Percival Mew Gull Colors (registration)?

[nickinflorida]

I'm working on an R/C model of the Percival Mew Gull, which has the "as manufactured" canopy and rear deck.  As famous as this aircraft was in England, it's all but unknown to us in the USA, even those of us very interested in the prewar National Air Races held in Cleveland, Ohio. Finding reference material has been a surprising challenge.
 

The current restoration of G-AEXF is of Henshaw's "cut down" canopy and rear deck.  I have Harry Robinson's drawings for G-AEXF and it's original scheme/registration, ZS-AHM, which includes color notes.

 

My model will be all-white, and considering how few Mew Gulls were made, I've been surprised at my inability to identify colors.  I believe the following were all-white airframes:

 

ZS-AHM "The Golden City"   gold letters

G-AEXF British Racing Green letters

G-AEKL

G-ACND

 

(not included: Capt. Percival's own G-AFAA, as this was essentially a different aircraft)

 

G-AEXF did exist in unmodified form, so this is a possibility, as is the original incarnation, ZS-AHM.

Can anybody fill in the blanks for the other registration letter colors?

 

I've done exhaustive internet searches and I'm very surprised at how few photos of Mew Gulls turn up (not including the Shuttleworth restoration).  I've found no reference books -- just two magazine articles (Air Classics, Oct. 1977 which included Robinson's drawings of G-AFAA and Skyways, Jan. 2004 which included Robinson's drawings of G-AEXF, modified, and ZA-AHM).  Did Robinson document any of the other Mew Gulls?  His excellent drawings are very difficult to come by.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rossm]

Online the best I've found is http://richard.ferriere.free.fr/bleneau/mewgull/mewgull.pdf

 

There are two books on Percival aircraft, one published by Air Britain and an older one - I can give you more details next weekend when I get back to my books.

 

In the meantime here is my WIP, stalled by a house move and consequent 1:1 scale DIY projects

 

[nickinflorida]

I had seen your model build thread -- in fact, that provided proof that Harry Robinson had done drawings of ZS-AHM, which I finally found in the SKYWAYS issue refernced.

 

I'd seen that French article (PDF) and bookmarked it -- but neglected to translate any of it. So I took a chance on the caption for the profile photo of G-ACND, and got the following:

 

"Edgar Percival only used white planes for his personal needs, the registration being painted in gold letters, showing little contrast in the photos. The E.2H G-ACND (c / n E.21) had the same registration and the same serial number as the E.1 of 1934, which made some people say that it It was the same device, modified."

 

So now I know that G-ACND had GOLD registration letters!

 

I found one photo of Percival in the cockpit of G-AEKL, when it was all-white, and the letters look light -- so probably gold as well, or perhaps a medium blue?  G-AEKL had subsequent color changes from all-white.  The decals with your model show his personal G-AFAA having medium blue letters.

 

Thanks for the help!

[nickinflorida]

While on the general subject, has anybody seen a good photo or drawing of the circular Percival Mew Gull logo seen on some of vertical stabilizers?  Harry Robinson did draw it and indicate colors, but it's too small on my copy to get more than a general idea.

 

[Tripod]

I think G-AEKL had a black upper fuselage (need to check the upper wing surfaces too) before its tragic mishap before the 1936 Schlesinger race, and when rebuilt it was red with gold trim. If you Google the modern replica G-HEKL it is a close match to the original.

[Tripod]

Of course, the black might also have been another dark colour as the photos are all black and white, so that needs checking too!

[nickinflorida]

Black and white photos, especially pre-war, can be very tricky with some colors, where they may read darker or lighter than the actual color might lead you to believe, due to the specific film's color sensitivity.  ZS-AHM, for example, looks darker than gold in most photos, while the shots I have of G-AEKL and G-ACND have lighter-appearing letters, consistent with what I'd expect gold to look like in black and white.  In some shots "The Golden City" looks black and in other, lighter as you'd expect gold to look (the registration letters, unfortunately, obscured in the lighter looking shot).  So I'm not 100% convinced that "The Golden City" (ZS-AHM) had gold registration letters -- although that is clearly noted in Harry Robinson's scale drawings, certainly the best ever done.

 

My model is an "ARF" (almost ready to fly) -- balsa/ply framework, precovered in white iron-on material.  I wish it had been covered with red, then my choice would have been simple -- gold G-AEKL lettering!

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by nickinflorida
added copy.

[rossm]

If you think gold looks similar to yellow to a camera, orthochromatic film - often used in those days - renders yellow as black so gold letters would look dark. Red would also look dark.

[nickinflorida]

That makes a lot of sense.

 

[rossm]

Got to my books earlier than expected, the John Silvester book Percival & Hunting Aircraft has the best descriptions of colours. I'll try to precis when I get time.

[rossm]

Combining both books and trying to work out which is right when they differ is fun! Throw in Henshaw's Flight of the Mew Gull and Ted Chapman's history of The Cornwall Aviation Company which includes Air Publicity.

 

Here is my best effort, note the company livery is as described by John Silvester who worked for Percival in the 1930s. The dark blue lettering he refers to has a variety of tones in photos but think of how long interwar RAF roundels were though to have a pale blue when this was an effect of the greater sensivity of early film to blue.

 

G-ACND – both iterations appear to be in the standard company livery of off-white with dark blue lettering (Silvester) or satin white with blue lettering (Air Britain).

 

G-AEKL – Prior to acquisition by Air publicity in September 1936 it was probably in the house white and blue and was then repainted white with a black top to the fuselage and black wing uppersufaces and lettering. Post accident (19th September) it was rebuilt and painted maroon with gold lettering, wingtips (NB although mentioned in both Silvester and Air-Britain there is a photo in Chapman dated 21st August 1937 with no evidence of gold on the upper wingtips) and flashes along fuselage and undercarriage. Later again (Dec 1937?) it was repainted overall black with red lettering outlined in gold.

 

ZS-AHM "The Golden City" – standard company livery of off-white with dark blue lettering (Silvester) or gold lettering (Henshaw), name in copperplate lettering on engine cowling. Re-registered as G-AEXF in  May 1937, British Racing Green letters and wingtips.

 

ZS-AHO “Baragwanath” – initially G-AEMO, pillar box red with gold name in copperplate lettering on engine cowling. Presumably gold lettering.

 

G-AFAA - flight tested unpainted then white with blue lettering and trim.

 

Corrections and additions welcome!

[Graham Boak]

Orthochromatic film makes reds look black.  Orange-yellows will tend to look dark because of the red content, but it takes a particular filter to make yellow look black.  It does seem to have often been used.

[nickinflorida]

I'm trying to remember where I just read that the first Mew Gulls were Percival's "house colors" of white with gold registration letters.  Further, I have good photos of G-ACND and G-AEKL where the lettering certainly looks like gold.  Unfortunate, I don't see an option to attach the images to the post.  If I can find the photos online again, I'll post the URLs.

 

Thanks!

[nickinflorida]

 

The first shot is interesting because the number 2 on the rudder is almost certainly black and provides a value reference.

 

 

 

 

This photo of ZS-AHM is useful -- Harry Robinson (scale drawings) claimed gold registration.  But in this single shot you can clearly see "The Golden City" is lighter -- and likely gold, whereas the registration is darker and unlikely gold at all!

Henshaw with the pre-modification version of G-AEXF, which was said to be British Racing Green.  I'm guessing the racing number was black.  

 

 

At the stock photo site https://www.alamy.com/ search these two images for Percival in the cockpit of G-AEKL:   2BW3TMG    2BW3M17   (the latter doesn't show the fuselage as well, but does show the upper wing)

[nickinflorida]

A French article mentioned earlier (PDF form), here: http://richard.ferriere.free.fr/bleneau/mewgull/mewgull.pdf

 

On page three, the caption for G-ACND google-translates to:

 

"Edgar Percival only used white planes for his personal needs, the registration being painted in gold letters, showing little contrast in the photos. The E.2H G-ACND (c / n E.21) had the same registration and the same serial number as the E.1 of 1934, which made some people say that it It was the same device, modified."

 

Amazing so many different conclusions on such well-known (in their day) aircraft.

 

Also worth pointing out, and I think somewhat overlooked -- the canopy framing appears to be natural (unpainted) aluminum (where it's the original, unmodified canopy design).  The Henshaw modified canopy frame was white, and when restored c.1980 with original canopy design, the frame was painted white then as well.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by nickinflorida
canopy frame notes

[rossm]

I agree those photos don't appear to show a dark blue but when someone who worked for Percival wrote the house colours were white and dark blue my first thought is to wonder how dark? I'd like to know the primary source for the use of gold before changing my mind. 

 

To underline my point about blue sometimes showing up pale here is an RAF aircraft with what appears to be a pale blue on the roundel - EXCEPT the RAF didn't use pale blue for roundels then!

 

AIRCRAFT OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE 1919-1939. © IWM (H(AM) 223) IWM Non Commercial License

 

[nickinflorida]

I think you make a really good point about the blue!

While it generally seems to be agreed that the modified (cut down canopy/deck) G-AEXF was British racing green (reg.), do we know that was the correct color pre-mod as shown in the photo?  It would make sense that Henshaw wouldn't have repainted the registration, at least on the wing (I've seen no record of how "torn up" the fuselage was during the change or whether the work was confined to the curved decking only).

 

I really thought the gold would be a nice change from all the other R/C Mew Gull kits that have been G-AEXF, and usually black (as the green was supposedly very dark and looked black).  But I don't want to make gold transfers only to learn that without a doubt the alternative registrations were blue.

Your Hawker photo shows without a doubt that AEKL and ACND could be as dark as the "roundel" blue, and not some medium blue as might be assumed.

 

In the RC world it's amazing how many pre-painted, pre-marked WW2 planes are done to represent an existing restored example.  I guess then there is no question what the colors and markings are!  And I have to admit, before I realized how completely different G-AEXF was, pre- and post-mod, I was inclined to do my model exactly as it exists today in the Shuttleworth Collection, since there is a great deal of available documentation!

[rossm]

To quote from Henshaw's book "on the 8th of May Dad drove me to Luton to take delivery of the Mew Gull......................................re-registered G-AEXF in place of ZS-AHM. The gold letters and wingtips had been changed at my request to racing green."

 

The Air Britain production history has the date of re-registration as 18.5.1937 - I guess it's easy to add or lose a "1" somewhere in the intervening years - but it almost certainly means there was no gold lettered G-AEXF although Henshaw's words are ambiguous and could be taken to mean just a change of colour but I now think the change of registration happened at the same time. The photo above also casts doubt on his recollection of gold letters as ZS-AHM.

 

There is a photo in the Air Britain book where ZS-AHM appears to have paler letters but that may be just a poor quality photo as it does not seem to have any true blacks, even in shadows.

[nickinflorida]

I think it's pretty clear that Henshaw meant he acquired ZS-AHM with gold lettering (even though that would seem to conflict with some photos) and that his registration of G-AEXF was British racing green from the start.  I think it'd be an odd thing to mis-remember (AHM having gold lettering), so I'm inclined to take it as "the fact of the matter".   The book is copyright 1980 so decades after the event.

[nickinflorida]

1 minute ago, nickinflorida said:

I think it's pretty clear that Henshaw meant he acquired ZS-AHM with gold lettering (even though that would seem to conflict with some photos) and that his registration of G-AEXF was British racing green from the start.  I think it'd be an odd thing to mis-remember (AHM having gold lettering), so I'm inclined to take it as "the fact of the matter".   The book is copyright 1980 so decades after the event.

I found an "e-version" of Henshaw's book, and searched this additional reference -- at the least, Henshaw is consistent in his memory of the color:

 

On 20th of March 1937 I went down with Dad to Luton to discuss aircraft with Captain Edgar Percival. Percival showed me the Mew ZS-AHM glistening in white and gold, which had been returned from Belgrade, and fitted with a Gipsy Six Se- ries I engine and fixed-pitch airscrew and sold to Bill Humble. 

[rossm]

9 hours ago, nickinflorida said:

I think it's pretty clear that Henshaw meant he acquired ZS-AHM with gold lettering (even though that would seem to conflict with some photos) ................

 

There was probably a bloke with a paintbrush and can of gold paint quietly fuming in the background waiting for the photographer to finish and let him get on with his job 😉

 

9 hours ago, nickinflorida said:

Mew ZS-AHM glistening in white and gold

 

Good find, I didn't think to go back before delivery to Henshaw.

 

The photo with the dark registration has Capt. Percival (or someone wearing his famous hat) in the cockpit so maybe "factory finish" and the letters were changed by the new owner on delivery ? We can only speculate.

[Fastcat]

I've followed this post with great interest as the little Mew Gull is one of my favourite aircraft. I believe the article by John Silvester was published in the Aeroplane. While it's certainly true that -EKL was dark red and gold when owned and raced by Giles Guthrie in 1938, it was previously raced by Charles Gardner in 1937, in fact he won the 1937 King's Cup in it. Under this ownership it is variously described as blue. I haven't been able to verify the trim colour but I think that it was light blue although there remains a slight possibility that it could have been silver. Therefore the owner after -EKL's accident at Speke and subsequent rebuild was Charles Gardner. The timeline is - 1936, black and white, accident at Speke - 1937, blue, owned by Gardner - 1938, red and gold, owned by Guthrie.

 

It follows that Silvester could not have seen it repaired after the crash and repainted in red but that he saw it at a later date after Gardner sold it to Guthrie. Either that, or the reports of Gardner's aircraft being in blue (and there are several) are in error.

 

Another case of slightly faded memory over the years, perhaps.

 

 Dave

 

PS- In both post accident iterations it had a more streamlined nose, a sort of halfway house between Henshaw's Cape Dash version and the more blunt factory version. It also had a more pointed spinner.

Edited June 9, 2021 by Fastcat

[rossm]

John Silvester actually wrote a book "Hunting and Percival Aircraft" which reads as if it was meant to be a Putnam.

 

I have picked up one definite error in the Mew Gull section so I wouldn't be surprised to find more.

 

And now it seems I have, probably a mix up of recollection of dates.

 

I've now found a reference to G-AEKL as dark blue with light blue lettering and trim in July 1937 in the Putnam "British Racing and Record Breaking Aircraft". The same book also captions a photo of G-AFAA at the Kings Cup in 1937 as "cream, blue and gold" which covers a multitude of variations but not including the description in the text of "white with blue registration and trim, edged in gold". In fact the book is a mine of useful info as there is a photo of G-AEKL wearing "4" where no upper wingtip trim is visible.

 

Another piece of the G-AEKL jigsaw from the Putnam referring to the London-IoM race in June 1938 "In fifth place was Giles Guthrie piloting the Mew Gull G-AEKL, now maroon with gold trim".

 

So I should revise my notes above with information from the Putnam...........

 

G-AEKL – Prior to registration to Air Publicity in September 1936 it was probably in the house white and blue and was then repainted white with a black top to the fuselage and black wing uppersufaces, black lettering on the white surfaces and white lettering on the black. Post accident (19th September) it was rebuilt and painted dark blue with light blue lettering and trim for the 1937 racing season then in December 1937 it was repainted overall black with red lettering outlined in gold for a possible attempt on the England Australia record. After a change of ownership for the 1938 season it was maroon with gold lettering, wingtips and flashes along fuselage and undercarriage.

 

Wikipedia states it had six different colour schemes so I'm still missing one.............

[Fastcat]

Hi Ross

             Thanks for the extra input. I'm not sure about the black, red and gold scheme, however. The Aeroplane supports this scheme but I think it records it at a later date and that it was in this livery when it was destroyed during the war, obviously after 1938 and during WW2.

I'm writing this from memory as I don't have access to my cuttings - I'm still up in the air after a recent house move so I apologise if I'm wrong on this.

Gardner's aircraft is often forgotten but arguably he was the most successful owner of -EKL. Gardner had a black race number 4 on his 1937 King's Cup winner.

Guthrie came second to Alex Henshaw in the 1938 King's Cup. I think it carried the race number 21.

 

Dave

[rossm]

5 minutes ago, Fastcat said:

I'm not sure about the black, red and gold scheme, however. The Aeroplane supports this scheme but I think it records it at a later date and that it was in this livery when it was destroyed during the war, obviously after 1938 and during WW2.

 

I would have thought that more likely - maybe the Air britain book got confused between Mollison's possible record attempt and his later ownership.