Great Britain RAF - Day Fighter Scheme (August 1941 to end of 1940s)
Germany (Nazi) Luftwaffe - 1940 Fighter Scheme (Since May 1940)
Slovakia SVZ - Khaki Camouflage Scheme (1939 - 1944)
USA USAAF - OD Green Scheme (1940 - 1953)
Finland Ilmavoimat - 1940 Camouflage Scheme (1938-1942)
France Armee de l'Air/Aeronavale - Multicolour Scheme (1938-1942)
Yugoslavia VVKJ - 1938 Camouflage Scheme (1938-1941) VVKJ - 1939 Fighter Camouflage Scheme (1939-1940) VVKJ - Modified Three-tone Camouflage Schemes (1940-1941)
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Germany (Nazi)Luftwaffe - 1940 Fighter SchemeSince May 1940
Day fighter units were allowed much more initiative than other branches of
the Luftwaffe in producing their own non-standard camouflage schemes to
suit local combat conditions, and were not rigidly controlled from above in this
respect. Initially, and up until after the invasion of Poland, most German
fighters carried the standard camouflage scheme introduced in 1938, namely a
splinter pattern of RLM 70 and RLM71 on the upper surfaces coming
right down to the bottom of the fuselage sides, and RLM65 on the
undersurfaces.
During the Polish campaign it became evident that while the
RLM70/71/65 splinter pattern could be very efficient in concealing aircraft
at low level, it was counterproductive in high altitude air combat. The dark green
colours contrasted sharply against the sky colour and made it easier for the enemy
to spot and follow the movement of German fighters in the air. To eliminate this
tactical disadvantage, several fighter units began experimenting during the winter
of 1939-1940 with alternative colour schemes that had a camouflage effect better
suited for high altitude concealment.
Thus, the use of RLM02 on fighter aircraft, discontinued after the autumn
of 1938, would re-emerge in late1939. Experimentation with the so-called RLM
Grau, a good air superiority colour, aimed at creating a new improved
camouflage pattern was conducted in the field in the period between the invasion
of Poland and the beginning of the campaign in the West. Various combinations of
RLM70/02/65, RLM71/02/65 and RLM70/71/02/65 were tried,
eventually resulting in the official adoption of a simplified RLM71/02/65
splinter pattern optimised for air-to-air combat. At the same time, the
demarcation line on the fuselage sides was heightened, painting much of fuselage
in RLM65 and thus making the side profile much lighter and less conspicuous
in the air. By May 1940, Jagdwaffe units in France began receiving their
replacement aircraft factory-camouflaged in the newly approved RLM scheme of
RLM71/02/65. This early offensive scheme would dominate the spring
offensive of 1940, in particular the attack on the Low Countries and France and
the early phases of the Battle of Britain.
Messerschmitt Me 109E-4 - 1940 Fighter Scheme
During the course of the Battles of France and Battle of
Britain the fighting Jagdgeschwaderen increasingly took to toning-down
the conspicuous fuselage sides by painting them with various colours and patterns
of mottling and stippling, each devised by the individual units. The aircraft of
JG 2, for instance, received a unique type of stippled painting, applied by
hand using either short-haired brushes or padded rags instead of the more usual
spray gun mottling used by other units. This effect gave a much finer spotting of
paint than the blotches achieved by spraying.
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Messerschmitt Me 109E-4 ('Yellow 3')
3./JG 1, De Kooy, Netherlands, early 1941. Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
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Messerschmitt Me 109E-3 ('Yellow 1')
6./JG 51, location?, France, Autumn 1940 (Pilot: Staffelkapitan Josef 'Pips' Priller) Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
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Messerschmitt Me 109E-1 ('White 3')
7./JG 52, location?, Balkans, April 1941. Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
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Messerschmit Me 109E-4 (W.Nr.4148)
Gruppenstab II./JG 27, Montreuil, France, September 1940 (Pilot: Hptm. Wolfgang Lippert, Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 27) Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
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Messechmitt Me 109E-4 (W.Nr.5344)
Gruppenstab I./JG 2, location?, France, November 1940 (Pilot: Major Helmut Wick, Gruppenkommandeur I./JG 2) Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
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Messechmitt Me 109E-4 ('Red 1')
2./JG 51, location?, late 1940. Artist: © Chris Banyai-Riepl |
by Stephen Sender
Last update: 05/08/2013
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