RLM colours please.

[amiers]

Attachment 2166


hi all does anybody know the correct RLM'S for this 109?

[obdl3945]

Hi...

The thumbnail you provide seems a little 'bright' in its reproduction, but I would suggest the greens are perhaps RLM70/71 (schwarzgrün and dunkelgrün respectively). Undersurfaces would be RLM 65 hellblau, with yellow RLM04 cowling, wingtips and fuselage band and white RLM21 spinner, probably with an RLM70 backplate. The green of the 'Grünherz' emblem would have been RLM25.

A few things to bear in mind: firstly, the profile you provide is of a machine from JG54, who were specialists in experimenting with unorthodox and non-standard colour scheme applications; secondly, I suspect that one of the greens could actually have been RLM02 'RLM Grau', or a mixed shade incorporating that colour; also note that some RLM shades did change during the lifetime of the Luftwaffe, although they retained their number - for example, the 1938 shade of RLM65 would be different from the 1941-onwards shade.

If you're able to obtain copies, then I personally think that Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile and its companion volume More Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile by Sundin and Bergstrom (Schiffer), give an excellent impression of fighter colour schemes. The first thing I noticed about the second volume was the 'toning down' of colours for scale effect on the profiles, and although both books are first class, I really think the second volume has captured the colour tones very accurately... just a personal opinion, though... . Some of these authors' material has reached the inernet, I believe. I can't remember where exactly I've seen them, but I'm sure you could 'Google' your way to finding them.

In case you're interested in obtaining them, the ISBNs are: 0-7643-0291-4 and 0-7643-1559-5.

Hals und Beinbruch...!

[SES]

Hi,
This is a great on-line resource:
http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/d...chartswm_1.htm
bregds
SES

[amiers]

i have found that the lighter colour is RLM 83. i think the other might be 81 or 82?

[obdl3945]

Hi, Amiers...

I openly admit fighters aren't my strong point, but I'd be more than a little suprised if any of the greens were in the 80s range, given that the thumbnail was of a Bf109F, possibly 1941 or 1942 vintage, and that the RLM80s range of colours were only officially announced on 1 July, 1944. Even then, it took a little while for the changes to percolate down to the units.

I can appreicate someone not believing them to be representative of RLM70/71, but as I mentioned earlier, this unit specialised in the unorthodox and non-standard, so I would be very cautious of stating exactly what shade they're supposed to represent.

SES's link to colour charts is indeed a very good one, and the colours there are, in my mind, much more representative of authentic shades. Even here, though, it should be remembered that if experimentation with paints and colour schemes is taking place, then quite possibly the colours used would not match to any paint chart. However, on the basis of the chart shown at the link provided by SES, my money would still be on RLM70/71 if we're starting from the point of a definite colour.

Thanks, SES, too, for that link...

Kindest regards...

[SES]

My pleasure. Maybe that link ought to be sticky.
bregds
SES

[obdl3945]

Well, it's one of the best I've seen, so I saved it to pc...

[SES]

So did I, and I included it as a link on my WEB-site:
http://www.gyges.dk/links.htm
bregds
SES

[obdl3945]

And why not... it's a very useful chart...

Please forgive my ignorance, but your location of 05 ON LT 8 intrigues me. Judging from the link to your website, your location is Denmark? I presumed it was a Luftwaffe reference (as opposed to standard longtitudinal/latitudinal) but had no idea of where...

Out of curiosity, was there one for my location, Glasgow?

Regards...

[SES]

It is a deliberate teaser. The answer can be found here:
http://www.gyges.dk/reporting_grids.htm
under the link LUMA which is a co-ordinate converter.

Down-town Glasgow being 55*51*N004*16'W would be 15 WN NM 58.

SES