P-47D Cockpit Colors

[John1]

Hi Folks,

 

I'm finally ready to start my P-47D build.   Before I apply paint to that magnificent MDC resin cockpit, I just want to make sure I have my colors straight.   As I understand it, later block P-47D's had the cockpit painted overall Dark Dull Green (DDG).   While perusing the net, I came across a few pictures of the P-47D that is in the USAF Museum.   From what I've read, it doesn't appear that the this aircraft's cockpit was restored.   See below:

 

 

 

Thoughts on the accuracy of this 'pit?   Certainly the IP and black surfaces don't appear to be restored.    That being said, I've also come across (restored) cockpits that look like this:

 

Last - I found this picture of the cockpit of a P-47D that was fished out of a lake in Austria a few years back.   It was deep on the bottom, preserved in ice cold water.  According to some "experts", the green is pretty much the original tone:

According the story behind the pictures, the grunge on the fixtures is nothing more than silt from the bottom of the lake.   Anyway, I'm seeing two different shades of green here.   

 

So - questions are:

 

Any chance that portions of the cockpit might be finished in something like green zinc primer like the color in the first two pics above?   

 

Thoughts on the color of that restored cockpit?  To me, it seems a bit too "Candy Apple Green-ish". 

 

Thoughts on the shades from that original P-47 cockpit fished from the lake?   I've got a tin of Colorcoates Dark Dull Green (these guys are highly respected for their accuracy) and it looks pretty darned close to the lower shade of green.   Would it be possible to have different shades in the cockpit or was the color applied uniformly?

 

Any info is much appreciated!

 

John

[D.B. Andrus]

Hi John

 

I'd go with the Dull Dark Green. The only P-47 with an Interior Green cockpit from the factory was the P-47G.  Juggernut will know more on that, for sure.

 

Cheers,

Damian

[Juggernut]

The top two images are of a P-47G which is being passed off as a Razorback D.  As Damian correctly pointed out, these aircraft were the only P-47s with interior green cockpits.  None of these aircraft ever left the United States as far as I’m aware.  The quality control was a huge issue with these aircraft that were built by Curtiss.

[John1]

54 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

The top two images are of a P-47G which is being passed off as a Razorback D.  As Damian correctly pointed out, these aircraft were the only P-47s with interior green cockpits.  None of these aircraft ever left the United States as far as I’m aware.  The quality control was a huge issue with these aircraft that were built by Curtiss.

Good info, thanks very much.   What do you think about the two shades of green from that recovered P-47?   

[Juggernut]

Recovered aircraft, while a great source for many things, may be somewhat relied upon for correct color information; especially if the place where the aircraft was recovered from is away from sunlight and corrosion hasn’t had drastic affects.  I think what we’re seeing here may be, and I’m stressing the “may be” the result of exposure to sunlight and color shift before said aircraft was lost and has been preserved in that state.  Note the lower, darker paint is set back from the lighter colored paint.  It could also be that there are two shades of green but I think that’s a little less probable.  Third, and I think this also may be a distinct possibility, is that the differences we see are simply light and shadow in the photograph.  The only real way to determine the color is to run a non-destructive test on it such as Munsell or similar.  
 

Personally, I wouldn’t worry too much about the color variations and just paint the cockpit dull dark green.  But after having said that, it’s your model to build as you see fit and if you wish to replicate what you see then nobody here will (or can for that matter) tell you you’re wrong.  If you paint the cockpit interior green, then that would be wrong for any production P-47D.

 

That photo of the restored cockpit is not representative of dull dark green as far as I can see, it’s much too dark and glossy but again, the light has a lot to do with it here.  It’s not a good photo to evaluate and draw conclusions from nor is any restoration for that matter (some being much better than others).

Edited April 27, 2021 by Juggernut

[TAG]

Here's a period color pic of a Razorback D in the field. There's a lot going on color-wise, the various shades of OD 41, the chipped YZC on the canopy rail, and the DDG in the cockpit and armored headrest. It matches the green in the photos you posted of Dottie Mae (the -47 recovered from a lake in Austria) pretty spot on, I'd say. Basically, like Damian and Juggernut said, DDG is the way to go for operational Jugs.

[dennismcc]

That's a great photo

 

Cheers

 

Dennis