F4U-1D Color
Joel Caesar
Request advice on correct paint color for F4U-1D Corsair, 1944, USN.
Is it FS15050 or FS 15042 or FS 350442 or none of the above. Thanks
for the advice.
Joel Caesar
John Bergsing
The colors I like for early WWII US Navy aircraft (and looks as close as
anything) is Floquil's "US Navy Blue/Grey" over "US Navy Light Grey".
These are a very close match judging by color photos.
michaela rhea drapes
Dad says:
"None of the above. It should be ANA 623, which is very similar to FS
15042, aka, close enough for modeling purposes."
Michael Drapes <mjdr...@cibola.net> as dictated to daughter Michaela (:
Charles Metz
Sorry, but the original posting by Joel Caesar <jca...@monmouth.com> asked
about USN F4U-1D Corsairs in 1944. To the best of my knowledge, the only
(operational) USN Corsairs to wear Blue/Grey over Light Grey were the
"Birdcage" F4U-1 version. With the possible exception of early prototypes, I
doubt that the F4U-1D version ever wore that scheme.
Charles Metz
Charles Metz
Oops! ... a typo appeared in the second paragraph of my earlier posting
concerning F4U camouflage. Color photos of USMC F4U-1As in the Solomon
are shown in Refs. 4 and 5, *not* in Refs. 4 and 6.
Darned keyboard must be acting up again ...
Charles Metz
Charles Metz
Yesterday I <c-m...@uchicago.edu> wrote:
Since then I've checked my references and now feel confident that only
"Birdcage" F4U-1s (together with "Birdcage" F4U-2 nightfighters -- which had
skipped my mind at the time of my original posting -- and corresponding FG-1
and FG-2 aircraft) carried the Blue/Grey over Light Grey (BG/LG) scheme. In
particular, I now strongly doubt that any F4U-1Ds wore the BG/LG scheme.
No F4U-1A photo in my collection shows the BG/LG scheme. Some
*black-and-white* photos *appear* to indicate that a rather light-colored
monochromatic uppersurface camouflage was used on land-based USMC F4U-1As in
the Solomons, but color photos of the same aircraft (e.g., in Refs. 4 and 6
below) clearly show that this appearance was simply due to very heavy
weathering of the tri-color scheme. By the way, I couldn't find any clear
statement of the date at which Corsair production changed from the F4U-1 to the
F4U-1A, but various references (which disagree as to the exact month) indicate
that the tri-color camouflage scheme was introduced in January, February, or
March 1943. Given photos that show ³factory-fresh² Birdcage Corsairs in
tri-color camouflage but none that show later versions in the BG/LG scheme,
this seems to imply that production changed from the F4U-1 to the F4U-1A no
earlier than January-March 1943.
Another question relevant to Joel Caesar's original inquiry is whether F4U-1Ds
(or FG-1Ds) ever carried BG/LG or tri-color camouflage. The second "In Action"
on the Corsair (Ref. 6) states explicitly that the -1D went into production in
April 1944 and that *all* -1Ds carried Glossy Sea Blue (GSB) camouflage. The
latter claim follows from the first if one accepts the assertion in Refs. 3 and
7 that all carrier-borne *fighters* were ordered to carry GSB camouflage after
*April* 1944. However, it would seem possible for some early -1Ds to have
carried the *tri-color* scheme if one accepts the statement in Refs. 1 and 2
that all carrier-borne *aircraft* were ordered to carry GSB camouflage after
*June* 1944, which may or not preclude the possibility that *fighters* adopted
GSB in *April* 1944. The one thing that seems certain here is that the BG/LG
scheme was *not* used on -1Ds if this version of the Corsair was introduced in
April 1944 but the BG/LG scheme became obsolete sometime in early 1943.
Finally, to answer Joel Caesar's original inquiry: both Ref. 1 and Ref. 2 list
Glossy Sea Blue as FS 15042.
I hope this helps. Can anyone provide corrections or other opinions?
Charles Metz
REFERENCES:
(1) Doll: "Navy Air Colors. Vol. 1: 1911-1945" (Squadron/Signal, 1983).
(2) Elliott: "The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color
Guide. Vol 2: 1940-1949" (Monogram Aviation Publications, 1989).
(3) Kilgrain: "Color Schemes and Markings: U.S. Navy Aircraft, 1911-1950"
(Kilgrain [privately published], 1973).
(4) Lawson and Tillman: "Carrier Air War in Original WWII Color: US Navy
Air Combat 1939-1945" (Motorbooks International, 1996).
(5) O'Leary: "Fighting Corsairs" (War Eagle Special No. 1; War Eagle
Publications, 1984).
(6) Sullivan: "F4U Corsair in Action" (Aircraft in Action No. 145;
Squadron/Signal, 1994).
(7) Thomas: "US Navy Carrier Aircraft Colours" (Air Research, 1989).
William Reece
The correct colors for the F4U-1d are:
For a tri-color scheme
FS 25042 Semi-Gloss Sea Blue, horizontal flying surfaces, ie. wing tops.
FS 35042 Non-Specular Sea Blue, fuselage spine, fuselage down to the wing
root, and leading edges of wings.
FS 35164 Intermediate Blue, fuselage sides, vertical fin, rudder and
under side of the wings from the wingfold out.
FS 37875 Insignia White, bottom of fuselage, bottom of horizontal
stabilizers, countershading under the horiz. stabs., bottom of wings
inward from the wingfold joint, landing gear, wheels and inside of the
wheel bays and gear doors.
The wheel bays could also be interior green. The cockpit and inside of
the engine cowl are interior green. The inside of the fuselage was zinc
chromate yellow. Later a/c could have had the inside of the cowl in Flat
Black.
This scheme should be apparent in almost any photo of an F4U-1a or -1d
For an overall Glossy Sea Blue a/c everything but the cockpit, engine cowl
interior, and fuselage interior (these remain the same as above) is FS
15042 Glossy Sea Blue.