SEA Camouflage Patterns and EC-47s

[arod138]

Hi all,
This is all I have, a photo of an EC-47 being inspected for battle damage taken from an RU-8D over the jungles of Vietnam.

http://www.362ndtews.com

http://www.ec47.com

It seems that of the photos I’ve seen on the above two pages, I’ve seen a lot of close matches, which is a testament to the people following whatever the guidelines the paint manuals said, but is there any definitive way to match the patterns? Adding to the confusion is that in May of 1970, when this photo was taken, the “AN” Tail Flash, although clearly visible, it’s quite possible that the letters were swapped out frequently over the course of the aircraft’s assignment in SEA.

Anyone want to take a crack at it?

Attachments

[JohnB]

The tail letters are unit codes so it seems likely a specialized aircraft like an EC-47 would stay in theater but be assigned to various units during the war.

The SEA camouflage pattern was detailed in the T.O. 1-1-4.

One of the NCOICs I had in my office was a former EC-47 back end guy in Vietnam...

[Tulio]

Hi all,

"...but is there any definitive way to match the patterns?"

FWIW:

I remember seeing cammo patterns made out of what looked like a rubberized material, this allowing for similar shapes to be applied to all aircraft within a squadron.

Now, if you'd ask me where did I see it... all I remember is a photo of airplane mechanics / painters / techs on top of an airplane, with one of them patterns on their hands.

I also have several pages of the VietNam era T.O. as mentioned in this thread.

Saludos,


Tulio

[Ken]

As mentioned above, the basic pattern is set forth in the TO and, normally followed fairly closely. The TO "cartoon" doesn't show panel lines, etc but photos of aircraft and plastic model info should give plenty of info to closely replicate the camo. The pattern should be the same on any version of the -47, gunship, EC, etc.

The AN tail code appears in this list here: http://www.chancefac.net/TailCodes/Tail_Codes.htm

Some paint info here: http://www.ec47.com/4-the-ec-47-tour-pa ... nt-schemes