Warbird Information Exchange

Here’s a couple of early marks in grey/green colours, both are reported to
be in original paint, so I’m guessing not all the early models where in the
brown/green scheme, or maybe they got repaints?

The Mark Ia with the Imperial War Museum in London.






Link to her story, credited with three victories
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/spitregi ... r6915.html

Australian War memorial Mk IIa interesting machine as it has a MkV prop
and also has a larger rounded oil cooler? Have seen these fitted on earlier
models in other pictures. Most early models had the semi circular shaped
oil coolers, wonder if the prop and oil cooler where fitted later in her life?
She flew with a RAAF Squadron in 1941 which seems a little late for such
an early mark, credited with a victory flown by Australian Ace “Bluey” Truscott.

She is quite difficult to get pic’s of as she is up high.




Link to her story.
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1117411?image=2

Both were repainted in 1945 off memory.Not sure if there is original paint under them.

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The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's Spitfire MK IA also carries a green and gray scheme, though I don't know if it's original. I haven't seen that style of kill markings used on early Spitfires before:

https://www.msichicago.org/explore/what ... -spitfire/

I built a model of a Spitfire MK IIa in the markings of 412 Squadron (Canadian) that carried an early iteration of RAF Dark Green and a mixed gray color over Sky. The research associated with the paint scheme indicated that the new RAF Dark Green, Ocean Gray and Medium Sea Gray began to be used during late-1941 and some early-marque Spitfires were repainted in this scheme. I don't have extensive research on this though and I'm sure one of our Spitfire experts probably has more complete information.

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Matt

To me, that doesn't look like an original MKI spinner.

When Day Fighter Scheme entered all Fighter Command aircraft should have been repainted. The given ten day period for the change was unrealistic, but finally ASAP was good enough. The repaint job in the line often resulted in interesting camouflage details with original paint sticking here and there. Here, as an example, is quite famous MkI RF-K for Krysia flown by Wojciech Kołaczkowski of 303 Sq.

Sorry, I get Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached. communique. Don't know why. No pic then .

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Just to clarify, the paint on R6915 at IWM is original wartime (painted 1943) rather than original Battle of Britain. The standard camo on BofB RAF fighters was dark green, dark earth (brown) and sky (what a lot of people call duck egg green) underneath. August of '41 the "Temperate Land" scheme changed to the Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey which lasted to war's end. The later style of roundel and fin flash with reduced widths of white and yellow, and increased red and blue, came in May 1942.

In short, these early Spits are in the later colours worn while they were serving in OTU's, although I think the AWM and Chicago examples have had the paint re-done or at least touched up/added to.

As mentioned above, not everything was repainted overnight and there were blends on camo and markings for some time.

So this poses a question I've had. I've known of the switch of DE to Ocean Grey and known it occurred in 1941. Yet there are innumerable photos of new build RAF Mustangs (Allison-engined up to P-51B) in the old DE/DG scheme, into the summer of 1943 and the red surround of the national insignia. You'd have thought the old paint would have been used up by then given the production tempo and 2 years after the paint change over. I've also read that upon reassembly in GB they were repainted in correct colors. Why such a lag in painting?

From what I understand, the Spit I in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry flew in the Battle of Britain, but was repainted in the later gray-green scheme by the RAF when it was reassigned to a training unit later in the war.

SN

The same thing applies to the Mk.1a in the IWM. It was in active service, although not frontline service, up tot the end of WWII and was repainted in grey/green in due course. All the paint you see is original from 1945.

DSC_6932 by Jelle Hieminga, on Flickr

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