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WW2 RAF / FAA Temperate Sea Scheme 1941-1945
The RAF introduced Sky Type S (herein referred to simply as Sky) as its main underside color on 11 August 1940 and it would soon find its way on FAA aircraft as well, with all naval aircraft having the new color specified as its underside color from 12 December 1940 (AMO A.926/40). But being a RAF priority paint, it only began being used on the FAA from March 1941 onward. There is some controversy over what the correct shade of Sky was used in the first few months of its introduction (see RAF page) but it was the color that would later be classified as Sky BS 210 in the 1948 BSC 381C standard, a pale green-gray which also tends to lean towards yellow. It was also frequently referred to as ‘duck egg blue’. As far as the topside, there was no change in FAA camouflage which retained the Temperate Sea Scheme of Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey until the end of the war; unlike Coastal Command, FAA never adopted a single-tone topside of EDSG. As mentioned in the previous section, the use of Shadow Compensation of Light Slate Grey and Dark Sea Grey on biplane lower wings persisted until the end of the war as well, even though by the mid-war period only the Swordfish remained as a major FAA biplane.
The use of distemper (temporary) paint was also frequently employed by the FAA for special operations. For night operations, this involved (matt) black distemper (stores reference 33B/359) for the undersides, which was specified from 27 February 1941 (CAFO 460) and often with a demarcation line high in the fuselage sides. It was seen well before that date, as evidenced by some Swordfish aircraft during the November 1940 strike on Taranto with black undersides. For anti-submarine work, the color used was (matt) white distemper which was similarly applied to all undersides and often, large sections of the fuselage (sometimes leaving just a small strip of Temperate Sea Scheme at the top). The use of white distemper was commonplace on aircraft operating from MAC (Merchant Aircraft Carrier) ships as well as other anti-submarine work in the Atlantic, and most commonly seen on Swordfish Mk II and IIIs.
There were two distinct patterns that defined the demarcation between topside and underside colors. Pattern 1 had the demarcation line at the point that was parallel to a 60 degree angle from the ground. This meant that most of the fuselage sides would be painted in the topside colors. Pattern 2 had the demarcation line that was one-fourth from the top of the fuselage. This meant that most of the fuselage sides would be painted in the underside color. Most FAA fighters during the war would use Pattern 1, whereas aircraft using the distemper schemes would use Pattern 2 more frequently.
Paint guide:
- Sky Type S: Most paint ranges that carry just one Sky color will represent Sky Type S / Sky BS 210 and the wartime and post-war shades are close enough as to not make a major difference. It is my belief that Gunze H74/C26, which is labeled Sky (Duck Egg Green), is too saturated for Sky and more appropriate for Eau-de-Nil. However, it’s newer C369 paint is correctly matched to BS 210. Humbrol’s version of Sky is labeled Beige Green (90) and it has been noted that their shades have changed over the years. Tamiya also includes a generically named Sky (XF-21) which seems a bit too green and too dark.
- Black distemper: Black distemper should not be confused with Night, the color used on RAF undersides and which had a hint of blue due to its use of ultramarine pigments. Nevertheless, any matt black is acceptable.
- White Distemper: Basic matt white matches are included here, though Hataka (HTK-_153) is the only range to include a specific temporary white paint.
Sky | Black Distemper | White Distemper | Dark Slate Grey | Extra Dark Sea Grey | |
Schemes | |||||
General | Lower | Upper camo | Upper camo | ||
Night | Lower | Upper camo | Upper camo | ||
Anti-Sub | Lower | Upper camo | Upper camo | ||
Color matches | |||||
Gunze Aqueous | H74 (!) | H12 | H11 | – | H333 |
Gunze Mr. Color | C26 (!) / C368 | C33 | C62 | – | C333 |
Humbrol | 90 | 33 | 34 | 224 | 123 |
Model Master | 2049 | 1749 | 2142 | 2056 | 2059 |
Revell | 159 | 04 | 05 | – | – |
Tamiya | XF-21 | XF-1 | XF-2 | – | – |
Vallejo Model Air | 71.302 | 71.057 | 71.001 | 71.309 | 71.110 |
Vallejo Model Color | – | 70.950 | 70.842 | – | – |
AKAN | 70005 | 78005 | 78002 | 70046 | 70019 |
AK Interactive | AK 2015 | AK 735 | AK 738 | – | – |
AK Real Color | RC290 | RC001 | RC004 | RC294 | RC295 |
AMMO by Mig | A.MIG-243 | A.MIG-046 | A.MIG-050 | – | – |
Colourcoats | ACRN01 | C02 | C03 | ACRN06 | ACRN02 |
Hataka | HTK-_026 | HTK-041 | HTK-_153 | HTK-_202 | HTK-_140 |
Lifecolor | UA 095** | LC 02 | LC 01 | – | – |
Mission Models | MRP-080 | MMP-047 | MMP-001 | – | – |
Mr. Paint | MRP-118 | MRP-171 | MRP-4 | MRP-117 | MRP-114 |
Xtracolor | X007 | X012 | X405 | X025 | X005 |
Xtracrylix | XA1007 | XA1012 | – | XA1025 | XA1005 |