Me 262 B3+AL Question

[JonOlsen88]

Wow, Micke...Thanks! You've totally made my day. Interestingly, it appears Claes Sundin interprets the finish as RLM 75/74 overpainted with a rather squiggly green mottle. From David Brown, I've read that variations of this attractive scheme were commonly used on many early production Me 262 A-2a's, especially in Kg 51.

The Wn.r that Claes has chosen in the profile marks this as an early production machine. That this should be an early production Sturmvogel makes sense for several reasons. For one, the presence of the early-style clear navigation light cover on the bottom trailing edge of the rudder is consistent with an early production machine. Secondly, it's noteworthy that the Me 262 whose camo is most similar to our subject is a B-1a variant coded "B3+SH" with WNr. 170075--a very similar Wn.r to that of our subject! Both this and our subject served with KG(j) 54 (though in different staffels) and feature the dashing white lightning bolt. The B-1a with Wn.r 170075 was likewise an early production machine, and so I assume it was probably painted in greys (or perhaps a transitional mix?)

I have several questions at this point. 1) Can the Wn.r be clearly seen in the original photo under careful examination? 2) Is the front engine cowling yellow or unpainted? I had assumed that it was unpainted, mostly just because yellow seems too cool for school, and intake cowlings painted in staffel colors are an extremely rare sight on Me 262s.