Color for Death's Head Insignia for KG54

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

In preparing to do our EOE color profiles for KG54 He111 and Ju88 aircraft, we're trying to determine exactly what paint color was used on the Death's Head (skull and cross-bones) insignia on unit aircraft. Markings and insignia books, such as Ketley & Rolfe, show it as white. Many photos exist of this on aircraft, and on the majority of them this insignia is definitely not white. It appears to be about a medium gray on the one color photo I've seen of a force-landed He111 in France during May, 1940. However, researchers have suggested that the color is not gray, but a metallic silver color. Can anyone provide any evidence or proof of what color this insignia was painted? Was it initially white, then changed to a medium gray or metallic silver color?

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

[edwest]

Hello Larry,


Issue No. 1 of Luftwaffe im Focus (page 23) provides two color photos of the emblem for IV./KG 54 and dates the photos between 1.3.1942 and 29.5.1943. An illustration is included that shows the shield in medium blue with a white diagonal band just below the upper left corner, with a black outline, and the skull and crossbones in black. Personally, I think the outline of the shield is a darker blue as opposed to black.



Ed

[Larry Hickey]

Ed,

Thanks. I should have been clearer in my post. The EOE project is only concerned with the period 1939-40, so I'm concerned about the version from that period. The one in the LiF article is much later.

Regards,

[jim norton]

hi,

what about staffel/group-colours? white for 1., red for second, yellow (often looks like grey in b/w-photos) for thrid?

all the best
jim

[Larry Hickey]

Jim,

There is a possibility that that might have been the case back in 1939 during the PC period. But all subsequent photos through the beginning of the Russian Campaign in mid-1941 show a medium-toned color to the insignia, with none of them being white, including many I Group a/c from all three Squadrons. I'm pretty sure that it was either a light to medium gray or a metallic silver color, which could appear as gray in B & W photos. Another possibility is yellow, which has been used in some color profiles, but this is not supported by the very limited color photography that exists. Gray seems a lot more logical to me because keeping a supply of metallic silver paint on hand would have been a real pain under operational conditions, but maybe they did. With the very large number of images of this insignia available in photography, you would think that this would have been settled long ago, but apparently it has never been correctly published, at least for the late-1939 through mid-1941 period. Somebody probably has a photo album cover originating with some veteran out there with artwork on it that may give us the correct information.

Regards,

[F19Gladiator]

Hi Larry,
Page 13 in Luftwaffe at War #12, Manfred Griehl, Greenhill Books,has a color photo of He111 B3+BL crash-landed at Cambrai in the summer of 1940. Shows a mid-gray skull which is clearly not the same color as the individual aircraft code letter.
Br
Goran

[Larry Hickey]

Goran,

That's the color photo that I was referring to in my post above. That's the only color reference that I've seen, and this could still be a silver colored "death's head" depending on lighting effects.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Regards,

[F19Gladiator]

Larry,
Thank you for confirming it is the same source which you referred to initially. I personally question it was a silver coloured emblem which would reflect sunlight and be a brilliant contrast to the camouflage. Haven't yet seen any photo which I've interpreted as being in 'silver dope' appearance or silver colour. I'll have another look around though......
Best regards,
Goran

[udf_00]

Under the camouflage paint, there is an aluminium skin, so if you don't have silver paint you could always have a "silver" colour another way.
Not the case for the belly-landed Ju88 p.21 in Bryan Philpott's "German Bombers Over England", the areas of the skull where the paint was chipped off look brighter than the "bone" colour. ( B&W pic of a Ju 88A-1, near Dieppe, 28/08/1940, ref. BA : 71/60/59 ).