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Warwick - Coastal Command Code colours


Juanita

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Just wondering about Warwick colours...particular the codes.

Does anyone know what the code colours were circa 1944?

 

The scheme I'm interested in is this one BV411 281 Sqn...but the colour of the codes 'B4' are a bit elusive.

My understanding is that from around April 1942 the Air Ministry decreed the codes were to be Light Slate Grey, which for some reason tends to look much darker in B/W photograph than it does in colour photos.

Was any other code colour introduced in the 1944/45 period for Coastal Command aircraft?

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Warwicks were introduced in Temperate Sea scheme with sky underside (maybe Sky Blue)

But 293 Sqn in Italy in 1944 painted their codes in yellow (underside on this definately looks more Sky blue than Sky)

 

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Its very tempting to interpret the colour of these codes as red

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There is an 'X' between the windows and the roundel ....Light Slate Grey, Red?

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Two points: in the Mediterranean the undersides are much more likely to have been Azure Blue than Sky - and Sky Blue is even lighter than Sky so it definitely isn't that.  It looks like Azure to me.  There may be a small amount of the original Sky visible under the elevator but this may be misleading.  The other point is that ASR units in the UK were certainly carrying yellow codes at times on Spitfires, so it would seem entirely reasonable to find Warwicks with yellow codes.  I would agree that the latter two pictures appear to be red

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Thanks Graham

Blue undersides: This type of blue colour can also be seen on Avro Yorks (eg MW185)....just looked up my notes (hyperscale discussion 2010), and a chap called Grapham Boak 😀, said that "underside is quite a dark Azure Blue, almost Mediterranean Light Blue."

So this was just for transport aircraft travelling over water (such as the Warwick transports), and aircraft operating in the Mediterranean (hense Italian based Warwick )?

 

Safe to assume a 281 Squadron Warwick would have Sky undersides.

 

Facinating to hear the ASR Spitfire has yellow codes.
Can you recommend any books/articles that cover Coastal Command schemes?

 

Cheers Juanita

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TSS over Azure Blue was standard Transport Command colour scheme, from formation I suspect.  I can find a date if you wish.  However Azure Blue would be a common, almost completely standard, underside colour in the Mediterranean from 1941 onwards.  It is possible that references to Sky Blue are actually based on a more generic "sky blue", someone's comment on seeing Azure Blue.  Yes, a UK-based unit would use Sky.

 

No single book, although the little PSL book on RAF Camouflages does a fairly decent job with the basics.  However Rossm who posts here often has done a very good listing so would be a good contact.  Send him a PM.

 

Good to see your work appearing here and there.

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Thanks Graham.
Shall get in touch with Rossm...I have a small batch of Coastal Command types to do...from Wellington to Sunderland...and beyond. Would be good to make sure I don't get tangled with the colours!

Thanks for you help Graham

 

Cheers Juanita

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4 hours ago, Juanita said:

Thanks Graham.
Shall get in touch with Rossm...I have a small batch of Coastal Command types to do...from Wellington to Sunderland...and beyond. Would be good to make sure I don't get tangled with the colours!

Thanks for you help Graham

 

Cheers Juanita

Hi Juanita,

  My web page http://hrmtech.com/SIG/coastal_cam.asp may not be much help as Air Sea Rescue (ASR) aircraft did carry dedicated schemes at times. I can hopefully dig more at the weekend but my immediate thought is the codes on BV411 were either red (specified in 1942) or yellow (seen in some photos of ASR aircraft) and the camouflage was the Temperate Sea Scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey, Dark Slate Grey and Sky,

Best,

Ross

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Hi Ross

Wow, that is a real gem of a web page!

Certainly answers all my question about Coastal Command.

 

FYI here is a close up of another of 281 Sqn Warwick around the same time as the photos of BV411  Could be either red or yellow - its such a close call.

In Photoshop I pasted a slice of roundel over the codes...the '4' was closer match to the roundel yellow that the roundel red....so I'll take the colour as yellow. However it would be great to know more about the background to SAR code colours.

This aircraft (BV417) was lost in  June 1944, and its sistership BV411 was lost Sept 1944.

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