[Graham Boak]

A few comments on colours.

The colours of the carrier-borne deliveries to Malta have been exhaustively covered by Paul Lucas in a series of articles for Scale Aircraft Modelling Magazine, since reprinted in Colour Conundrums 1. This is too involved for posting here, but if you are interested then it is vital to read.

Sky was included as an option for the Desert Scheme, but was not acceptable to HQ ME as being too light. Azure Blue, which is not particularly dark, was developed from a Light Blue sample sent from the Middle East, and apparently widely used there as ME Light Blue (or Iraqi Blue). The darker blue sometimes seen is Light Mediterranean Blue.

It perhaps should be added that some examples of the original MAP colours show Sky Blue as more intense than the generally accepted pale shade. This perhaps explains why (it was said) some overseas deliveries were in Sky Blue whereas others were Azure Blue. Though it is perhaps more likely that the term sky blue was used in a generic sense to describe any light blue, there are a number of photos showing a blue lighter than Azure Blue.

Azure, as opposed to Azure Blue, was a colour in prewar British Standards, but was a somewhat more greenish shade and not used in WW2 for aircraft.