US neutral Gray

[Graham Boak]

Medium Sea Grey was used by those units in the 8th AF that painted over the D-Day stripes with RAF Dark Green. Several units were expected to move to continental bases and these were required to re-adopt camouflage. The 357th is perhaps the most notable, or at least the best recorded.

However, I do believe that there was a lighter shade of grey available in USAF stocks, so a distinctly lighter grey does not necessarily imply MSG.

I'm well aware of the problems in judging fresh/faded OD, but you only have to look at new C-47s to see different shades of OD on the same aircraft. Wings, fuselages and control surfaces, manufactured and pre-painted in different sites, can be in three different shades. This can even be seen in b+w photos. Similar effects can be seen on B-17 tails. This would not occur if a strong authority thought that the precise paint shade mattered.