[edwest]

Hello Paul,


Your last sentence is odd. You make an assumption, which is never a good way to start any research project. I've seen hundred of photos of bombs in the field and being loaded onto aircraft. They were usually camouflaged on the ground in some way, including netting, local vegetation or a tarp.

The color of the bomb must include the colors of the identifying markings, which included numbers and letters. For cylindrical bombs, the convention was yellow striping, 40 mm wide, for aerial mines on the fin, designation of grade, which was the largest marking (black), a two letter designation below that, with the first letter being half the size of the largest marking and indicating the bomb type, and the second letter being a little more than half the size of the first (both black), and indicating the fuse fitting. Below that was the fuse type designator which was three quarters the size of the largest marking. It could be in white with a dark gray border or in black with a beige-gray border. Below that is the black explosive identifier (a number), which is half the height of the largest marking. At the nose is the black indicator for the live explosive core, which is a little more than half the size of the largest marking.

The PD bombs had one blue stripe between each guide fin.



Source: The History of German Aviation: Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1935 to Present, by Roderich Cescotti.



Ed