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French Air Force May 1940


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Greetings All;

 

I'm embarking on a project to research and make a model of an MS.406 aircraft flown by Polish pilots during the Battle of France May-June 1940.

 

My background, understanding and resources for the French AF are minimal.  I'm hoping that the Great Storehouse of Knowledge among ARC members can give me some insight and direction:

1.  How was the French AF organized in May 1940?  Can anyone explain the nomenclature/abbreviations used for the various units?

2.  From my observations, it appears that there was no "standard" camouflage pattern for French aircraft.  Was that the case; were French aircraft camouflage patterns unique to each aircraft?  Or were there several standard patterns (ala the RAF A, B, C & D patterns)?

 

Thanks for any isight you can offer!

Jeff "Mongo" Cramer

Cincinnati

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On 5/31/2019 at 5:16 PM, mongo said:


2.  From my observations, it appears that there was no "standard" camouflage pattern for French aircraft.  Was that the case; were French aircraft camouflage patterns unique to each aircraft?  Or were there several standard patterns (ala the RAF A, B, C & D patterns)?

There was  pattern for some aircraft models: leO 451, Potez 63x... and MS 406 build at Toulouse.

but, generally the french camo was different for each aircraft to prevent the memory of colours and shapes.
A nota on the technical drawing of MS 406, "general paint" specifies:
"the repartition and shape of colours must be varied from one aircraft to another".

 

The four colours used for the camo were:

- Gris bleu clair (underside & wheel well & oleo struts)

 

Camo (topside)

- Gris bleu foncé

- Kaki

- Brun mat

Edited by Sowar
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Thanks for the informative response.  I have some additional questions in researching for my project.  Would it be possible to continue this discussion privately? If you are interested, please e-mail me directly at:  mongo01 -at- two -dot- com

 

Thank you

Jeff

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