Malta's Hurricanes camo scheme (1941)

[Graham Boak]

Sky was in use on Blenheim Mk.IVs from winter 1939/40, so ME Command would have had opportunities to see examples before the deliveries of any fighters with this underside colour. Sky was not a new colour in June 1940: Sky Type S was a new paint.

Sorry to avoid one possible area of agreement, but I know of no way of telling the 1930 Sky Blue from Sky from black and white photos. Although the basic colour is slightly darker, blue colours usually appear lighter in b+w photos of the period. It is sometimes possible to distinguish the RAE Sky Blue from Sky, where both are on the same aircraft, but I know of no similar examples with the darker colour. Were it possible to distinguish Sky from Sky Blue in this manner, then there are many photos of ME aircraft which could have been used to settle this matter long ago.

Diverging slightly, am I to assume that you believe Sky to be the light colour seen wrapped around the leading edges and nose of Hurricanes in the "spaghetti" scheme?