RAF Gulf War IRAQ Desert Pink 1991-2003

Desert Storm. Operation Granby / Herrick / Telic 

Before the first Gulf War as part of Operation Granby, the RAF painted low-level tactical aircraft in a special washable paint known as Desert Pink, which as a special paint was not in any British Standard palette. This was a desert sand colour with a pinkish tinge when freshly painted, but which tended to fade closer to tan, particularly in the heat and sun of the Middle East. Given the long development period before the start of the Gulf War on 15 January 1991, most aircraft appeared quite faded and worn by the start of combat operations, and this worsened as the war progressed. The liberal use of nose art by RAF crews also led to constant repainting and touch-ups, which gave the aircraft a distinctive appearance, exacerbated by the excessive chipping that is natural to most wash-off paints. Nevertheless, Desert Pink has since become an iconic military camouflage colour, not only because it provided a great contrast to the then standard RAF camouflage but also because it made RAF aircraft stand out significantly since the US did not apply desert camouflage to its own aircraft (except experimentally on a handful of aircraft).Characteristic of that period, were the intense painting designs that the RAF pilots decorated their fighter jets and the subtle hue that the ethnic symbols had

Aircraft that were painted in Desert Pink included the Jaguar, Buccaneer, and the ground attack/reconnaissance versions of the Tornado (GR.1/1A). Air defense versions of the Tornado (F.3) retained their normal camouflage given that they operated at high altitude and behind the front lines. The use of Desert Pink was discontinued after the Gulf War, although a very similar color known as Desert Sand BS 380 was eventually introduced into the BS 381C palette in 1996. This was mostly used on vehicles, however, since no major RAF aircraft was painted in desert colors for the 2003 Iraq War.

Fighter aircraft 

Tornado GR.4

SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 GR.3

Blackburn Buccaneer 

HarrierGR.7

 English Electric Canberra 

A new washable paint was also introduced shortly after the end of the war, known as ARTF Grey, the acryonym standing for ‘Alkaline Removable Temporary Finish’. This color is widely accepted to be closest to Camouflage Grey BS 626 (although some sources suggest Medium Sea Grey BS 637). ARTF Grey was first used operationally on Jaguars and Harriers patrolling Northern Iraq during Operation Warden in September 1991, but it was also used on Harrier GR.7s and Tornado GR.4s during Operation Telic (the invasion of Iraq) in 2003, and has been seen on Canberra PR.9s around mid-decade as well.

Color camo:

• Desert Pink: Despite the huge popularity of Gulf War modeling subjects, Desert Pink is not as widely available as one would think, with only Humbrol offering it as ‘Desert Sand’ (250) and Vallejo recently introducing it as well (71.400) among the traditional paint ranges. Fortunately the newer ranges are better sorted, and Colourcoats, Mr. Paint, and Xtracolor/Xtracrylix all make excellent versions. Hataka’s version is matched to FS 36279 while AKAN’s is labeled Desert Sand BS 380 which is an acceptable equivalent.
• ARTF Grey: It is believed to be closest to Camouflage Grey BS 626 and so is matched as such

RAF North Africa Desert camouflage paint scheme. (1941–1945)