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C-47 cockpit colors?


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I am currently building two 1950s NMF C-47s and would like to know what colors the cockpits should be.

I have seen models built with everything painted a shade of green, others silver and others in a combination of both.

Wonder if somebody could help letting me know what colors the rear bulkhead, floor, sidewalls, seats and control columns and wheels should get, particularly for that timeframe, in case it is relevant.

Not going overboard, so some basic information should suffice.

Also, what type of seatbelts did these birds use?

TIA for any replies,

Jorge.

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C-47 interior colors is almost as complex a question as P-51 wheel wells. Early airplanes were clearly something akin to Dull Dark Green or Bronze Green, but later ones seem to have tended toward Interior Green. You really can't see that much of the cockpit on a model anyway :)

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Hi Jennings,

thanks for the comments. I wasn't aware of the different greens so I have learned something new. I can do with just knowing which parts to paint green and which (if any) natural metal.

It would also be nice to know if the seats had just lap belts of a full set like on fighters, so to speak, so I can close the fuselages ASAP! :)

Jorge.

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Pardon my ignorance but what is NMF?

It probably tells the smart guys just what you want but all I'm picturing is the variations in seats, belts, interiors, cockpit vs cabin, etc and thinking the answer is questions: what country, what military service, what unit, what kind of operational setup, and what year (and if you pick the right year, what month).

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Pardon my ignorance but what is NMF?

It probably tells the smart guys just what you want but all I'm picturing is the variations in seats, belts, interiors, cockpit vs cabin, etc and thinking the answer is questions: what country, what military service, what unit, what kind of operational setup, and what year (and if you pick the right year, what month).

NMF means Natural Metal Finish, in other words, unpainted metal.

And for the C-47, which is the US designation, it is not that complicated. Sometime in 1943, Douglas switched interior colors from Dull Dark Green to Interior Green throughout. However, the quilted insulation blankets were usually in either DDG or Olive Drab fabric. Any user of this aircraft got it with the interior painted those colors. The RAF called it the Dakota. And it was painted inside just like those used by the USAAF.

The seats for the paratroopers in the main cabin were unpainted aluminum (That would be NMF). No point in painting what will be worn off anyway.

Edited by bigjugs
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Control columns are black panted metal with hemp wrapped round steering wheel sections.

The C-47 I worked on had stock parachute seats with cushions instead of parachutes and both lap and shoulder harnesses.

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I would tend to believe that after the war ended and these airframes were donated/sold/ traded to countries and private operators through out the world that any commonality was all but gone. One could pick and choose what internal colors were used by that time. Given repairs, rebuilds customization etc one would need to work from pictures of a given airframe if level of accuracy is desired. Standards were looong gone by then unless your modeling a certain air force fleet when they all went through a common depot level maintenance program. Other than that, pick and choose..

Thuddriver

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For a WW2 era C-47 and perhaps into the early '50s

No parachute seat and nothing but a lap belt.

Click on image for larger image.

Images from manuals of '43 and '47.

dc_3_02.jpg

dc_3_03_1.jpg

cockpitl_1.jpg

cockpitr.jpg

Edited by bigjugs
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