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Fairchild factory colours - late 1930s


Vingtor

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On 3/10/2023 at 12:45 AM, Roger Holden said:

Curiously, I am currently building that exact same Waco SRE, based on the terribly inaccurate Execuform vacform and much scratch building. However, it will be in the markings of its original owner, aviation radio magnate Bill Lear.

 

 

I just got this image. It is maybe familiar to you?

 

BTW, how wide would the black outline to the trim be? One inch...?

 

Nils

 

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Edited by Vingtor
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9 hours ago, Vingtor said:

 

I just got this image. It is maybe familiar to you?

 

BTW, how wide would the black outline to the trim be? One inch...?

 

Nils

 

Yes, taken December 1939, when he had just taken delivery of the plane. 

The black trim was a 1/4 inch pinstripe, which was standard on Wacos.

 

 

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16 hours ago, Roger Holden said:

Yes, taken December 1939, when he had just taken delivery of the plane. 

 

 

Do you have any photos of this period showing all of the aircraft?

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8 hours ago, Vingtor said:

 

Do you have any photos of this period showing all of the aircraft?

Unfortunately, no. I'd like to know if that DF 'bullet' fairing was fitted originally ....

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1 hour ago, Roger Holden said:

Unfortunately, no. I'd like to know if that DF 'bullet' fairing was fitted originally ....

In RNAF service the Waco was used for radio operator training and for transport flights. The yellow colour on the bullet might suggest that it was originally installed. On the other hand, some tins of original paint might have been delivered with the aircraft. The cheatline on the rear fuselage seems to have been painted over with original paint and the Norwegian registration number seems to be in the same original colours. Also the Learadio logo seems to have been painted over with original paint. So it might just as well have been installed by the Norwegians, and painted yellow.

 

Nils

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From an article on Norwegian Cornells in Scale Models International January 1988. The author writes that he has fragments of # 151 that was involved in a mid air collision in February 1945 (the aircraft landed safely and was repaired). The fragments contain exterior surfaces with both colours. The blue he describes as FS 15102. This is a good match for A-N True Blue. The yellow is FS 13655 with a touch of FS 13538.

 

# 151 was an M-62A delivered in August 1941. It might possibly have been repainted by February 1945.

 

Nils

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On 15/03/2023 at 21:19, Vingtor said:

In RNAF service the Waco was used for radio operator training and for transport flights. The yellow colour on the bullet might suggest that it was originally installed. 

 

It doesn't appear to be on the delivery photo, but it was a piece of Lear equipment (they were the biggest producer of Automatic Direction Finding equipment and the associated bullet antenna during WW2) so it probably got fitted before it went to the Norwegians.

 

I remembered I have a copy of the Waco factory paperwork for the plane and it had major rebuilds by the Waco factory several times, including at least once when in Norwegian service (it's not very far from Ohio to Canada...). Probably the various repaints were done by the Waco factory, not the Norwegians.

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On 3/15/2023 at 4:33 PM, VH-USB said:

The color film of the Norwegian Fairchilds, especially in the close-up of the noses with the names, sure seems to match my color chip of the iridescent 'Fairchild Blue'.

 

Tim

 

Fortunately (?) there is no shortage of colour photos of Cornells from the RNAF Training Camp. Most of them are early M62As though. Comments on the colours are welcome. The first one is an unknown aircraft before it was fitted with a closed canopy.

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Another unknown: spacer.png


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Now on to the Lend/Lease PT-26 aircraft. Unfortunately the number of colour photos is much lower. This first one clearly show that it was delivered in an all-over yellow scheme and that the blue fuselage has been painted after delivery.

 

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Also this show traces of yellow inside the canopy frame, and a scratch in the paint beneath the tailplane.

 

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The last one is taken in Norway after the war, with new national insignia.

 

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Nils

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14 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Wow! That's a great collection of Cornels in colour. Where did you find you ever find them?

 

They come from various sources. E.g. the Norwegian Digital Museum (https://digitaltmuseum.no/), the Norwegian Defence Museum, private archives...

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  • 2 months later...

Page 41 of USAAF Aircraft Markings and Camouflage, 1941 to 1947

Shows a black and white photo of the PT-19 finished in True Blue and Orange Yellow per Spec. 24113-A. Spec. (Colors for Training Airplanes)

 

Page 40 of The Official Monogram US Army Air Service and Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, 1908-1941.

24113-A was the standard set Sep. 9, 1938
Yellow No. 4 and No. 23 (Light) Blue

 

Spec. No. 98-24113, Amendment No. 6, Sept 12, 1942

All silver pain for trainers

 

 

True Blue (darker blue) and Orange Yellow is what we are all so familiar with for the WWII Trainers.

Based on the Fairchild Color Chart previously posted, it would appear that Fairchild took the Military Standard colors and named them Army-Navy Yellow and Curtiss Blue 1263

 

 

Yellow No. 4 was a tad darker than Orange Yellow and Light Blue was a bit "Milky" in shade, as is on this Curtiss P-6E Hawk


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Edited by Bryan Austin
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Many of the WWII trainers we see today that flaunt the blue & yellow have different shades depending where they buy the paint. In the late 1980's early 1990's, Randolph Coatings offered M-9501 A-N Orange Yellow and H-9170 Bahama Blue to those who chose the yellow and blue paint scheme.

345413448-793929915690901-16866765992359

 

 

Color plates from The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Color Corps, Aircraft Color Guide

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Edited by Bryan Austin
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