A Whiskey Cobra question

[Stef (#6)]

Hello,

I've found in the book from Airlife Publishing "Gulf Air war debrief" a few color pics and color profiles of Marines AH-1W during Desert Storm, with a camo scheme of sand an Drab or dark green.

I've been searching the forum and the web but didn't came with mucho results.

My questions are : what would be the green color ? the green from the original three-tones Marines camo ? Some helo drab ? As for the sand shade, it is quite known.

And second where to find some more pics of Whiskey with this scheme.

That's because, you see, I have that Italeri kit, with the Eduard sets and ...

Thanks in advance for hints/help.

Cheers

Stef (#6)

[Rotorhead]

Hello,

I've found in the book from Airlife Publishing "Gulf Air war debrief" a few color pics and color profiles of Marines AH-1W during Desert Storm, with a camo scheme of sand an Drab or dark green.

I've been searching the forum and the web but didn't came with mucho results.

My questions are : what would be the green color ? the green from the original three-tones Marines camo ? Some helo drab ? As for the sand shade, it is quite known.

And second where to find some more pics of Whiskey with this scheme.

That's because, you see, I have that Italeri kit, with the Eduard sets and ...

Thanks in advance for hints/help.

Cheers

Stef (#6)

All the camo was done locally. The ones you speak of did exist. I saw them ( I seem to remember that they arrived a bit later). Just your everyday dark green camo cobra with tan paint sprayed on in that pattern. They didn't spray green, just didn't paint tan over those areas. Some squadrons used 2 tones of tan, the green and tan version may have just run out of the second Tan tone. He who got there firstest got the mostest.

Anything to break up the solid green color over the desert floor. Authorized or not, it was done. I think all the authorization was done via phone. The first Cobras where there (along with a squadron of Apaches) just a few days after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Regards

Steve

Edited August 24, 2008 by Rotorhead

[JR Shirley]

Here's a scan of the page Stef was referring to.

John

[Rotorhead]

Thanks for posting that JR.

Here is a photo of the dark green/tan camo rather hastily done. The last units got there Nov/Dec timeframe, didn't have a lot of time for cosmetics.

I think it breaks up the outline rather well............ The bummer was when we all got back and got to watch the tan kind of "rot" off the planes....

Regards

Steve

[Rotorhead]

Steve, I don't beleive that the Whiskeys were ever solid Marine green. Coming from the factory, they were all tri-color.

JR, if that indeed is the photo that Steph is referring to, then that aircraft is most definitely sand/gray.

--Andy

Hey Andy,

There were a few all green W's running around. This is from a west coast perspective. Was out of touch with EC for a while. Besides, the photo I posted counld certainly have once been a tri color.

Regards

Steve

Edited August 25, 2008 by Rotorhead

[SuperCobra]

I'm with Andy on this one. I was on the West Coast as the Ws were replacing the Js and never saw an all green W (except for the AH-1T+ and the one Bell kept as the 4BW). Those two pics show HMLA-369 sand/gray aircraft - they had sand/gray and all sand. No squadrons had sand/green. And yes it is the gray of the tri-color showing through. They (we) painted over the black and green with sand. If your eyes still tell you it is green compare it to where the gray and green are located on a tri-color.

Edited August 25, 2008 by SuperCobra

[Stef (#6)]

Hello Boys,

Well thanks a lot to all for the quick replies;

John, that's exactly the pic I'm refering to.

With a closer look at the book, the shade might indeed be the gray of the 3 tones camo, which is sound, as I don't see why bothering adding a new color on the field.

Thanks again for your kind help, and I will post the pics of the building as soon as it begin.

Cheers

Stef (#6)

[Rotorhead]

I'll conceed to the Tri-color on the Ws...........

Regards

Steve

[jaydar]

Hello,

I've found in the book from Airlife Publishing "Gulf Air war debrief" a few color pics and color profiles of Marines AH-1W during Desert Storm, with a camo scheme of sand an Drab or dark green.

I've been searching the forum and the web but didn't came with mucho results.

My questions are : what would be the green color ? the green from the original three-tones Marines camo ? Some helo drab ? As for the sand shade, it is quite known.

And second where to find some more pics of Whiskey with this scheme.

That's because, you see, I have that Italeri kit, with the Eduard sets and ...

Thanks in advance for hints/help.

Cheers

Stef (#6)

Stef, i believe that is the standard 3 color land scheme of Dk. Gray, Lt Gray/Blue and Green with desert tan over the Lt Gray/Blue and Green.

joe.

[Stef (#6)]

Thanks, Joe;

This is indeed what I will go for ...

Stef (#6)

[SuperCobra]

Stef, i believe that is the standard 3 color land scheme of Dk. Gray, Lt Gray/Blue and Green with desert tan over the Lt Gray/Blue and Green.

joe.

The standard tri-color is back/gray/green and the paint scheme in the photo is desert tan over the black and green portions of such. The gray portion was not touched and you could still see the marking (stencil data). I'll post some pictures when I find them.

[jaydar]

The standard tri-color is back/gray/green and the paint scheme in the photo is desert tan over the black and green portions of such. The gray portion was not touched and you could still see the marking (stencil data). I'll post some pictures when I find them.

Thanks for the correction. I was doing it from memory.

joe.

[SuperCobra]

All the camo was done locally. The ones you speak of did exist. I saw them ( I seem to remember that they arrived a bit later). Just your everyday dark green camo cobra with tan paint sprayed on in that pattern. They didn't spray green, just didn't paint tan over those areas. Some squadrons used 2 tones of tan, the green and tan version may have just run out of the second Tan tone. He who got there firstest got the mostest.

Anything to break up the solid green color over the desert floor. Authorized or not, it was done. I think all the authorization was done via phone. The first Cobras where there (along with a squadron of Apaches) just a few days after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Regards

Steve

HMLA-369 were the first ones to arrive. They arrived in early August and painted theirs both all sand and sand/gray. While still stateside HMLA-367 painted theirs all gray as the OpsO had tested that scheme when he was with China Lake and knew that was the best scheme. After HMLA-367 arrived at Al Jubayl a few weeks later (end of August) they repainted theirs sand and brown. All of them (9 total) were painted sand/brown. They did not run out of brown. 3d MAW dictated the paint scheme - only choices were all sand, sand/brown, or sand/gray - appearantly Wing didn't know/care about the China Lake testing. Look at pictures of Phrogs , Chitters, and Hueys - you will see those colors but no sand/green. Sure I've seen some models that were sand/green but that doesn't make them right.

The late arriving squadrons HML/A-269 (landbased), HMLA-169 (ship), HMLA-267 (MEU) stayed tri-color and did not repaint any aircraft. HML/A-167 had a few tri-color AH-1Ts shipboard on the other MEU. The reserves had gray AH-1Js. Back stateside HML/A-269 did paint some of the AH-1W gray and balck (painted over the green on the tri-color - looked like cows.