Aircraft camo: What's the purpose?

wayne baker

Member since
February 2003
From: Medina, Ohio

Posted by wayne baker on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:59 PM

also painting them helps seal joints and fight corrosion. A dark color an top reflecting sunlight would appear lighter than the same color on the bottom in shade. A Canadian pilot told me his a/c would disappear from sight at about 5 miles. And you can close that in no time.

I may get so drunk, I have to crawl home. But dammit, I'll crawl like a Marine.

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nmayhew

Member since
July 2003
From: Kent, England

Posted by nmayhew on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:56 PM

Bones-coa hi,
take a look at this link; if you don't see a pic of an me 109 in desert camo, go to the menu on the left of the link and click "articles", then "in colour" and then "mediterranean"...you'll be amazed!![:0]

http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/index1024.htm

(complements of swanny i believe... Tongue [:P]

)

regards,
nick

Kind regards, Nicholas

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nsclcctl

Member since
May 2003
From: USA

Posted by nsclcctl on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:48 PM

You must also consider a flight deck and visualizing planes from the air over the ocean. Quite tough. Throw in a winter scheme in Leningrad theatre and it all makes sense.

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Bones-coa

Member since
April 2003
From: Savannah, GA USA

Posted by Bones-coa on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:39 PM

Opps...sorry Plum. That reply was meant for B. LeCren.

Dana F

Dana F On the bench: Tamiya DO335B-2 with LOTS of Aires stuff (On Hold) Trumpeter A-10 with LOTS and LOTS of aftermarket goodies! (On Hold) Tamiya 240ZG (In work)

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Bones-coa

Member since
April 2003
From: Savannah, GA USA

Posted by Bones-coa on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:36 PM

Ok, all your point make sense. But if you want to hide an aircraft from a distance, wouldn't you think it would not be required to paint it several colors? In this case, I can understand the low viz schemes...the multi-colored camoes I still don't quite understand.

Dana F

Dana F On the bench: Tamiya DO335B-2 with LOTS of Aires stuff (On Hold) Trumpeter A-10 with LOTS and LOTS of aftermarket goodies! (On Hold) Tamiya 240ZG (In work)

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:35 PM

Actually, my local guard base has A-10 that were originally painted with the Euro 1 "Lizard" scheme. At a distance they were very difficult to see against the green foliage background. Often only the glint of light off the canopy revealed where a plane was. These planes were recently painted in the standard A-10 gray low-vis scheme and at a recent airshow I was surprised to find that they were much more difficult to see in the air on an overcast day, blending into the clouds very well. These schemes worked in my case. Of course I wasn't planning on shooting them either!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:32 PM

Actually, you're a bit off the mark when you say it doesn't help much (no offence intended). When the aircraft is seen from above (against the ground) by another, then ground camo can be very effective.
Similarly the low vis schemes all cause the aircraft to blend into the sky when seen from a distance. Try picking out any light colored aircraft against the sky and you'll see what I mean.
Not painting aircraft at all was one way of reducing weight and cost, but at the expense of being visible when the sun reflected off your airframe.
Regards,
Bruce

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Bones-coa

Member since
April 2003
From: Savannah, GA USA

Aircraft camo: What's the purpose?

Posted by Bones-coa on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:26 PM

I know that sounds like a silly question, but to me trying to hide an aircraft by painting a certain color sounds silly.

Let's consider the green camos on say a VN era Thud. In the air, the camo is useless. So, is it's purpose to help hide it while it's on the ground? I can't imagine an enemy pilot NOT being able to see it. Even if it is camoed. If he can't, maybe he shouldn't be flying anyway.

What about the lizard camo on the A-10? It's camoed on the top and bottom. Is that in case the aircraft lands upside down?

What about no camo? The USAF bare metal aircraft? Why were they not painted at all?

What about the newer low viz schemes?

Not trying to be a pain, but for as long as I've been into aircraft, I could never understand why they went to great extreams to paint these aircraft this way when, in reality, it can't possibly help that much.

Dana F

Dana F On the bench: Tamiya DO335B-2 with LOTS of Aires stuff (On Hold) Trumpeter A-10 with LOTS and LOTS of aftermarket goodies! (On Hold) Tamiya 240ZG (In work)

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