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Best paint-slinger in the biz!

Hi, John So WWII-vintage OD is a HUGE can of worms. I won't go into all the vagaries of Olive Drab from the pre-war years thru to the end of the USAAF, namely because all I know was written by Dana Bell, and I'm hoping he'll chime in here at some point to drop some science. As for paints, I found this link on Britmodeller, this fella compiled a LOT of info that's floating out there on the web and presented it all in a pretty nice summary: http://www.theworldwars.net/resources/resources.php?r=camo_usaaf Here's the relevant info you want:

Just found this pic in my files, I believe this was posted a while back on the ARC forums, I lose track of these things... Anyway, hope it adds to the discussion, gents.

Glad to help, I find all this stuff fascinating! So, re: the dark patch on the wing, FAB Jugs had national insignia in the same places as USAAF counterparts, top port & bottom starboard wings (with a few exceptions, naturally). But in all honesty I think that's just foot traffic, boot stains from the ground crew servicing the .50's. Like this: As for the rudder, my guess would be replacement, with some fresh patches already. Tail planes got pretty beat up in low level attacks as most AA gunners wouldn't lead their targets enough. There's plenty of photos of giant h

Here's William Wyler's 57th FG documentary, "Thunderbolt!"

Not sure what exactly is under that panel but there's definitely something there, including a bell crank, so I'm assuming it's an access hatch of sorts. Might double as a rub plate for the tire, too? Here's the page from the -4 Parts Manual: I posted in the other thread, but I can definitely say all Brazilian Jugs came factory-painted in OD 41 over Neutral Gray 43, as per Brazilian Air Force specifications. Eventually, as planes were lost they were replaced by newer variants in NMF, but I've never seen any indication that the BAF had access to or ever used RAF paint

Hey again, John Brazilian Jugs were definitely not painted in RAF Dark Green, as they were delivered by Republic in OD 41 over Neutral Gray 43, as per Brazilian Air Force specs. As time went on, the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron started receiving NMF birds as replacements for downed planes, but all the painted ones came in 41 over 43. There was in fact, only one Brazilian fighter squadron, known as "Senta a Pua" (1o Grupo de Aviação de Caça in Portuguese) which was attached to the 350th FG and whose emblem is my avatar. This unit is near and dear to my heart, as I have Brazilian h

Much obliged, John, just lemme know what you need and I'll see if I can help. So, the K-14 sight was factory-installed from the dash-40 onwards, which was pretty late in the war for Jugs. The most widely produced variant was the D-30, which still had the venerable Mark VIII reflector sight. Not sure how efficient each type was at air-to-ground vs. air-to-air, so I don't really know why the K-14 was more commonly seen on -51's. I'm sure there were plenty of Jugs retrofitted with gyro sights, though. The wheel wells were pretty spartan affairs, nothing like the

Hey, fellas, little late on this one, hope you still haven't started your cockpit, John. I'd say that digital repro is pretty spot on, here's a pic of the real deal: Note that this cockpit setup is for a D-30 and above, as it includes the bomb and tank release electrical panel, located between the rudder pedals (it's partially hidden by the control stick in this photo). Also, the floor is smooth as opposed to corrugated like earlier Jugs. Until recently it was thought the smooth floor began with the -30's but it's now generally accepted the change was already incl

Hey, Tom, the footage from "The Cold Blue" is actually in period color, not colorized. It's all the leftover footage that William Wyler didn't use for the 1944 "Memphis Belle" documentary, shot in full Technicolor. Just an FYI, is all. Cheers, Thomaz PS - Here's a making of video I just found on Youtube:

Dude. Jay. Just... WOW! Re: bottle colors, here's a thread @Wolf Buddee started a few years back about that very subject, some good info on there: Keep up the epic work, CANNOT wait to see the next installments! Cheers, Thomaz

Here's what I found in my Fort refs, it's easier to see the repeating exhaust/leak patterns once you have several different samples to compare. Let's start off with some -F's: Then some -G's, this first one is colorized but still serves to discern the patterns. Not directly from above but still shows the exhaust stains to good effect. Here's an original period color shot of the same bird: s/n 42-97503 "Princess Pat" VP-X. You can also clearly see in this shot how grubby things got behind the top turret, as per K2's post. I just love how much i

WUNDERBAR! Magic hands, indeed, you are just wrecking shop right now, John.

Splendiferous work, as always, John. Chapeau!

North American's nomenclature called it the "clear vision panel" in the P-51A Flight Manual, to "afford the pilot better vision while flying in rain, sleet or snow". I believe Damian is right that only -51A's, A-36 Apaches and early F-6's had this windscreen, although it is very possible some Merlin-engined B/C's had it too. There always seems to be an exception to these kind of things...