Colors US WWII Primer

Colors US WWII Primer

The topic of US wartime interiors is highly complicated and in many cases remains speculative to this day. This is because there was considerable leeway with respect to individual manufacturers using their own standards which means that even the same aircraft built in different factories could have different interior colors. For the most part, US aircraft used the same basic corrosion-resistant primer known as Zinc Chromate which also became the default color for exposed interior spaces. The name of this primer referred to the main pigment used rather than the color which was a bright yellow with a greenish hue, hence why it was also referred to as Yellow Zinc Chromate. The exact tone of YZC varied slightly between manufacturers and it was never assigned a number on any color system. A second color was created by adding black enamel to zinc chromate, producing what became known as Green Zinc Chromate (also called Tinted Zinc Chromate). This was used mostly on unexposed interior spaces, cockpits, as well as repainted parts that were previously covered only in YZC. Manufacturers often used different proportions of zinc chromate and lamp black in their mixes and as a result GZC varied even more in practice than YZC. Eventually, a standardized version of GZC was developed in late 1942 and became known as Interior Green (ANA 611 after the implementation of the ANA system on 28 September 1943). This was slightly darker and browner than the average GZC shade and later superseded by FS 34151 which was even browner still than the wartime shade. Notably, Grumman and Vought used proprietary primers in the early during the war, known colloquially as Grumman Gray and Salmon Pink respectively.

There were no standardized requirements for painting exposed interior spaces but typical USN practice was for most carrier-based aircraft to have their landing gear spaces and components (wheel wells, covers, landing gear, and wheel hubs) painted in the same color as the lower fuselage, with the only notable exception being the S2BC Helldiver which painted them in GZC/IG. This, combined with the early use of proprietary primers by Grumman and Vought, meant that YZC was rare on exposed interiors of USN combat aircraft unlike those of the USAAF. Aside from that, all other structural spaces such as bomb bays and (non-cockpit) crew compartments were painted in GZC/IG, independent of the cockpit color. Post-war, practices for painting interiors continued to vary between aircraft although many still retained the wartime tradition of using the underside color for all landing gear spaces. This remained in place until 25 March 1954 (BuAer Instruction NAVAER 07.1) when major changes to interior colors were implemented and which are described below.

Paint guide:

• Yellow Zinc Chromate: YZC is not well represented among the traditional paint manufacturers although Tamiya’s XF-4 (Yellow Green) is a surprisingly accurate match that will displease nobody despite its generic labeling. Gunze has released both yellow and green versions of this primer in a box set (now available individually).
• Green Zinc Chromate: Most paint ranges do not differentiate it with the slightly browner ANA 611 or give unspecific labels like ‘US Interior Green’ although for modeling purposes the difference should not be too problematic. AMMO by Mig’s A.MIG-202 commits the triple sin of labeling itself as GZC, ANA 611, and FS 34151 which it appears closest to. AK Real Colors (RC264) is labeled Interior Green Yellow which suggests a GZC rather than ANA 611 match; AK’s Air Series range, however, does include separate paints for each.
• Interior Green ANA 611: This is the most common match to any paint labeled ‘US Interior Green’ or such. Gunze’s H58/C27 is excellent and probably the gold standard of how this color should look. Paints that intend to match FS 34151 will look too brown for a correct wartime shade.
• Grumman Gray: None of the paint ranges carry it but any match to ANA 620/FS 36440 should be good enough. Grumman Gray primer was used on F4F Wildcats (all versions) and TBF-1/1C Avengers.
• Salmon Pink: Only Mr. Paint (MRP-130) carries it. An acceptable substitute is Gunze’s H414/C414 (RLM 23) which has a pinkish hue which is perhaps excessive for its intended German color but is a good approximation for the primer. Most generic ‘salmon pink’ paints are too bright and do not capture the primer color well. Salmon Pink primer was used on ‘birdcage’ F4U-1 and a few early F4U-1A Corsairs.

Paint Database

Bronze Green (FS-34052)
Zinc Chromate Yellow(FS33481)
US Interior Yellow Green(FS- FS 33481)
Dull Dark Green (FS34092)
Interior Green (Light Green FS34151)

https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/us-navy-usmc-aircraft-colours-around-ww2

https://www.theworldwars.net/stats/index.php