FW 190A-3 Camouflage color

[Kagemusha]

In this fantastic book, there are numerous profiles of the various foreign operators, with photos, including this one in 70/71/65, you can see a good number of the profiles here, including this one.

[Tolga ULGUR]

18 hours ago, Kagemusha said:

In this fantastic book, there are numerous profiles of the various foreign operators, with photos, including this one in 70/71/65, you can see a good number of the profiles here, including this one.

 

Thanks for the information

There are some mistakes on the turkish 190 profiles of this book

Never used square national insignia on the upper wing surfaces and the fuselage. (Only lower surfaces of the wings)

 

[pvanroy]

As others have stated before, it seems indeed highly likely all Turkish machines were delivered in the standard 74/75/76 scheme, which was officially introduced in the Spring of 1941. Since the Fw 190Aa-3 for Turkey were built by three different factories (Focke-Wulf, Ago and Arado) in multiple batches, there may have been some detail differences between the application pattern of the camo colours of different airframes, but these would have been pretty minor.

 

In principle, other colors cannot be ruled out entirely, as export aircraft could be painted in a scheme specified by the customer (e.g. up to 1943, the Hungarians received new machines in 61/62/63/65, while these colors had already been withdrawn for use on Luftwaffe aircraft during 1937/38). So, 71/02/65 is not entirely impossible if the Turkish air force specifically requested this - but this seems unlikely, considering that the schemes on the Fw 190 look totally standard, and other TuAF fighters (like the Spitfire) also appear to have been delivered in standard schemes. At any rate, the use of 70/71/65 can be ruled out definitely, as the contrast between the top colors is far too sharp for 70/71.

 

After the war, (probably 1945-46 timeframe), some machines were repainted with a solid dark green color on top, and a light blue on the bottom; the top color extended low down the sides. Which colors were used for these repaints I don't know, but considering this happened post-war it's highly unlikely they were RLM paints. Since Turkey was a big user of British aircraft, I suppose some British paints may have been used, but obviously some locally produced aviation paint cannot be ruled out either.

 

I agree with the comment about the unreliability of some of the profiles in the Kecay book - the two volumes on the Fw 190 are nice, and a valuable resource of photographs, but the interpretation of the B&W photographs and the profiles isn't always beyond reproach. Unfortunately, it seems there is very little information available on the service of the Fw 190 in the TuAF. Pretty much every book dealing with the Fw 190 devotes at most one short paragraph to the Turkish machines, usually stating not much more than that the aircraft were delivered in 1942-43, and removed from service in 1948-49. The almost total lack of published information on the service life of these machines in the TuAF is rather frustrating!

Edited December 31, 2019 by pvanroy
typo

[Tolga ULGUR]

11 hours ago, pvanroy said:

As others have stated before, it seems indeed highly likely all Turkish machines were delivered in the standard 74/75/76 scheme, which was officially introduced in the Spring of 1941. Since the Fw 190Aa-3 for Turkey were built by three different factories (Focke-Wulf, Ago and Arado) in multiple batches, there may have been some detail differences between the application pattern of the camo colours of different airframes, but these would have been pretty minor.

 

In principle, other colors cannot be ruled out entirely, as export aircraft could be painted in a scheme specified by the customer (e.g. up to 1943, the Hungarians received new machines in 61/62/63/65, while these colors had already been withdrawn for use on Luftwaffe aircraft during 1937/38). So, 71/02/65 is not entirely impossible if the Turkish air force specifically requested this - but this seems unlikely, considering that the schemes on the Fw 190 look totally standard, and other TuAF fighters (like the Spitfire) also appear to have been delivered in standard schemes. At any rate, the use of 70/71/65 can be ruled out definitely, as the contrast between the top colors is far too sharp for 70/71.

 

After the war, (probably 1945-46 timeframe), some machines were repainted with a solid dark green color on top, and a light blue on the bottom; the top color extended low down the sides. Which colors were used for these repaints I don't know, but considering this happened post-war it's highly unlikely they were RLM paints. Since Turkey was a big user of British aircraft, I suppose some British paints may have been used, but obviously some locally produced aviation paint cannot be ruled out either.

 

I agree with the comment about the unreliability of some of the profiles in the Kecay book - the two volumes on the Fw 190 are nice, and a valuable resource of photographs, but the interpretation of the B&W photographs and the profiles isn't always beyond reproach. Unfortunately, it seems there is very little information available on the service of the Fw 190 in the TuAF. Pretty much every book dealing with the Fw 190 devotes at most one short paragraph to the Turkish machines, usually stating not much more than that the aircraft were delivered in 1942-43, and removed from service in 1948-49. The almost total lack of published information on the service life of these machines in the TuAF is rather frustrating!

 

Thanks for the information

Yes you are correct, Turkey used  british paints like dark earth, dark green, azure blue and sky on repainting of the military aircrafts.

On the following picture you can see that the tail and horiztontal tails taken from another 190 repainted by RAF colors (dark earth/dark green).

On the other hand it seems that cowling swapped from another 190 with different color scheme.

Upper colors of the cowling are different than the fuselage 75/74. It may be 02/71 ?

And finally lower color of the cowling is the same of the fuselage ?

What do you think??

 

[Kagemusha]

If you look at the tail, you can clearly see where the swastika has been painted over, and so it's fair to conclude it's in 70/71 from ex-Luftwaffe stock, the lower cowl would, you'd assume have the yellow ID colour repainted in something like 65, or whatever colour it was.

 

Certainly an interesting subject if you chose to make it, the spinner doesn't seem to be red like the aircraft in the profiles I've seen. 

[Tolga ULGUR]

28 minutes ago, Kagemusha said:

If you look at the tail, you can clearly see where the swastika has been painted over, and so it's fair to conclude it's in 70/71 from ex-Luftwaffe stock, the lower cowl would, you'd assume have the yellow ID colour repainted in something like 65, or whatever colour it was.

 

Certainly an interesting subject if you chose to make it, the spinner doesn't seem to be red like the aircraft in the profiles I've seen. 

 

Yes I have started this aircraft (#37) couple days ago. The base kit is Hasegawa s A5. Backdating it to Aa3 is by Montex set

The spinner is yellow.

In those years the color of each squadron spinner was different like red, yellow etc.

[pvanroy]

This photograph is really interesting. If the picture was taken on orthochromatic film (or with a blue filter), the difference in color and contrast between the upper cowl and the rest of the upper surfaces would indeed quite strongly suggest that the top side of the front cowl is in 02/71, with the rest of the aircraft being 74/75. The color of the lower part of the cowl is more difficult - RLM 65 and 76 wouldn't look very different in a B&W image. That said, if the top of the cowl is in 02/71, it stands to reason that the lower cowl likely would be 65, as these colors are normally used together. There is, however, one problem: if the spinner was yellow or red, it would look pretty dark on ortho film...

 

Another possibility is that the photograph was taken on panchromatic film. In that case, the image suggests the main airframe would be 02/71 on top, with the top of the replacement cowling being 74/75 - so basically the opposite of the above; bottom colors would of course also be switched. In addition, panchromatic film would render a yellow spinner light colored - which fits with the image.

 

So, on balance, if the spinner was yellow, its light-colored rendition in the image indicates the photo was taken on panchromatic film. Considering this, I'd suggest the main airframe in 02/71/65, and the replacement cowling in 74/75/76. This is quite interesting, as it would represent a color combination that had been abolished in Luftwaffe use in the Spring of 1941 - and be somewhat comparable to the continued use of prewar 61/62/63/65 colors on some aircraft delivered to Hungary up to 1943. In this respect, it's interesting to note that Tigerhead Decals suggest 02/71/65 on their Turkish Fw 190 sheet - maybe they did further research, and found some documents indicating the use of these colors on at least part of the TuAF machines? I'd assume the aviation museums in Ankara and İstanbul should have at least some remaining documentation on these aircraft in their archives.

 

I agree that the replacement tailplane is a repainted unit, likely using British paints. I can't see any evidence of an overpainted swastika - indeed, if there would have been a swastika in the standard position and of standard size, at least its top third would still have been visible. It also makes little sense for the tailplane to have been ex-Luftwaffe stock. The Turkish machines were not refurbished ex-Luftwaffe aircraft, they were specifically built for Turkey, and had their own specific Werk Nummer block; they also differed in some minor details from Luftwaffe Fw 190A-3 machines (MG 17 in the wing roots, no FuG 25, only FuG VII radio). In short, they were brand new aircraft, built to fulfill a Turkish order. If I understand well, the aircraft were shipped to Turkey disassembled, and assembled and test flown locally. So, there would have been no need to apply swastikas or other German markings; indeed, there are no indications of overpainted German markings on either the wings or fuselage, so the presence of a swastika on the tail would be quite strange. Finally, as Tolga already pointed out, the TuAF used British paints for their repaints, so dark earth/dark green for the tailplane seems indeed to be the most likely to me.

Edited January 2, 2020 by pvanroy
typo

[Jamoliva]

I am not sure if Tolga has seen this but there is an article on a Turkish online defence industry magazine which featured the subject.

http://en.c4defence.com/Magazine/issue-43/55

Please check the page 52 for the color profiles. The authors claim that there were three different camo types for these FW190-Aa3s. 

Actually, #39 & #41, too, look really interesting with their side fuselage camo. 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Jamoliva
Link change

[pvanroy]

Thanks for pointing out this article! It does confirm some suspicions regarding differences in colors / schemes used by Focke-Wulf and Ago I discussed with Tolga over email. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by pvanroy
Typo...

[Tolga ULGUR]

17 hours ago, Jamoliva said:

I am not sure if Tolga has seen this but there is an article on a Turkish online defence industry magazine which featured the subject.

http://en.c4defence.com/Magazine/issue-43/55

Please check the page 52 for the color profiles. The authors claim that there were three different camo types for these FW190-Aa3s. 

Actually, #39 & #41, too, look really interesting with their side fuselage camo. 

 

 

Thanks

Yes I know this, but I have serious doubts about the accuracy of this information. There is no proof or reliable information about which factory used which color on these planes.  

These color determinations and diversification are just guesswork.

 

 

 

[Tolga ULGUR]

On the other hand,

I have started this project for a while.

[pvanroy]

This is quite a fascinating topic. I've spent some more time comparing B&W and color photographs of RLM color swatches and aircraft, and the literature on the subject I have at hand. This now leads me to think the machine has the following scheme, which some of you will no doubt find surprising:

 

- Cowling: RLM 02/71/65 (original German colors as delivered)

- Main fuselage and wings: RLM 75/77/76 (original German colors as delivered)

- Tailplane: British Dark Earth/Dark Green (repainted by the TuAF).

 

The suggestion of the use of RLM 77 for camouflage may seem unusual, but in fact it is not, as the work by Brown (2014) has shown. Here is how I reached my interpretation for the specific Turkish machine Tolga is modelling:

 

First, to summarize what is known for sure:

 

• 70 Fw 190 Aa-3 aircraft were built for Turkey by Focke-Wulf (31), Ago (21) and Arado (18) between August 1942 and June 1943 (Rodeike 1998; Smith & Creek 2011).
• According to the the caption to the photograph of the aircraft published in Daily Sabah (Kline 2019), the Werk Nummer of the machine Tolga wants to build was 4137. If this is correct, this aircraft was produced in February 1943, either by Focke-Wulf (6 aircraft) or Ago (3 aircraft).
• The 74/75/76 camouflage scheme was officially introduced in the Spring of 1941, after having been trialed for a year previous (Merrick & Kiroff 2004). It officially replaced the 02/71/65 scheme that had been in use up until then.
• A color photograph from May 1942 of Kurt Ebersberger of 4./JG 26 posing in front of the tailplane of an Fw 190 A-2 or A-3 unequivocally shows that this aircraft has the front of the fin and the small part of the horizontal tailplane visible in the photograph painted in RLM 71 dark green over RLM 65 light blue. The serial number on the fin places this aircraft in a batch of Fw 190 A-2 and A-3 produced by Ago either between August 1941 and December 1942 (Smith & Creek 2012) or October 1941 and September 1942 (Rodeike 1998). This shows that at least part of the Fw 190 A-2 and A-3 produced by Ago continued to use the old 02/71/65 scheme well after it was supposed to have been phased out in favor of 74/75/76.
• Starting already with the production of the Fw 190 A-0 pre-series, Focke-Wulf did not use the old 02/71/65 scheme (Merrick & Kiroff 2004).
• The photo of the Turkish Fw 190 Aa-3 that Tolga wants to model unequivocally shows that at least two different camouflage schemes were used on the machines delivered to Turkey: while the tailplane is clearly repainted (likely using British paints; Kurt & Aydıner 2017), the main airframe and replacement cowling both retain their original German paint scheme - but clearly, the cowling is different in colors compared to the rest of the fuselage and wings.
• The photo was taken using panchromatic film, as shown by the light-colored rendition of the yellow spinner, and the medium tone of the red in the Turkish flag (both colors would have been rendered dark on ortho film).

 

The question now is: what colors were used on this machine? At first sight, a combination of the old 02/71/65 scheme (as used by Ago - see the color photo of Ebersberger's machine), and the new, standard 74/75/76 would seem likely. Comparing to B&W photographs of color swatches, and photographs of actual aircraft, the tone and contrast of colors on the upper cowling would indeed appear to be a good match for 02 and 71 - so the cowling is likely in the old 02/71/65 scheme. It is, however, problematic to conclude that the rest of the fuselage and wings must be 74/75/76:

 

• In a B&W photograph, there should be little tonal difference between 74 and 71; however, the darkest color on the fuselage and wings is considerably lighter than the darkest color on the cowling.
• 75 should be darker than 02; however, in the image the lightest top color on the fuselage and wings is lighter than the lightest top color on the cowling.
• The contrast between the top colors is considerably greater than the normal contrast between 74 and 75.
• The contrast between the bottom color and the lightest top color on the main fuselage and wings appears lower than what would normally be expected for 75 and 76.

 

This makes me think that the actual scheme used on the main fuselage and wings is NOT the 'standard' 74/75/76 scheme, but rather 75/77/76. RLM 77 is a somewhat enigmatic color which was intended for camouflage, but the only official mention is for use in code markings. It may have been developed for night fighters and high altitude aircraft, and there is documentary evidence for its use on Do 217 J night fighters and Ju 86 P reconnaissance aircraft. However, over the past decade or so, growing evidence from color and B&W photos, and preserved artefacts has shown that RLM 77 in fact found wider use on fighter aircraft, starting from 1941 until the end of the war; the supposed 'light' variation of RLM 75 that is mentioned in the literature (e.g. Poruba & Mol 2000) actually matches well with RLM 77. This has been debated on Luftwaffe boards for quite some time (e.g. on the defunct Luftwaffe Experten Message Board), and  evidence for this has been brought together and summarized in detail by Brown (2014). 

 

This is just my hypothesis for the colors of this specific Turkish machine; absent color images, official documents or preserved artefacts pertaining to this specific airframe, interpreting B&W images will almost always leave room for debate and conjecture. Nevertheless, I feel this interpretation ties together the known facts and the information provided by the photograph in the most consistent way. Anyway, just my proverbial 2 cents!

 

References:

 

• Brown, D.E. 2014. Camouflage Commentary 1 - Unit Identity of Fw 190 A-8 WNr. 175 140 and Use of Colour RLM 77. 24 pp. Air War Publications: Vanløse, Denmark. https://airwarpublications.com/product/luftwaffe-camouflage-commentary-1-rlm-77/ 
• Kline, S. 2019. Unearthing WW II aircraft buried in Kayseri. Daily Sabah. https://www.dailysabah.com/op-ed/2019/03/06/unearthing-wwii-aircraft-buried-in-kayseri
• Kurt, E. & Aydıner, U. 2017. Mystery or False News? The Real, "Non-Scandalous" Story of Fw-190. C4 Defense 43, 44-57. http://en.c4defence.com/Magazine/issue-43/55
• Merrick, K.A. & Kiroff, J. 2004. Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945. Volume One. 224 pp. Classic Publications (Ian Allen): Hersham, U.K.
• Poruba, T & Mol, K. 2000. Messerschmitt Bf 109K. Camouflage & marking. 132 pp. JaPo: Hradec Králové.
• Rodeike, P. 1998. Focke-Wulf Jagdflugzeug. Fw 190 A Fw 190 "Dora" Ta 152 H. 443 pp. Struve Drück: Eutin, Germany.
• Smith, R.J. & Creek, E.J.2011. Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Volume One 1938-1943. 336 pp. Classic Publications (Crécy): Manchester, U.K.
• Smith, R.J. & Creek, E.J.2012. Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Volume Two 1943-1944. 330 pp. Classic Publications (Crécy): Manchester, U.K.
• Photo of Kurt Ebersberger: http://stukasoverstalingrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/luftwaffe-ace.html?m=1 and http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2012/09/hauptmann-kurt-ebersberger.html

Edited February 5, 2020 by pvanroy
typo

[Jamoliva]

Thank you pvanroy! Really interesting. I like the way you explained it in detail. I must say, though, I agree almost everything you wrote with the exception of RLM 77. I think the main fuselage is probably 74/75/76. But who knows. 

 

And Tolga, your model looks great, I look forward to its completion. I also consider building a Turkish Fw 190Aa-3 and thinking of either #41 or #39 on these photos. They are also quite interesting. Clearly they are from different squadrons but they share the same camouflage. I am considering RLM 74/75/76 main camouflage with RLM 02 sides mottled with dark green. You can see the clear fine in both photographs on cowlings between two light colors (I am guessing 76 and 02 but again it could be anything...  ). Please let me know what your all think about these two aircraft colors? I appreciate your assistance. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Jamoliva
Deleted extra word.

[Tolga ULGUR]

On 2/5/2020 at 4:05 AM, pvanroy said:

This is quite a fascinating topic. I've spent some more time comparing B&W and color photographs of RLM color swatches and aircraft, and the literature on the subject I have at hand. This now leads me to think the machine has the following scheme, which some of you will no doubt find surprising:

 

- Cowling: RLM 02/71/65 (original German colors as delivered)

- Main fuselage and wings: RLM 75/77/76 (original German colors as delivered)

- Tailplane: British Dark Earth/Dark Green (repainted by the TuAF).

 

The suggestion of the use of RLM 77 for camouflage may seem unusual, but in fact it is not, as the work by Brown (2014) has shown. Here is how I reached my interpretation for the specific Turkish machine Tolga is modelling:

 

First, to summarize what is known for sure:

 

• 70 Fw 190 Aa-3 aircraft were built for Turkey by Focke-Wulf (31), Ago (21) and Arado (18) between August 1942 and June 1943 (Rodeike 1998; Smith & Creek 2011).
• According to the the caption to the photograph of the aircraft published in Daily Sabah (Kline 2019), the Werk Nummer of the machine Tolga wants to build was 4137. If this is correct, this aircraft was produced in February 1943, either by Focke-Wulf (6 aircraft) or Ago (3 aircraft).
• The 74/75/76 camouflage scheme was officially introduced in the Spring of 1941, after having been trialed for a year previous (Merrick & Kiroff 2004). It officially replaced the 02/71/65 scheme that had been in use up until then.
• A color photograph from May 1942 of Kurt Ebersberger of 4./JG 26 posing in front of the tailplane of an Fw 190 A-2 or A-3 unequivocally shows that this aircraft has the front of the fin and the small part of the horizontal tailplane visible in the photograph painted in RLM 71 dark green over RLM 65 light blue. The serial number on the fin places this aircraft in a batch of Fw 190 A-2 and A-3 produced by Ago either between August 1941 and December 1942 (Smith & Creek 2012) or October 1941 and September 1942 (Rodeike 1998). This shows that at least part of the Fw 190 A-2 and A-3 produced by Ago continued to use the old 02/71/65 scheme well after it was supposed to have been phased out in favor of 74/75/76.
• Starting already with the production of the Fw 190 A-0 pre-series, Focke-Wulf did not use the old 02/71/65 scheme (Merrick & Kiroff 2004).
• The photo of the Turkish Fw 190 Aa-3 that Tolga wants to model unequivocally shows that at least two different camouflage schemes were used on the machines delivered to Turkey: while the tailplane is clearly repainted (likely using British paints; Kurt & Aydıner 2017), the main airframe and replacement cowling both retain their original German paint scheme - but clearly, the cowling is different in colors compared to the rest of the fuselage and wings.
• The photo was taken using panchromatic film, as shown by the light-colored rendition of the yellow spinner, and the medium tone of the red in the Turkish flag (both colors would have been rendered dark on ortho film).

 

The question now is: what colors were used on this machine? At first sight, a combination of the old 02/71/65 scheme (as used by Ago - see the color photo of Ebersberger's machine), and the new, standard 74/75/76 would seem likely. Comparing to B&W photographs of color swatches, and photographs of actual aircraft, the tone and contrast of colors on the upper cowling would indeed appear to be a good match for 02 and 71 - so the cowling is likely in the old 02/71/65 scheme. It is, however, problematic to conclude that the rest of the fuselage and wings must be 74/75/76:

 

• In a B&W photograph, there should be little tonal difference between 74 and 71; however, the darkest color on the fuselage and wings is considerably lighter than the darkest color on the cowling.
• 75 should be darker than 02; however, in the image the lightest top color on the fuselage and wings is lighter than the lightest top color on the cowling.
• The contrast between the top colors is considerably greater than the normal contrast between 74 and 75.
• The contrast between the bottom color and the lightest top color on the main fuselage and wings appears lower than what would normally be expected for 75 and 76.

 

This makes me think that the actual scheme used on the main fuselage and wings is NOT the 'standard' 74/75/76 scheme, but rather 75/77/76. RLM 77 is a somewhat enigmatic color which was intended for camouflage, but the only official mention is for use in code markings. It may have been developed for night fighters and high altitude aircraft, and there is documentary evidence for its use on Do 217 J night fighters and Ju 86 P reconnaissance aircraft. However, over the past decade or so, growing evidence from color and B&W photos, and preserved artefacts has shown that RLM 77 in fact found wider use on fighter aircraft, starting from 1941 until the end of the war; the supposed 'light' variation of RLM 75 that is mentioned in the literature (e.g. Poruba & Mol 2000) actually matches well with RLM 77. This has been debated on Luftwaffe boards for quite some time (e.g. on the defunct Luftwaffe Experten Message Board), and  evidence for this has been brought together and summarized in detail by Brown (2014). 

 

This is just my hypothesis for the colors of this specific Turkish machine; absent color images, official documents or preserved artefacts pertaining to this specific airframe, interpreting B&W images will almost always leave room for debate and conjecture. Nevertheless, I feel this interpretation ties together the known facts and the information provided by the photograph in the most consistent way. Anyway, just my proverbial 2 cents!

 

References:

 

• Brown, D.E. 2014. Camouflage Commentary 1 - Unit Identity of Fw 190 A-8 WNr. 175 140 and Use of Colour RLM 77. 24 pp. Air War Publications: Vanløse, Denmark. https://airwarpublications.com/product/luftwaffe-camouflage-commentary-1-rlm-77/ 
• Kline, S. 2019. Unearthing WW II aircraft buried in Kayseri. Daily Sabah. https://www.dailysabah.com/op-ed/2019/03/06/unearthing-wwii-aircraft-buried-in-kayseri
• Kurt, E. & Aydıner, U. 2017. Mystery or False News? The Real, "Non-Scandalous" Story of Fw-190. C4 Defense 43, 44-57. http://en.c4defence.com/Magazine/issue-43/55
• Merrick, K.A. & Kiroff, J. 2004. Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945. Volume One. 224 pp. Classic Publications (Ian Allen): Hersham, U.K.
• Poruba, T & Mol, K. 2000. Messerschmitt Bf 109K. Camouflage & marking. 132 pp. JaPo: Hradec Králové.
• Rodeike, P. 1998. Focke-Wulf Jagdflugzeug. Fw 190 A Fw 190 "Dora" Ta 152 H. 443 pp. Struve Drück: Eutin, Germany.
• Smith, R.J. & Creek, E.J.2011. Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Volume One 1938-1943. 336 pp. Classic Publications (Crécy): Manchester, U.K.
• Smith, R.J. & Creek, E.J.2012. Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Volume Two 1943-1944. 330 pp. Classic Publications (Crécy): Manchester, U.K.
• Photo of Kurt Ebersberger: http://stukasoverstalingrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/luftwaffe-ace.html?m=1 and http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2012/09/hauptmann-kurt-ebersberger.html

Thanks for these assumptions and hypothetis.. But RLM 77 seems too radical for me.  My choice is already applied on the model as 74/75/76 fuselage , 02/71/65 nose and RAF colors tail and horizontal tails. Maybe very close to the reality or may be not so close. 

[Tolga ULGUR]

12 hours ago, Jamoliva said:

Thank you pvanroy! Really interesting. I like the way you explained it in detail. I must say, though, I agree almost everything you wrote with the exception of RLM 77. I think the main fuselage is probably 74/75/76. But who knows. 

 

And Tolga, your model looks great, I look forward to its completion. I also consider building a Turkish Fw 190Aa-3 and thinking of either #41 or #39 on these photos. They are also quite interesting. Clearly they are from different squadrons but they share the same camouflage. I am considering RLM 74/75/76 main camouflage with RLM 02 sides mottled with dark green. You can see the clear fine in both photographs on cowlings between two light colors (I am guessing 76 and 02 but again it could be anything...  ). Please let me know what your all think about these two aircraft colors? I appreciate your assistance. 

 

Thanks.

For my opinion #39 is std 74/75/76. I have checked the contrast between two color of the topside fuselage. It seems like 74 /75.

The color difference on the cowling is visible, but not on the fuselage.