Camouflage

[pubsman]

Can anyone explain the philosophy behind the early WWII underside camouflage scheme of 50% black and 50% white? This has intrigued me for quite a while.

[Kolibear]

Wasn't it more for identification purposes rather than camoflage?

The scheme got canned shortly after the Munich crisis I believe.

[Inverted81]

i believed that the markings were for ID purposes..... more intrigueingly (sp??) during WW1 the luftwaffe painted the wings, usually underside in brightly coloured patterns.... how can purple blue and yellow camouflage hide you against the sky????
c

[pubsman]

Thanks for that chaps. Never gave ID a thought. Now, why would ID from "below" be an issue when ID from above would be difficult possibly given "normal" camouflage on the upper surfaces?!?

[sabredog]

Pubsman,
Reference your question on the German Air Service's use of lozenge camouflage, suggest you look at ww1aviation.com.
Sabredog.

[reynoldsno1]

if you are referring to the balck and white stripes [painted on the underside of allied aircraft in WW2, it was specifically introduced for the Normandy invasion as an aid to identification...

[Windy Militant]

Just a thought but back in those days before radio was in widespread use and IFF still just a twinkle in some boffins eye I would have thought that any thing that would stop you being shot up by your own ground defences would be a welcome addition no matter how silly it looked!

[LowNSlow]

reynoldsno1 I think pubsman is referring to the one wing balck, one wing white of 1940 vintage rather than the "Invasion Stripes of 6th June 1944 vintage.

I vaguely remember that it was for ID purposes, as were the invasion stripes and the red noses of the 56th Group P-47's. Basically to try to give the Pongo's and the Snotty's a bit of a clue that it was a friendly aircraft flying over them.

[henry crun]

All of which was completely lost on the navy who shot at anything that flew, regardless of its markings.

[pubsman]

Thanks LowNSlow, I was referring to the early 1940 RAF black and white scheme. If it was for ID, did it ever appear on anything other than Hurricanes/Spitfires? I can't recollect ever having seen any photographs of other types with the same scheme.

[Chairborne 09.00hrs]

Certainly on Defiants and Blenheims (IF, poss IVF) as well - without digging out my old copies of Bowyer's Fighter Camouflage & Markings, or the old Ducimus series, I believe it was an aid to the dear old ROC.

[virgo]

I quote from Aircraft of the Fighting Powers, 1940.

"Day fighters of Air Component and Advanced Air Striking Force:"

Dark green and dark earth shadow-shading according to scheme A or B (the latter being the mirror image of the former) of the torporate land camoflage system.
Scheme A is applied to aircraft with even serial numbers and Scheme B to aircraft with odd serial numbers.
The undersideswere finished in two colours, all the lower surface to the port of the fuselage centreline being night-black and all surfaces to the starboard side being pale grey.
Red and blue roundels above the wings, red white and blue on the fuselage and no roundels beneath the wings.

"Day fighters of Fighter Command (Home-based)"

As above etc, etc, except.........from July 1940, the yellow outer was added to the outside of the fuselage roundels and the underside of the aircraft was painted one colour, duck-egg blue with red, white and blue roundels.

So it would appear that Battle-of Britain aircraft with black/pale grey undersides were happy survivors of the air fighting in France.