Is there any evidence that some Hamilcars might have been refinished in dark earth/mid stone at any time?
I can’t imagine it but I’ve been asked to comment on some artwork which shows a Hamilcar finished in such a way. I think the artist has based the colours on a what I think is a colourized B&W photo – or at the very least a colour photo where the colour is way off. It’s certainly wrong for the NWE context of the artwork – but it set me thinking – were any Hamilcars (or Horsas for that matter) ever finished in this way?
I see that Horsas were based in Palestine post war, but did anybody go to the trouble of repainting them.
As an aside, whilst confirming the use of Horsas in Palestine I found reference to a Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire being shot down at Ramat David on 22nd May 1947 by a Bren Gun…..
cheers
By: jeepman - 12th January 2016 at 22:05
Thanks for that as well – the Mk II Horsa should be available shortly 🙂
By: Arabella-Cox - 12th January 2016 at 21:43
Never seen a Hamilcar in mid-stone/earth and never found photographic evidence of it. I’ve only come across evidence of one Hamilcar being sent to Iraq for trials in 1949 but given it was a single example and hostilities were over I doubt they would have gone to the trouble of re-painting it. It did have a local modification – they took the perspex out of the cockpit to make it less stifling to fly in the heat.
As Aeronut says, a number of Horsa gliders were painted in mid-stone/dark-earth for the med theatre. Certainly they were present in Italy and the South of France and there are a few colour photographs confirming this. There’s a famous shot of Horsa’s lined up at Portreath about to be dispatched to the middle east where if you look carefully you can make out the desert vs. the European versions.
Horsa’s in Palestine and India post war had the tops painted silver to reflect the sun and keep the interiors cool with one example being painted all silver. A few of these were at 1 PTS at Upper Heyford for a while most likely having been painted but not dispatched.
By: jeepman - 11th January 2016 at 13:25
Thanks for that – it is very helpful.
By: Arabella-Cox - 11th January 2016 at 13:22
I don’t know of any use of the Hamilcar outside North West Europe requiring it to be repainted. There is evidence of some Horsas being painted in dark earth / mid stone for the Invasion of Southern France (oddly enough this also included yellow leading edges on the outer wings).
I’ve seen a photo of a Horsa in Palestine refinished in overall aluminium and some gliders post war (they remained in service until 1950) received Post war style roundels but other than that they remained Dark Earth / Dark Green / Black.
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January 11, 2016 at 12:58 pm