Luftwaffe floatplane float underside colour - yellow?

[Stig Jarlevik]

Originally Posted by INM@RLM

Very many thanks for your checks, Stig.
This is an evidence collecting expedition. (My 'role' is only to set out the framework for a discussion.) I know Rich will greatly appreciate whatever parts of this evidence you are willing to share with him.

Just sent Rich a PM
Cheers
Stig

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Although not my field of interest, the answers given here were one of the most complete I have seen.
Congratulations for ALL concerned. Fantastic thread.
Very well done to all.
OBS: And for modelists it is a fantastic source of information also.

[INM@RLM]

Hang about a bit, Adriano. We aren't quite done yet.

Looking over where we've got to now, we do need to keep this discussion broad. This is actually also about a mandated 1938 painting scheme for floatplanes and seaplane floats, not just the undersides of floats on He 115s.

To expand that statement, this instruction also applies to He 59s, He 60s, He 114s, Ar 95s, Ar 196s & Ar 199s as well as the outer wing floats of the Do 26, BV 138, BV 222, etc, etc.. Indeed in the case of those Ar 196s finished in an overall light-coloured scheme, the whole aircraft was apparently finished in Gelb 04. [See the May 1937 instruction specific to the Ar 196 quoted in Ullmann: Luftwaffe Colours (Hikoki 2008) at p129: "Airframe: Aircraft paint 7115.04 (Lacquer Group 22) Floats: Aircraft paint 7108.04 (Lacquer Group 02)".]

Also checking the 1938 L.Dv. 521/1 again, I'm afraid I mis-spoke. These are not two alternative options but two approaches that together form a combination. Thus in fact Approach 1 is applicable only to "the interior of floats and the interiors and exteriors of hulls", and Approach 2 is only applicable to "float exteriors". The nature of this combination is very clearly confirmed in the third section of L.Dv. 521/1 which deals with 'Use of Lacquers'. (pp.298/9 in Ullmann op.cit. covering Lacquer Group 02)

So in all those photos of these aircraft types in light-coloured schemes at least in the period that we can safely date from a little after March 1938, the whole of the floats as well as all of the structure attaching the floats to the aircraft (Schwimmergerüste is the word used in L.Dv. 521/1 - clearly because these struts were also in the splash zone) were all painted with an overcoat of Flieglack 7108.04 Gelb on all "above water and under water parts".

It would be most helpful to explore in this forum exactly what evidence still exists of these instructions actually being put into practical effect on airframes, or indeed of any cases of clearly contradictory evidence.

[INM@RLM]

Ref. Post #11.
Perfect! Thank you very much, Stig.