Hello to all forumers,
First post here: i have a rather specific question about Gloster Gladiator camouflage and thought this might be a good place to ask!
I´m a Dutch modeller building the Matchbox Gladiator as an anonymous MKI in Egypt, pictured on p. 24 of the Squadron Signal book (no scan, but see also attachment). This is described as being camouflaged in Light Earth and Dark Green over Aluminium, as indeed it appears to be – except that the Dark Green seems to be “edged” in a third color, something between LE and DG. You can make out a similar pattern (but more neatly applied) on the 33 squadron machine “TN”, pictured in the attachment.
So what´s going on here? Might there perhaps be a coat of Dark Earth or Light Green underneath the DG which was not entirely overpainted on purpose? Have i come across an “experimental” pre-war RAF color scheme, or is this one of those monochrome optical illusions? I´m curious to hear some suggestions!
Cheers,
Jasper.
By: The Beach - 10th December 2009 at 16:50
just depends if you get the correct shades Mkv
By: Jasper Dijk - 10th December 2009 at 14:19
well that didn`t work, so ignore the roundels question 😮
By: Jasper Dijk - 10th December 2009 at 13:47
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Very nice of you to post that profile, Darnsarf – but notice it’s just LE/DG, without the edges. Looks like the illustrator got nervous! The thoughts of DaveF68 are basically the same as my own, and so far DE seems the logical choice for those edges. It`s just so very “un-RAF”!
I `ve attached a pic of the actual Gladiator concerned, saved in Word. Not sure how that will turn out, but hopefully you can make out the color scheme…
BTW my guess for the roundels is pre-war/bright coloured ones on fuse and bottom wings and none on the upper wing – unless somebody has a picture of a camouflaged pre-war Gladiator with roundels on the top wing!
By: jeepman - 9th December 2009 at 17:41
Edit – incidentally, the aircraft shown in the photo is quite a famous Gladiator, L7619. It’s illustrated in the Osprey book on Gladiator Aces, but I have’t got that to see the profiles in there
The text/plate descriptions in the Gladiator Aces book from Osprey suggests that it is in a temporary “desert camouflage scheme”
I guess it could be possible that the light earth from the shadow compensating scheme was just used as a top half colour as well – that would save repainting the bottom half. But in the desert who knows – somebody could have just as easily mixed some insignia yellow with the light earth to get a sandy colour equivalent to mid stone…………
By: darnsarf - 9th December 2009 at 17:34
Edit – incidentally, the aircraft shown in the photo is quite a famous Gladiator, L7619. It’s illustrated in the Osprey book on Gladiator Aces, but I have’t got that to see the profiles in there
Ask and ye shall receive.. 🙂
By: DaveF68 - 9th December 2009 at 15:16
Mmm, not sure Jasper’s photo shows either the full four colour Temparate Land scheme nor one of the Tropical schemes in use either – if you note, the darker green is outlined, whereas the shadow shading scheme is upper/lower fuselage division
My suspicion is that the ‘border’ might be Dark Earth, left as an edge from painting over the Dark Earth on a european schemed aircraft with light earth for use in the Middle east. Dependant on when it was first painted, as this aircraft was in the Middle East in 1939, it may have been painted in the ‘Munich’ scheme of Dark Earth/Dark Green uppers only
Edit – incidentally, the aircraft shown in the photo is quite a famous Gladiator, L7619. It’s illustrated in the Osprey book on Gladiator Aces, but I have’t got that to see the profiles in there
By: Mark V - 9th December 2009 at 14:23
Gladiators were, in fact, camouflaged in three upper colours. From memory, two shades of green and dark earth. I think this may have been to compensate for the shadow cast by the upper wing.
As far as I am aware that is basically correct Andy – the scheme you are referring to was the ‘Temperate Land Scheme’ in its bi-plane (shadow compensating) application which comprised four colours: Dark Earth & Dark Green (Upper wing and upper parts of fuelage) and Light Larth & Light Green (Lower wing & lower part of fuselage). Looks like Jasper’s photo is a local variation on this concept.
Best reference for it is Camouflage & Markings No.2 The Battle for Britain by Paul Lucas.
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th December 2009 at 13:49
Gladiators were, in fact, camouflaged in three upper colours. From memory, two shades of green and dark earth. I think this may have been to compensate for the shadow cast by the upper wing. I do not have my references to hand, but it is quite well documented. I am sure someone who is better versed on colours and markings will give you chapter and verse! If not, will see what I can dig out for you.
When involved in two Gladiator recoveries in Norway a couple of years back we found clear remnants of all three colours.
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December 9, 2009 at 1:24 pm