OT sort of: Did any of the Axis camo patterns really work?

Most Axis (German) camouflage was applied "in the field". The factory finishes were Dunkelgrau (dark grey) until early 1943 and Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) thereafter. Since it was applied in the field there are variations to shades of red-brown and dark green applied. Really, no work at all went into the designs the crews applied it in a pattern that matched the surroundings (as well as possible). A good explanation of German AFV colors is here:

If you look at them in time sequence, they start dark to hide planes on the groun, then turn lighter as they got more superior in the air and back to drab when things started going badly. Also bright colours like yellow and white were most common in their "happier" times. The allies also changed their camo, RAF had dark colours at first when they mainly fought over land, but as they moved out across the channel they changed to lighter colours. Look at the night fighters and photorecce aircraft and see how many schemes were tried to find the best. A long rant, but I guess that it means I belive the camo worked. When the allied had a fairly good upper hand they quit painting planes to save weight and work, also a polished plane were a bit faster than a matt one.

I'm not sure what you mean by "really work"..........camo is not so much for making anything invisable, but to make it harder to see and then positively identify, therefore giving a slight edge in battle? In this respect I think just about all camo works.

There's a famous photo of a Bf-109 (don't ask me the sub-variant, coz I dunno and I don't care!!) flying over the Lybian desert during WW2. The camo is dark spots over brown, and it really blends with the rocky terrain below. Have a look around in some books - I'm sure you'll find it.

RobG

"Rob Grinberg" wrote in news:42015907 snipped-for-privacy@news.chariot.net.au:

That is one of the most amazing pictures of camoflage I've seen, especially in color. I bet that if they were flying low against the scrub they would not be seen from altitude.

I'm saving my Tamiya 109 for that one when I get the DA airbrush thing down to a science.

Frank

Bf 109E and, yes, that was a fantastic photo. IIRC it was published in color at some point.

Now the Swedish splnter camoflage for the J.37and others is another story. Did it really tend to blend or was it just a matter of "by the time the enemy shakes the cobwebs out of his brain upon seeing it and mutters "What the hell?", the Viggin is long gone?

Tom

I once saw a picture of a 1/144th Viggen in that splinter scheme - talk about un-natural practices...

RobG