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Landing Gear of Late War F6F-5 Hellcats

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Michael J. Chorney

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Apr 28, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/28/97
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Dear Pacific War Aviation Experts:

I'm currently building a Hellcat (Hasegawa, 1/48th scale); unfortunately,
I lack reference materials with the exception of an Aeromaster decal
sheet. In contrast to mid-war F6F-3 tri-color schemes in which aircraft
bellies and landing gear were painted white, it is unclear as to late war
Hellcat (those possessing a glossy navy blue paint job with white carrier
markings) landing gear coloration.

1) Were landing gear white? or natural metal? (or even blue?!)

2) Were wheels (hub-caps) white or glossy blue?

3) Were landing gear interiors white, blue or interior green?

[My prejudice is that the hubs were navy blue, the gear themselves were
metal while the gear cover interiors were interior green.]

I would be very grateful for any information.

Thanks in advance, Mike Chorney (mj...@psu.edu)

PSC

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Apr 28, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/28/97
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Wheels, struts, and interiors of doors / wells were Glossy Sea Blue. Not
very photogenic - but that's the way it was.

J. Heilig

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Apr 29, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/29/97
to Michael J. Chorney

Michael J. Chorney wrote:

> 1) Were landing gear white? or natural metal? (or even blue?!)

Most I've seen were either blue or painted aluminum, with a very
cursory
glance at refs indicating about a 50/50 split. US landing gear has
never
(or almost never) been left natural metal. It was almost always
painted
aluminum if it appeared silver. Only the oleo struts were truly nm.


>
> 2) Were wheels (hub-caps) white or glossy blue?

Again, about 50/50 blue & painted aluminum. Some may have been white,
but it was probably up to the units.

>
> 3) Were landing gear interiors white, blue or interior green?

USN gear bays were generally the overall color of the belly of the
aircraft - in this case overall GSB. Check out the AeroDetail book on
the Hellcat. Lots of photos of the restored airplane at New England
Air
Museum which is non-flyable. Probably one of the more authentic
looking
Hellcats around...

Jennings

William Reece

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Apr 29, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/29/97
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Regarding the interior and landing gear bays of the F6F-5:

FS 34151 Interior Green cockpit. Any F6F with the rear windows will have
the rear fuselage in Light Gray (Grumman Gray close to FS 36440). Take
note: those building David McCambell's Minsi III. The inside of the engine
cowling could be Light Gray, Interior Green, or Zinc Chromate Yellow FS
33481. Later F6F-5 and F4U-4 had Flat Black cowling interior. The inside
of the fuselage on the F6F without the windows would normaly be FS 33481
ZCY. All other areas of the airframe that were exposed to weather were
painted Glossy Dark Sea Blue. This includes the landing gear, wheels and
wheel bays. Note that this is not FS 15042. FS 15042 is a Korean War color
and is an FS 595 color that is close to, but not the same as the ANA color
used during WWII. For out use it is close enough.

William Reece
Fly Navy!

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