Blue or Blue-Gray Camouflage on Bf 109E

[cproyston]

Just thought I'd add a little bit to this.

Discerning an aircraft's camouflage from an intelligence (or other report) isn't very reliable. I have a copy of the A.I.2(g) report for Theo Nibel's Fw 190D-9 (Wnr 210079), which describes the aircraft as camouflaged "a green, which is brighter than that normally seen", whereas the aircraft actually carried a well-documented (by Eric Larger and others) rather more mundane factory 76/75/83/82 scheme.

I guess it boils down to the "eye of the beholder", in the above case someone who'd presumably not seen Hellgrun before and based his description of the camouflage scheme around that fact.

As I say, just my little bit to add,

Chris

[Graham Boak]

How long has 82/83 been "mundane"? To me, it seems highly reasonable that Hellgrun had not been commonly seen before new year 1945.

[cproyston]

Graham,

Whoa there, the term mundane has been taken out of context.

I posted what I did as an example of a single feature (new to the person observing it), which clouded his description of the aircraft's colour scheme.

It seemed an appropriate example in a thread about a reported "blue" Bf 109 and was not intended to offend anyone, merely cite an alternative angle which may not have been considered,

Chris

[Modeldad]

A very good article on the introduction of the "Grey / Gray".

http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/articl...b/bob_camo.htm

I too believe that just as the LW used French munitions in the BoB, they could have used French paints. Why not? It was there for the taking.

[Graham Boak]

Yes, I see how I missed your point, perhaps because I don't think I've encountered any interpretation of that report suggesting anything more than just a bright green as part of the camouflage. As you have it in your hand, you have a clearer knowledge to what was actually written. This is simply an accurate observation, which I see as an indication of the rarity of such a scheme to British Intelligence at the time, not necessarily reflecting any naivety of the observer.