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[Tzacol]

Following my post regarding 'Duck-Egg Blue' I thought I had better 'put my money where my mouth is', so to speak. Here is the early camouflage that I created for No.1 Squadron RAF using an existing skin, (can't remember where I got it, memo to self - record links).

As well as the standard B&W under-surfaces they had red spinners and a full rudder tail flash. They were also permitted to paint out the squadron id letters.



If anyone wants to use it the bitmap is here:-http://postimg.cc/image/4h5i4lmxh/

I still need to verify the roundels though, I think they are ok, not sure how I can overcome this if they are wrong, I really don't want to create a seperate skin for every letter of the alphabet!  ???

[RDDR Hangar19]

What I think you should do before posting your pics along the way is to go to RAF sites, and Google Images.
Try looking for Hawker Hurricane Profiles and Photos..
Not every aircraft was identical in the early days.
Often a mish mash of pre 1940 such as Spit and Hurri black and Duck egg,Black and Sky, as well as light Sky Grey.
Codes were often different sizes and shades and often hand painted. Sometimes a little crooked depending on the artists ability to paint them on using hand brushes and hand cut templates or masking tape. The same with early Spits with over sized codes.. and Rondals .
One has to understand, Britain was barely hanging on with its Fighter Force during the early days of the BOB. There was very little.."Did we get that under Rondal right"?
The RAF was trying to field as many Hurri's and Spits as they could during those very dark days,and you better believe it that both pilots and ground crews were not holding their thumbs up at their paint work and asking themselves "Perhaps we should move the codes a little forward. That was the last thing on their minds with heavy losses of both pilots and aircraft.
There are a lot of Photos and usually very accurate profiles out there.
Once again, go to RAF Squadron or Commemorative sites as well as Google.
That's your best bet.
In closing, take a good look at Emels work. Look at Phas3e's work. Look at Kristorfs work.
This is the best BOB artwork out there. Bar none. 


All The Best RDDR 

[Tzacol]

Oh I have checked out dozens of sites, many with conflicting information, some just plain wrong. The unfortunate thing with photos, albeit they are the best source of info, is that most are black and white or the hues in the coloured ones are incorrect due to chemical weaknesses in early emulsions. I have now established, to my own satisfaction anyway, 1Sqn had no roundels on the under-surfaces while sporting B&W under-surfaces, but did have a thin yellow line around the fuselage one. As there doesn't seem to be a way of getting all of the elements together in IL-2, apart from producing a dedicated skin for each aircraft, I will swallow my ire and carry on building my campaign with what I have.

Your input was very much appreciated RDDR, but I will take you up on a couple of things.

i) The paintwork was originally applied in aircraft factories to strict Air Ministry specifications, and this includes the tail flash and roundels. The Dark Earth and Forest Green were also applied to an Air Ministry pattern, Type 'A' and Type 'B'. (one being the mirror image of the other) These patterns were put on using pre-cut rubber masks so that a mirror pattern was painted on alternate aircraft. The 'in the field' change to duck-egg blue in June 1940 was an exception.
ii) Although there was a perceived lack of pilots, over a thousand were doing desk jobs or considered too old or to high ranking; but they were there if needed and a list was drawn up! However this was a serious constraint for Fighter Command of that there is no doubt.
iii) Fighter aircraft production was outstripping the attrition during 1940, and afterwards too, the bulk of the production going to new squadrons being formed. Factory fresh aircraft were available within 24/48 hours to the front line squadrons and delivered mainly by women I believe. The figures quoted for single seater front line fighters are:-

June 1940.          Production  1163
July 1940.           Production  1110
August 1940        Production  1087
September 1940   Production   908
October 1940       Production   917

So while I will concede that damaged aircraft patched up at the airfields may have had the odd rough paint job, I think most would have, more or less, conformed to Air Ministry patterns.

There is a super amateur film of Czech Spits on Youtube, and despite my observations above you can clearly see how battered the aircraft can become in daily use. it is in 2 parts, part 1 is here :

For all that we make a game of this, my heart bleeds for the brave young men who flew these machines day in day out, never knowing if they would come back.
 

[Tzacol]

Aah the url didn't come through 

it is

or search for the title: Czech pilots in RAF service - part I

A must for all skinners to see the chips and dents that can accumulate, and also how they got there.

[RDDR Hangar19]

Right!
Good Luck,and Happy Skinning.

RDDR
.

[Tzacol]

Just as an after note, I found out the reason why No.1 Squadron RAF had the 'Full Rudder Flash' painted on their aircraft. It was to match up with the French scheme so as not to cause confusion. However there were several incidents where this was not sufficient to stop the French firing on BEF and AASF aircraft. I'm pretty sure the other squadrons posted to France must have had it too, but have not had time to check.

[leperemagloire]

73 Sqn had also  tricolor rudder



 

[henkypenky]

Hi Tzacol, beware my friend you're sticking your hand in a hornets nest. Take RDDR's advise and read as much books on the subject as you can. For English camouflage I would advise the old (1970) Ducimus Camouflage & Markings R.A.F. Fighter Command Northern Europe 1936 to 1945 by Robert Jones with drawings by James Gouldings. This gives the reasons and dates for changes in camouflage and markings. 

[greybeard]

Pleasant and interesting movie; thanks for sharing it!

Cheers,
GB

[SAS~Malone]

lepermagloire, i read your report, but it was nothing to do with us. must've been the source page or some other reason.
at least it's back now. in instances like this, it's better to wait some time before logging a report, due to the fact that it could be any number of external reasons, completely out of our hands

[Tzacol]

Thanks for the resource info henky, at the moment I am concentrating on No.1Squadron RAF and the photographic evidence shows the 'Full Rudder Flash' for them. Paul Richey's book Fighter Pilot detailed the change to 'Duck Egg Blue' so that is covered. When my campaign for No.1Squadron RAF during the 'Phoney War' and 'Battle of France' is completed I will research the other fighter squadrons of the BEF and AASF. At the moment I'm bogged down creating a 'Western Europe 1939' map that extends from Hull to the Isle of Wight, Friesian Isles to Le Havre, Bremen to Nancy so I can cover Blenheim raids launched from UK as well as the AASF missions along the Maginot Line. But map making has a steep learning curve. I also need to read Shaws 'Twice Vertical' to get the parts Paul Richey missed while in hospital in Paris.

Any other pointers to early WW2 air histories and 1930's maps of the WTO greatly appreciated. (although this might not be the place to do it)

But for now I need to go to 'Map Forums' to find out what all these B&W *.tga files are for.