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"Pan Am" HU-16 in Vietnam?


Killingholme

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Hi all,

 

I have seen a few colour profiles of a grey/white HU-16 operating out of Da Nang during the Vietnam War that was crewed by Pan Am pilots in the USAF reserve. Does anyone know of any images of the actual aircraft? Would anyone care to speculate on the likely paint colours? Here's what we're talking about by the way.

 

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Will

Edited by Killingholme
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What a wonderful photo spread. I have never seen any of these Albatross schemes, being familiar only with the aluminium lacquer  scheme with wide tellow fuselage stripe.

I have a question: while gathering photos from USAF veterans for an Osprey book on the B-57 Canberra, which were based at Danang following a catastrophic ramp explosion at Bien Hoa, I got tons of photos of the Canberra and many other types at Danang. However, many of these are slides. How can these be posted to the web? Or can they? Hate to see them go to waste.

 

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Nice pictures! Thanks all. Interesting scheme, it looks for all the world like someone was trying to emulate the WWII era US Navy tri-tone scheme. I'm guessing the USAF or USN at Da Nang wouldn't have access to those WWII era ANA606/608 colours though?

 

Anyone care to speculate on what likely paints they would likely have used?

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12 hours ago, Killingholme said:

'm guessing the USAF or USN at Da Nang wouldn't have access to those WWII era ANA606/608 colours though?

No need for ANA.  FS 595 has the equivalent FS15042 Sea Blue as option  - undoubtedly liberated from Navy stock.

 

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While I understand that if Wolfpack mentioned FS 35042 in the instructions, I've always wondered if these aircraft may have actually been painted using Grey FS 36081, as in pictures these aircraft look quite similar to US types using the same colour (or the gloss 16081)...

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5 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

While I understand that if Wolfpack mentioned FS 35042 in the instructions, I've always wondered if these aircraft may have actually been painted using Grey FS 36081, as in pictures these aircraft look quite similar to US types using the same colour (or the gloss 16081)...

Interesting thought, Giorgio- I have seen photos of Spanish, Norwegian, Greek, and USN HU-16's painted in Seaplane Grey, FS36081, but so far, no USAF examples. Since 34052 would have to have come from USN paint stores, as well as 36081, either one could have been possible. Doubt seriously insignia blue 35044 would have been used, but that's another possibility. In the one color photo, you can see the insignia blue tail band of an aluminum painted HU-16 behind, and the blue is darker than what the aircraft in the foreground is painted, as well as the insignia blue disk and bars of the fuselage insignia; sea blue would be lighter than insignia blue, I think. Regardless, it;s going to be a pretty neat-looking model!

Mike

 

While my family was waterskiing on Canyon Lake at New Braunfels, TX during the mid-seventies, a civil registered HU-16 flew past us, landed, cranked down the landing gear, taxied up one of the nearby boat ramps, and shut down. After a short time, it fired up, taxied down the ramp, and flew off! Only time in my life that I have seen a flying boat/amphibian actually land and take of from the water- wish I had a camera at the time!

Edited by 72modeler
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As I understand it, the HU-16s operating in Viet Nam were originally in standard overall aluminum lacquer finish with hi-vis markings. This was eventually changed to the more suitable scheme of a Sea Blue over Light Grey. After all… who would want to fly low or land in hostile waters wearing an aluminum finish?! Since the blue/grey finish was applied locally as aircraft arrived in theatre, there is naturally a great deal of variation between aircraft as far as colour demarcation goes. Some even tried to create the effect of an “intermediate” blue between the two. None of the photos I’ve seen indicate anything like a gloss finish, all looking matt or semi-gloss at best. I’ve also not seen anything official indicating if the blue was an official government-stocked colour, or something mixed on site. Here are a few more photos of ‘blue/grey’ HU-16s, both operational and in storage at MASDC. Sorry, but I can’t remember who sent me the slides many years ago.

HU-16 2.jpg

HU-16 1.jpg

HU-16 3.jpg

HU-16 4.jpg

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  • 8 months later...

I hadn't noticed this topic when it was active last year; I suspect the model is completed already, but on the off chance that it isn't...

 

The scheme is a standard MAC Air Rescue and Recovery Service scheme that seems to be descended from the post-war OA-10 Catalina colors.  There's a schematic on page D-62 of most 1960s and '70s editions of TO 1-1-4 listing the colors as blue 15042 over gray 36622.  The colors might have been matched to 595a (NOT 595b), but the blue might have been the original ANA paints - Some Navy factory drawings continued to call for ANA colors into the mid-1960s (despite the government's introduction of FS 595.

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Dana

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