Spit Fan Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 A friend and I got into a discussion over the color(s) that Defiant wheel wells were painted specifically on those Defiants with the half black half white undersurfaces. If a photo of L7012 shown on page 178 of Ducimus No.8, Camouflage & Markings Boulton Paul Defiant is representative of a factory fresh aircraft then the insides of the main gear doors are painted black port side and white starboard side and another image shows the main gear legs the same. The question is was the wheel well painted half black half white or aluminum? The second part of this discussion was when the order came down in June 1940 to change from the black & white undersurfaces to “Sky” I’d think that those aircraft on the production line would have the MLG and wheel wells painted either aluminum or Sky but what about those already issued to a squadron, being held at an M.U or being repaired at an A.S.U.? Good images of this area on Defiants aren’t exactly plentiful but several would indicate that there were a number of possibilities ranging from this area being left as issued, partial repaint or total repaint. A photo of a 264 Defiant shows aluminum struts with the inside of the starboard gear door in a color similar to the Sky undersurface but the inside of the inner port gear door, even tho it is in the shadow, appears to be black. I will appreciate any and all thoughts on this. I have had a very strong interest in the Defiant ever since the first time I saw it in a copy of Williams Greens “Famous Fighters, Volume 2 too many years ago to be believed. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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