model, serial and colour for Mervyn Shipard's Beaufighter

[PMoz99]

Hi. Can anyone tell me what the upper colours for Shipard's Beau VIF were? I've seen profiles in stone/earth and grey/green, and don't know which is right.
I know it was stripped back to silver for at least 1 mission, but that's all.
Also, Osprey's Aces book shows his as a IF in grey/green serial X8447, but I suspect that's wrong and it should be a VIF stone/earth and V8447. Can anyone help with this too?
Thanks

[pstrany]

Might I suggest an alternative? That would be Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey - Coastal Command colors. 252 and 272 Squadron mostly flew in those colors, as did other Beaufighter units in the theater. I would suspect that many of the Beaufighters probably arrived in those colors.


Paul

[PMoz99]

Thanks for the reply, Paul.
Shipard flew IFs with 89Sq from Malta and then VIFs in Nth Africa, mostly night missions, I think. I am interested mainly in his Nth Africa a/c. I've seen pics of 227Sq a/c from that place and period in stone/earth, and that's what got me going here. You'd think there would be more photos etc "out there" but I guess not.
Cheers

[Graham Boak]

X8447 did not exist, so your suggestion of V8447 makes sense. V8447 was a Beaufighter MK.VIF of 89 Sq in North West Africa.

If 89 was a night fighter squadron, then it would be unlikely to be in the maritime colours, and more likely to be in the night fighter Medium Sea Grey overall with Dark Green disruptive pattern on the upper surfaces. This is what is shown in the Osprey, but with the Night undersides that officially belonged on night intruders. Photos of Beaufighters in this theatre in the Osprey (including one thought to be V8447) show this scheme with light undersides. I grant you that this could be argued in the case of the crashed V8447, but the part of the belly visible under the trailing edge of the wing appears lighter than the Dark Green above.

I have seen a Beaufighter colour photo in DE/MS/Night but can't confirm where - it may however have been a model. The Osprey does have a photo of a 46 Sq night fighter in what appears to be the desert scheme with black undersides, but this is almost two years later and on the opposite end of the Mediterranean.

[PMoz99]

Hi Graham. Thanks for the reply.
Osprey also have a profile of an 89 Sq IF in Egypt in March 1942 in Stone/Earth/Night, but I don't know how relevant it is to what I'm doing. Incidentally, I checked the profile description text in the Osprey book and it says V8447, so the X in the pic in the profiles section must be a misprint. But they also list it as a IF, which we both agree is also wrong.
There's a guy TangoIndiaMike who posted pics on a forum in 2008 of his built Shipard VIF adorned with Pete's Decals (which I have) in stone/earth/night, and he stated that he was disappointed new info came to light after he finished it. Like the S should be aft of the roundel, and the camo pattern was wrong. He didn't say colours, but pattern. Anyway, I tried to join the forum to ask him what he found, but no joy in contacting him. Pics attached. I think the aero shot is of his model, and I can't recall where I got the other one from or who built it, but whoever it was used a serial ending in 023.
Thanks again

[Graham Boak]

Desert scheme with black underside and an S aft of the roundel - that's a description of the 46 Sq a/c in the Osprey, V8708, page 67. This aircraft has a thimble nose. The photo thought to be of V8447 has a light N aft of the roundel (page 61).

[PMoz99]

Yes Graham, that's an interesting shot. Looks like a tricolour upper surface with red codes and numbers. If the codes are red, then the base colour for the upper would likely be pale grey - medium sea grey, I think. 18 months after what I'm looking at, though, so still can't be sure if it's relevant or not. I'll keep looking, but I think I might go with the stone/earth/night and flip a coin on whether the code is before or after the roundel. I'll probably go after. Red or black? <sigh> Too may guesses here!
Cheers

[udf_00]

Bristol Beaufighter Mark VIF, V8447 'S' "Slippery Ship II", of No. 89 Squadron RAF (seen in the background), at Castel Benito, Libya
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209488
Other Beaus
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209489
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205127026
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205212544

[Graham Boak]

There's more information in Vol 2 of Chris Shores new Mediterranean Air War series.
p.190 Photo of 89 Sq Beaufighter Mk.I shortly after arrival, showing signs of UK night fighter colours and still carrying WP.D. Maybe black undersides? Probably not.
P208 46 Sq ex-89 Sq aircraft with black taken up the fuselage sides. V8502/H, possibly red.
P622 12 December 2xJu88 claims for Shipard/Oxby in V9002/S. 7/KG76 lost 140363 F1+ER
P626 photo of three 89 Sq crew including Shipard and Oxby. (Oxby became the RAF's highest scoring airborne radar operator.)
P627 8th January S&O in X7844/L claimed a Ju88 and one of three He111s (one actually lost) claimed that night, The Ju88 was 140219 L1+RK
P629 16th January S&O in V8447/S (at last) 2xJu88 out of three Sq claims - two lost one crashlanded after damage
P638 2nd March S&O in V8447/S probable Ju88

[PMoz99]

Thanks guys.
udf_00 : I found the photo of "K" today - I don't know why I hadn't found it before - but I hadn't seen the others, so thanks for them. Looking at the first one of Ship , I suspect the line between upper and lower camo on Shipard's a/c would be more like K, not T or E. From the tail, I guess it would meet up with the trailing edge of the wing root. Any thoughts? Red codes and serial most likely, I guess ....
Can anyone say what colour the front of the engine cowls should be on these? I've seen them done a variety of bronze colours on grey and black profiles, and gunmetal on the desert builds.
Thanks a lot for the input!