[pstrany]

thanks for all the replies. And you are right Ed, my last sentence was not worded properly. I was a bit distracted, as I had just received the picture below, which shows a larger bomb that appears to have been a very light color (light blue?) over which a darker color was smeared, probably at a dump or airfield somewhere. What I was trying to say is that once the bomb left the factory, it was anybody's guess as to what treatment (camo, paint, abuse) it got in the field.

As to the OP 1666 and similar, OP 1666 was a document on German bombs compiled by the US Navy; I also have a copy of TM 9-1985-2, "German Explosive Ordnance" which is very similar to the US Navy document.

I suppose my question is what colors German bombs would be painted overall. I have wonderful detail in the above documents regarding stenciling, tail stripes, and the like; what I lack is a clear picture of the colors of the bomb bodies. Again, the German manual mentions only beigegrau and dunkelgrau, and only beigegrau is further defined as an RAL color. Obviously, this is not all-inclusive, as photos very clearly show bombs painted in other colors, but again, what were the values of these colors. The light blue, was it an RAL color, or RLM color?If I want to hang an SC250 under my Fw-190, should it be dark green, or dark gray? That sort of thing. And yes, the American documents have some detail, but I would very much like to know how this was compiled, and if it is all field reports, or if other sources were used as well. If only field reports, how many? One or two? Several hundred?. Eyewitness reports can be very subjective, and to be perfectly honest, if I were examining a German bomb, the last thing I would be concerned with is what color it was. I'd be more concerned with whether the thing might go off! I'm not trying to discount those works; indeed, the fact that a lot of the information about stenciling agrees with factory specs lends credence to the other information imparted.

While it would be nice to have clear, precise answers, I know I'm not going to get that. What is extremely helpful is to get other peoples' insights and thoughts, as a way of challenging the conclusions (and face it, mostly assumptions) that I have make in this regard.

So thank you all for your input, it is VERY helpful.


Paul