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Not to confuse things further, but here's another perspective on the topic of early P-40 colors (from pp 14-15 of Osprey's American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings by Terrill Clements):

Since the AVG's Tomahawks were taken from production lines working on a British contract, it has been widely assumed that Curtiss painted them in exact matches of the Dark Earth, Dark Green and Sky colours in use on RAF fighters in 1940-41. In fact, it is now clear that Curtiss -- and other American manufacturers as well -- were not so fastidious, and instead typically used paints from their current suppliers that were close matches for the colours specified by foreign customers. Most of these paints were likely based on current US military camouflage standards.

Curtiss employed DuPont enamel camouflage paints on its products in 1940-41, and this included the brown and green colours used on the pattern camouflage of the Tomahawks shipped to Burma. The Dark Earth brown colour (DuPont 71-065) appears to have been virtually identical to Army Air Corps colour Rust Brown 34, while DuPont Dark Green (DuPont 71-013) was virtually identical to Army Air Corps Dark Green 30. Whether they were those specific colours is uncertain, but they are certainly indistinguishable from them, and also 'close enough' to the green and brown in use by the Royal Air Force.

Curtiss employed other colours on its fighters, however, including a sandy earth brown colour (DuPont 71-009). This shade has no analogue in the pre-war American colour standards, but it is similar to British Light Earth, and was perhaps intended for use on Desert Air Force Tomahawks. Period colour photos suggest that this colour was used on a few of the AVG's Tomahawks instead of the darker brown. Second Squadron pilot Robert Layher recalls noticing that, when seen side by side, some AVG Tomahawks had more 'vivid' camouflage on top than others. But it is unlikely that many casual observers would have noticed any significant difference between the colours on Curtiss's products and those on aircraft painted more exactly to British standards. Even fewer would have cared.

The lower surface camouflage of the AVG's Tomahawks is even more interesting. While British contracting officers would likely have specified the complex greenish colour known as Sky at the time these aircraft were ordered, the best colour photographs and film of AVG Tomahawks indicate that their lower surfaces were in fact painted light grey. It appears that other American manufacturers also frequently used light grey rather than Sky, and in fact British manufacturers had themselves employed a range of light blues, greys and greens when first coming to grips with the new requirements for Sky undersurfaces in mid-1940.

Clements' book, incidentally, is a 'must have' if AVG colors and aircraft are your thing, with numerous color photos and color profiles by Jim Laurier.