Drifterdon Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 (edited) I have a question regarding P-51D 44-13568 marked E2 A "Sky Bouncer" from the 375th Fighter Squadron. This is one of the Mustangs in the famous (infamous some will say) photo of the Bottisham Four. Can anyone tell if the outer upper wing panels are silver paint in this photo? To my untrained Mk I eyeballs, they appear to be silver from the start of the star and bar to the wing tip. Not debating the blue vs. green camo color but whether the entire upper wing was painted green vs. just the inner part. The P-51B E2 H "Suzy-G" looks to have the same silver outer wing panels. Suzy-G was the fourth P-51 in the Bottisham Four photo. Edited July 11, 2019 by Drifterdon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 This is the photo of the Bottosham Four. There is also one in color but I can't seem to load it at this time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 In color. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sleepy Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 No reason to think they were anything other than the factory finish. The green (or blue, or mauve, or khaki, or puce - your choice) paint was used to paint over the D-Day stripes. The rest of the wing looks to be stock factory finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 The link below will take you an an excellent analysis of the Mustangs in the above photos. The piece is done by Dana Bell and should put to rest a lot of the endless discussions about these airplanes. HTH, Dave. Archival Show and Tell #7 - Not Those Blue Mustangs Again by Dana Bell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog-03 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 13 hours ago, Sleepy said: No reason to think they were anything other than the factory finish. The green (or blue, or mauve, or khaki, or puce - your choice) paint was used to paint over the D-Day stripes. The rest of the wing looks to be stock factory finish. I think you nailed it. They're covering the upper wing invasion stripes. They appear to have done the same thing with the invasion stripes on the upper fuselage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 Thanks all for the confirmation that what I was seeing is what I was seeing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rpeck Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I would think natural metal would reflect surrounding colors. Not like a mirror since it is not polished. So blue skies blue reflection. To me it looks like the non painted areas have a blueish tint to it.Reflection from the sky? Oh well these P-51's colors will be discus for years to come. Rick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog-03 Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Blue camouflage paint could be haze paint from a photo recon unit but I think that's a bit of a stretch. It's possible but I think the solution is probably simpler. The difference in color could merely be a difference in the age between applications of the paint sections. Older painted area would fade faster, have different reflectivity than a newly applied area. Paint formulas shift in color as they fade, too. If I remember correctly, US olive drab tended to shift to a purple/brown color when exposed to UV light at high altitude. Could also be the same paint color from different batches or different manufacturers. Or could be one section painted in US olive drab and other in RAF dark green. With all the debate over blue or green or blue and green, it might be interesting to try some color filters on those photos to see if the different painted areas show marked color shifts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Yoxford Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 (edited) Just to muddy the water a little on the green v. blue debate Edited July 14, 2019 by Yoxford Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 Thanks for sharing Yoxford. Interesting perspective. I don't think this green vs blue debate will ever be resolved. Personally I see green and that's how I plan to paint the uppers in on my builds. My primary question was how far out the "color" went on Sky Bouncer and Suzy-G. I truly love this photo and these planes. One of these day's I'd like to have a large framed print of the Bottisham Four. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 (edited) Reading the Dana Bell article linked above, to me there is no question that blue and green were both used on some aircraft. Can't say for sure about Sky Bouncer. Are you building her? She's a particularly pretty Mustang IMO. A fascinating subject for sure... Edited July 14, 2019 by 11bee Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 13 hours ago, 11bee said: Reading the Dana Bell article linked above, to me there is no question that blue and green were both used on some aircraft. Can't say for sure about Sky Bouncer. Are you building her? She's a particularly pretty Mustang IMO. A fascinating subject for sure... The plan is to build all four of the Bottisham Four in the pic. At least my interpretation of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rpeck Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 10 hours ago, Drifterdon said: The plan is to build all four of the Bottisham Four in the pic. At least my interpretation of them. That will be cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) Here is my version of Suzy G based on Dana Bell's findings. Cheers, Dave Edited July 16, 2019 by HistnScale Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, HistnScale said: Here is my version of Suzy G based on Dana Bell's findings. Cheers, Dave Nice build Dave. When I was a kid I built Lou IV in 1/72 using these colors. Any other pics? Edited July 16, 2019 by Drifterdon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Els Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 After reading Dana Bell's article I was very surprised to learn how much stuff is missing from the National Archives. Mr Bell was only looking at a very small section of items and how many of those were missing? Extend that average out to vast quantity of items in the archives and the total of missing items must be incredible. Very sad that those irreplaceable items may be just walking out the door and will probably be lost forever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 On 7/16/2019 at 5:14 PM, Drifterdon said: Nice build Dave. When I was a kid I built Lou IV in 1/72 using these colors. Any other pics? Thank you, Sir. If you search the model pix section on HyperScale for Suzy G, you will find the rest of the gallery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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