones I found are of Z7289 here: http://aircrewremembered.com/johnstone-fitzroy-montague-veitch.html and a top view of an unidentified 226 Sqn Blenheim on the IWM website here: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205023014 So, a couple of questions: These would have been in Dark Earth/Dark Green/Sky with Medium Sea Grey codes and black serials, is that correct? Does anyone know of any other photos of 226 Sqn Blenheims? I'm wondering if they possibly had the chin turret fitted? Many thanks Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_RAFBC Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 The second image of the unidentified Blenheim has the codes MQ-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Good spot, thank you. The August ORB Form 541 for 226 Sqn has Blenheim Z7311 as W. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) They will certainly have started out in this scheme, although some aircraft are likely to have black undersides for night work. However when the Blenheims were made responsible for Channel Stop they were repainted into Temperate Sea Scheme - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey over Sky. I can't say just what date this would be, but summer 1941 seems likely - there is perhaps a hint in Scott's Battleaxe Squadron (105 Sq) as it was before detachments to Malta. Edited April 25, 2020 by Graham Boak 105 Sq not 115 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Interesting Graham, thank you. I wonder if the change to T.S.S. co-incided with 226 Squadron's move from Wattisham to Manston at the beginning of August 1941. Having said that, the photo of MQ-W is labelled as having been taken on August 18th 1941 and it doesn't seem to have been repainted - it looks pretty weather-beaten. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) Battle-Axe Blenheims (105 Sq, not 115!) placed the start of the anti-shipping campaign on 13th April, with the camouflage change coming in at much the same time. However I was a bit restrictive - this was not only for the Channel but all around the Eastern coast up to Norway. However the book is of no help as late as July 29th: the last operation being mentioned was on July 19th, as tropical Blenheims in desert colours then arrived and they were off to Malta. I suspect that the move to Manston was linked to the severe losses being suffered on the Channel Stop. Edited April 25, 2020 by Graham Boak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 There are some great colour photos of 21 Sqn Blenheims in T.S.S. from around August 1941 on Etienne du Plessis' Flickr page, which seem freshly repainted: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=8270787%40N07&view_all=1&text=blenheim They all pretty 'new' and the overspray on the lower edges of the upper camouflage is interesting. There doesn't seem to be much contrast between the upper colours on the 21 Sqn Blenheims, which could make me think the photo of MQ-W shows it still in DE/DG in August 1941. Having said that, the photos of crashed Z7289 of 226 Sqn don't seem to show much contrast bewteen the upper surface colours... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occa Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 47 minutes ago, Simon said: There doesn't seem to be much contrast between the upper colours on the 21 Sqn Blenheims, which could make me think the photo of MQ-W shows it still in DE/DG in August 1941. But low contrast rather hints to TSS ? Just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Sorry, I meant that the top view photo of MQ-W on the IWM website: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205023014 apparently taken on August 18th 1941 seems to show a higher contrast, and indeed more wear/weathering than would seem to be the case with the colour photos of the T.S.S. 21 Squadron aircraft on Flickr taken around the same time period, so I thought it may still be in Dark Green/Dark Earth. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Depending upon the film and the filter, TSS can show anything from low, mid to high contrast. However the latter would require ortho film, and the IWM photo shows a very light red and a dark blue, which is the exact opposite. However, when the red shows light, so will Dark Earth, as here, so I suggest that the film is consistent with it being TLS. Though I don't see a lot of weathering, other than the fabric-covered areas appearing lighter than the metal. I know that estimating colours from b&w film is not an exact science, to put it mildly, but there are hints that can be used when there are only a limited number of possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now