Yiannis Mitzas

US Air Force/Air National Guard 1968-1980

U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard.  From 1968 onwards, it was a special command of the USAF charged with the defense of continental U.S. airspace, and existed between 1946 and 1980 under some guise. It included all purpose-built Cold War-era interceptor aircraft, such as the F-94, F-101, F-102, and F-106, as well as tactical fighters such as the F-4 when assigned to fighter interceptor squadrons, including those in the AGC. ADC/ADCOM aircraft wore a monochromatic scheme consisting of FS 16473 Aircraft Gray (formerly ANA 512), a light gray with a distinctive sea green undertone. This color is so closely associated with the ADC that it is often referred to as ADC Gray. It is unclear to this author what year the conversion to this scheme occurred. On the one hand, it appears that all production F-102 and F-106 interceptors were delivered to FS 16473 upon their introduction into USAF service in 1956 and 1959 respectively. The F-102 was probably delivered to ANA 512 (only slightly bluer than FS 16473) since FED-STD colors did not officially begin to be used on military aircraft until 1959. On the other hand, F-101s and F-104s in ADC service appeared in natural metal until the early 1960s, when they began to appear in FS 16473. This was also the case for the EC-121 airborne early warning and control aircraft used by ADC/ADCOM for offshore radar surveillance.

By this time, the interceptors were all-weather and equipped with radar. Radome colors could vary, but eventually standardized on glossy FS 17038 Black (formerly ANA 515). The anti-glare panels, which were located in front of the canopy, were painted FS 37038 Black (formerly ANA 604). Sometimes the anti-glare panel curved around the radome for aesthetic reasons, but only the section in front of the cockpit was flat FS 37038, the rest was glossy FS 17038 like the radome. The ADC design continued to use large “US Air Force/Air National Guard” and “USAF/ANG” lettering on the fuselage and wings, but this was now painted FS 15044 Insignia Blue (formerly ANA 502). Additionally, fighter-interceptor squadron markings tended to be large and colorful, making ADC/ADCOM aircraft much more pleasing to the eye than the simplicity of the design would suggest.

Aircraft :

F-106 Delta Dart
F-101 Voodoo
F-104 Starfighter
F-4 Phantom

The ADC system would subsequently become standard for all tactical-sized aircraft that did not have other camouflage schemes assigned. A notable exception was the first batches of F-4Cs delivered to the USAF in 1963 in the contemporary US Navy design FS 16440 versus FS 17875. These included the initial F-4Cs deployed in Thailand in 1965 for operations over Vietnam. ADCOM ceased operating interceptor units in October 1979 and was disbanded on 31 March 1980, at which time air defense duties were transferred to Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). At this time, only the F-101 (retired in 1982), F-106s, and F-4s remained in ADCOM’s inventory, and the new aircraft types used by ADTAC (specifically the F-15) retained the existing camouflage systems instead of FS 16473. ADTAC was disbanded on 6 December 1985, and the Air National Guard (ANG) has assumed air defense duties since then.

Colors camo :

FS 16473 Aircraft Grey: This was not well-loved by the traditional paint brands except for Gunze’s C73/H57, which oddly doesn’t have an FS number and describes it as a USN color which it isn’t. It’s a pretty good match regardless. Fortunately, newer brands have this color covered much more extensively. Tamiya XF-19 is often said to be equivalent, but it’s too neutral, lacking the sea green hue that this color is known for.