Japanese aircraft interior colors?

[TDHamilton]

Can anyone tell me what colors were used on WWII Japanese aircraft interiors?
My instructions for my A6M5 say black but what I've seen seems to indicate
blue.
Thanks
Troy Hamilton
TDHam...@aol.com

[Mark C.]

TDHamilton wrote:

Troy,

You've wandered into a real morass here. For the most part, Japanese aircraft
interiors depended greatly on the actual builder (some aircraft were designed by
one company, and built by other companies). In the Zero's case, you'd *probably*
be safe by painting the interior either Mitsubishi Interior Green or Nakajima
Interior "Brown." The wheel wells, inside of the gear doors, etc., could be
safely painted "Aotake" blue. All these colors are available in acrylics from
Aeromaster.

HTH,

Mark

[Charles Metz]

Troy Hamilton wrote:

> Can anyone tell me what colors were used on WWII Japanese aircraft
> interiors? My instructions for my A6M5 say black but what I've seen
> seems to indicate blue.

WWII Japanese aircraft colors in general -- and cockpit colors in
particular -- comprise a very complex subject, and others on this
newsgroup can comment more knowledgeably than I. However, to make a
long story short, I feel confident in stating that: (i) the instrument
panel should be black; (ii) you'd be safe in painting the rest of your
A6M5's cockpit a rather light green (similar to -- but somewhat lighter
than -- that used in WWII British aircraft), and (iii) neither blue (I
assume you have in mind the translucent "aotake" coating that looked
like metallic blue lacquer when applied over bare metal) nor black would
be correct as the overall cockpit color for an A6M5. Japanese cockpit
green is included in some lines of model paints (e.g., Floquil Military
Colors, as I recall).

Pete? Cameron?

Charles Metz

[E McCann]

TDHamilton wrote:
>
> Can anyone tell me what colors were used on WWII Japanese aircraft
> interiors?
> My instructions for my A6M5 say black but what I've seen seems to
> indicate
> blue.

Most likely Mitsubishi or Nakajima Interior Green. Unlike most other
WWII combatants, the Japanese didn't have a "standard" interior color.
It depended on if it was an Army or Navy plane (they just didn't get
along,) who made it, when, and I wouldn't be suprised if someone found
out it also depended on what was for lunch in the cafeteria that day and
if it was sunny or cloudy out...

For a very in depth post, go to http://www.dejanews.com, and do a "power
search" for on Japanese interior colors. There's a long (very long)
post on the subject - but very informative. (Another that I printed out
and kept.)

The info... (plug into the "power search" categories)

Author: William Reece (Willia...@server.hort.ncsu.edu)
Title: Re: Cams Classic = What about Japanese colours (colors)
Date: Thursday, 21 August 1997

I don't know if W.R. is still at that addy or not - but it'll help you
get his post!

-Eric
emc...@iag.net

[Dan Salamone]

As well as searching Deja News, check out Dave Pluths' website:
http://WWW.J-AIRCRAFT.COM/

You will find many answers to your questions on Japanese aircraft here.
Hope this helps!
Dan

[SVanaken]

While we are on the subject, anyone care to hazard a guess on the color of the
cockpit of the N1K1-J Shiden. I was going to use Mitsubishi interiorgreen, as
I am pretty clueless as to what color Kawanishi might have used.
Cheers,

__________________________________________________________________________
----Scott Van Aken IPMS Canada 5729----
----The Aviation Nut Webzine----
----http://members.aol.com/svanaken----
----Fly by Nite Productions----

[Cameron Lynch]

Everything you ever wanted to know about  IJAAF/IJNAF cockpit colors.
by Cameron Lynch

If you’re looking for a single definitive source for the colors and markings of Japanese aircraft during the Second World War you’re out of luck.  There simply isn’t one.  This is due to several major factors.  First of all Japanese aircraft were, when compared to most other major combatants, largely undocumented.  You could spend a lifetime digging through photos of American combat aircraft during the war and only scratch the surface.  The same can be said for British/Commonwealth and Luftwaffe aircraft.  Only Soviet aircraft even come close to being as anonymous.  The second major factor is the gradual evolution, both in quantity and quality, of scholarly work on Japanese aircraft markings and paint schemes.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to almost everything worth having on Japanese Aircraft (at least everything that has ever been available in the US!).  I was ecstatic in July 1995 when Aeromaster released its new line of Japanese aircraft decals at IPMS/USA Nationals in Albuquerque.  The flagship of this series was the Eagles of the Rising Sun set (hereafter ERS) with its comprehensive book on Japanese markings and paint schemes, and provides an excellent basic reference for moderate Nipponophiles.  For those of you who are truly afflicted with this incurable disease I recommend the two superb books on Japanese Navy and Japanese Army colors and markings written by Ian Baker.  Unfortunately these two books were produced in limited print runs of 500 copies each about 8 years ago and are now almost impossible to find (no mine are not for sale).  ERS is superb and is surpassed by only Experten Decals in its completeness and if you follow this book nine times out of ten you will be pretty close on the colors and markings of Japanese aircraft, and I highly recommend it.  However (you could see this coming couldn’t you), with all deference to Dr. Nagao, I must take issue with some of the colors that ERS would have you paint the cockpits of your Japanese aircraft.

According to ERS IJAAF cockpits were “usually Transparent Green-Blue, except for the Ki-27, which was dark blue-gray, close to FS 5164, and the Ki-61 Hein, which was Khaki-Yellow, close to FS 0400.  (Incidentally, the Ki-84 was usually NMF)”.  They continue “IJNAF cockpits were usually painted a solid color and, for the Mitsubishi-built Zero, an interior green close to FS 4098, probably applied over Transparant Green-Blue.  The Nakajima Zero used an interior green close to FS 4583, and the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai a ‘yellow-green’ like Humbrol 38, mentioned in Koku-Fan Illustrated #42.  Instrument panels and side consoles of Army fighters are flat black.  In Naval aircraft, only the guages are black, with instrument panel and side consoles in the ‘Cockpit Well’ color shown.”  For the “Cockpit Well” color ERS lists several FS equivalents based upon aircraft type.

This is contradictory with many other previous scholarly articles on the subject.  The crux of my disagreement is that ERS’s emphasis on Transparant Green-Blue (hereafter “Aotake Blue”) is both incorrect and overstated.  To understand why this is mistaken you must understand a little more about the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and its naval counterpart, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force.  First of all they disliked and mistrusted each other.  The level of inter-service rivalry between the IJA and the IJN was beyond anything that we can conceive of.  They were competitive for money, prestige and political power.  The only western equivalent I can think of would be the USAF and USN during the debate over the strategic roles of the B-36 Bomber and the “Supercarrier” in the late 1940’s.  This behavior was borne out in everything the IJAAF and IJNAF did, from organization, training, design and acquisition to camouflage and markings.  An example of this dichotomy is that while the Army and Navy both widely used shades of light gray or dark green, each was not content to use the same shade and had their own.  An even more dramatic difference was that though both the IJAAF and IJNAF used guns in their aircraft of the same caliber, they were chambered for different ammunition.  That is to say, the 7.7mm cartridge for a IJNAF machinegun wouldn’t work in the 7.7mm machinegun in an IJAAF plane.  Those familiar with the black art of logistics will shake their head and grumble about the absolute stupidity of producing and transporting two different cartridges for what logically should be the same machineguns, but that quantifies the relationship between the air services.

The vagaries of Japanese aircraft interior colors is also exacerbated by the profound logistical chaos that surrounded Japanese aircraft design and production throughout the war.  As in the US, production of successful types of aircraft was often subcontracted (Grumman TBF/General Motors TBM, Vought F4U/Goodyear FG1, Consolidated B-24J/Ford B-24M, etc.).  This was also prevalent throughout most of the other combatants including Great Britain and Germany.  But what made the Japanese situation unique was that for much of the war it was entirely at the discretion of the major aircraft companies to paint the aircraft they produced to whatever standards they chose, rather than having their manufacturers build the aircraft and paint them according to standardized regulations.  The manufacturers were merely told to paint it “green over gray”.  As a result, it is almost as important to know who made the aircraft you’re interested in as it is to know what kind of aircraft it was!  For example it isn’t widely known that while Mitsubishi designed the A6M “Zero” fighter, more of these aircraft were produced by Nakajima than by Mitsubishi.  Furthermore the cockpit colors of the Nakajima Zero was different from the color used in the Mitsubishi produced Zeros.  Wait, it gets worse.  The IJNAF exterior shades on Nakajima Zeros also differed from those on the Mitsubishi Zeros!  As if that wasn’t bad enough the paint demarcation lines, the styles of Hinomarus (“meatballs”), and where the Hinomarus were located were also different between Nakajima and Mitsubishi produced Zeros.  Now, add in the fact that the IJAAF colors (which were different from the IJNAF greens & grays) were also subject to the same subcontractor problems and you begin to consider quitting the hobby.  This was all before you consider that each manufacturer used a different quality of paint (which dramatically affected the rate of fading after long term sun exposure), and each also varied in the quality of their painting technique (which affected the durability of the paint when exposed to high heat, humidity, coral runways, etc.).  By now you should be just about to jump off of a bridge.  But I digress...

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force Cockpit Colors

The IJNAF was obsessive about the corrosion problems on shipboard aircraft and required everything to be primed and protected with a protective coating.  The IJNAF developed a unique, and very effective, clear phenolic lacquer used to protect their aircraft that has subsequently become known as “Aotake Blue”.  This was derived from the unique green-blue tint of the lacquer that was added so that it would be easier to see if the protective coating had been applied correctly.  Understand that this was a transparent application and you could still see NMF (natural metal finish) through the Aotake Blue.  The best way to replicate this color is to paint the area NMF and then give it a light misting of Tamiya Clear-Green paint mixed with some Tamiya Clear-Blue.  While the exception is the rule with Japanese paint schemes, Aotake Blue was religiously used by the IJNAF until relatively late in the war when, due to economies required by their declining war situation, many aircraft were completed without the coating.  Given that primer (sorry couldn’t resist), lets get to the $5 question.  What exactly are the colors of Japanese Navy cockpits?  Let me begin this subject by quoting from Ian Andrews comprehensive article in the Asahi Journal Vol 2, Number 3.  The Asahi Journal (AJ) is the publication of IPMS/USA’s Japanese Special Interest Group, Japanese Information International.  “In general, liberal use of the ‘aotake’ translucent blue-green color for cockpit interiors should be avoided.  Use of the translucent protective coatings to visible sections of the cockpit was limited and usually only on structural members.  Most color photos of wartime aircraft indicate the visible cockpit interiors were either painted in greens or the same color as the exterior.”  Ian Baker describes the use of Aotake in his excellent Navy Colors book, “Possibly because of the rather lurid colour of the phenolic lacquer, those internal metal surfaces most exposed to view in cabins and cockpits were often (but not always) finished with a topcoat of nondescript military gray-green, olive green or a khakiish sort of green, sometimes lighter and sometimes darker.  Use of an ochre-like colour has also been mentioned.  Even an ‘off-white’ has been recalled.”  Now you ask where do you use Aotake?  Any interior area that would otherwise be bare metal would receive a coat of Aotake.  Still confused about Aotake in the cockpit?  The sheet metal, ribs and stringers would be painted with Aotake, anything else bolted onto the cockpit sides would be a shade of green depending upon the manufacturer.  While not perfect, acceptable out of the bottle matches for Aotake are Gunze-Sangyo Interior Metallic Blue or Floquil Japan Blue Interior.  Ian Andrews continues “Towards the end of the war, many interiors were not painted or coated with the exception of areas that might be a source of glare.”  This decline in quality control was almost universal and can be applied to both IJNAF and IJAAF aircraft.

For other cockpit equipment in IJNAF aircraft I will quote Ian Baker, “Instrument panels were most usually black, but sometimes they could be that dull red-brown (found on prop blades and later on spinners), always with white-on-black dials.  Controls were colour coded, using various bright colours: for instance, throttle knobs, gun triggers and landing gear levers were red, whilst gun selectors and prop pitch controls were yellow.”  He continues, “Interior plywood panels had been varnished in earlier times and would still have been found finished like this in older types still serving.  But now plywood was being topcoated with the same nondescript gray-green/olive green/buff-green that was used generally in cockpits and cabins.  Seat and webbing fabrics were likewise a typically nondescript military-type khaki.”

Here are a few approximate Federal Standard numbers with which to start.  These numbers are not gospel and anyone who pulls out a fan of FS chips at a competition and begins clucking about the colors not being exact is missing the point and needs to have them forcibly inserted into an orifice in his nether regions.
JNAF Gray/Green (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking, radial engine gear case)  FS 34226
JNAF Buff-Green (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 34255
JNAF Olive Green (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 34151
Mitsubishi Interior (Gunze mix of colors 04:07:06 in a ratio of 13:4:3)  No FS # Available
Nakajima Interior (Gunze mix of colors 01:04:07 in a ration of 16:2:1)  No FS # Available

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Cockpit Colors

The original reason behind this article was to shed some light upon the confusion about the colors found in IJAAF cockpits, including the Ki-43, Ki-44, Ki-61, Ki-84 and Ki-100.  While ERS would have you paint your IJAAF cockpits Aotake, there has been considerable evidence to the contrary.  Let me begin with a note on IJAAF protective finishes and primers.  The general rule is that, unlike the Navy, they weren’t used very much.  Where you would find Aotake Blue on Navy aircraft you would most likely find NMF.  Baker tempers this with the statement, “As regards army aircraft, there is some occasional evidence of application to internal and structural metal surfaces of the translucent blue-green phenolic lacquer used on navy aircraft as they were built.”  If you must use Aotake on an IJAAF aircraft, I would only use it on an aircraft manufactured by a company that also manufactured aircraft for the Navy (Mitsubishi/Nakajima) who would already have stocks of that paint around the factory anyway.  I would find Aotake on a Kawasaki Ki-61 “Tony” very dubious indeed.

If not Aotake, then what?  Ian Baker says “Cabin and cockpit internal surfaces could be finished with a topcoat of light olive green (e.g. a Ki-67); variously-reported khakiish sorts of shades (e.g. ‘light khaki’ in a Ki-61-II, ‘grayish brown-yellow’ in Ki-61s, Ki-100s and a Ki-54); a ‘dark bluish gray’ (e.g. in Ki-27s); or translucent blue-green (e.g. in a Ki-84).”  Ian Andrews in AJ 2,3 concurs.  Ken Glass in AJ 1,4 undertook an exhaustive analysis of the color chips found in Model Art Specials and then compared them to interior colors found in other Japanese books on the various IJNAF/IJAAF aircraft (Maru Mechanics, Famous Airplanes of the World, Koku-Fan and Model Art Specials).  He concluded that the Ki-43, Ki-61 and Ki-100 interiors are a yellow-brown shade.  This was supported by examinations of the sole remaining Ki-100 while he was in England in 1985.  He describes the interior of the Ki-44, Ki-45 and Ki-46 as a dark yellow-green shade.  While Ken studied secondary sources and photographs which can be misleading when trying to identify specific shades of a color, his research clearly refutes the colors stated by ERS.  Ian Andrews concurs in AJ 2,3.  According to all of these sources the colors of IJAAF interiors were almost universally a shade of brown or green and not Aotake.  The only point of agreement between one of my sources and ERS on IJAAF interior colors is the use of NMF in the Ki-84, interestingly Ian Andrews contradicts this unanimity with his statement that, “Ki-84 interiors were known to be painted in a blue-gray color.”  According to Baker “Late in the war, any painting of interiors of new aircraft, apart from the instrument panel and any decking which might cause worrying reflections, would have been rather unusual.  Aircraft built in the great 1944 production effort could not be expected to have an extended operational life ahead of them, and so painting of interiors would have seemed a waste of time, effort and paint.”  This would seem to confirm the use of NMF in the Ki-84 which was only entering service during this period.

The remainder of the cockpit in IJAAF aircraft varied depending upon the type and time period.  Instrument panels were usually black, sometimes red-brown, dark blue-gray, or whatever color happened to be applied generally to the rest of the cockpit or cabin interior.  Instruments were always white on black.  Unlike the IJNAF, the IJAAF did not begin color coding the controls until later in the war.  Like the IJNAF throttle/mixture knobs/handles, gun triggers and landing gear levers were red.  Gun selectors and prop pitch controls were yellow.  Apparently, the use of this color coding was not universal and there are numerous examples of late war IJAAF aircraft that did not have color coded controls.

Here are a few FS numbers to start with.  Again, these numbers aren’t gospel but will provide you with a place to start.

JAAF Dark Blue-Gray (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 35164
JAAF Khaki (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 33448
JAAF Yellow-Brown (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 30260
JAAF Dark Yellow-Green (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 34255
JAAF Light Gray-Green (cockpit, wheel wells, interior decking)  FS 34226 overlaps with similar Navy shade

I hope that this helps you draw your own conclusions about the cockpit and interior colors for IJNAF and IJAAF aircraft.  If I’m good (and more than a little lucky) this will answer more questions than it raises.  A couple of aspirin, a shot of good scotch and this article is all you need to accurately replicate the interior of any Japanese aircraft you care to build.  Yeah, right!  For those of you who love WWII Japanese aircraft, ships, armor (yes, they had tanks), or just history, consider joining the Japanese Information International, the Japanese Special Interest Group of IPMS/USA.  Dues are $25 for US addresses $30 for Canadian or Mexican addresses.  For more information contact:
Japanese Information International
c/o Carolee Hoffman
8809 Kentucky
Kansas City, MO 64138
USA

References used:
Andrews, Ian., WWII JAPANESE COMBAT AIRCRAFT COLORS, Asahi Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3 Fall 1995.
Baker, Ian K., JAPANESE ARMY AIRCRAFT COLOURS & MARKINGS IN THE PACIFIC WAR...AND BEFORE, 16 Immarna Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124, Australia, 1992.
Baker, Ian K., JAPANESE NAVY AIRCRAFT COLOURS & MARKINGS IN THE PACIFIC WAR...AND BEFORE, 16 Immarna Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124, Australia, 1989.
Francillion, Rene, JAPANESE AIRCRAFT OF THE PACIFIC WAR, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
Glass, Ken., THAT MIX DOESN’T MATCH, Asahi Journal, Vol. 1, No. 4, Winter 1992.
Klaus, David H., THE IPMS COLOR CROSS-REFERENCE GUIDE, IPMS/USA, 1988.
Mikesh, Robert C., JAPANESE COCKPIT INTERIORS, Parts 1 (Vol. 14), 1976, & 2 (Vol 15), 1977, Monogram Aviation Publications.
Various Model Art Specials.
Various Koku-Fan Specials.
Various Famous Aircraft of the World.
Various Maru Mechanics of the World.
Some other stuff I’ve probably forgotten.
This article is copyright (C) 1998 by Cameron Lynch.  All rights reserved.  Duplication or retransmission is strictly prohibited.
 

[Chris Durden]

Cameron -

Thank you for the excellent piece - it is printed and gogoing in the
files!

Chris

[Benjamin Ngai]

Thanks for the post.

Excellent dissertation.

This is why I lurk around r.m.s.

Benjamin Ngai
Hamilton Ontario.