Re: Interriour Green,...
Статья Вильяма Риса мне кажется не менее интересной
USN WWII Aircraft Interiors
by William Reece
USN Aircraft Interiors: The answers here are complex. Until recently everyone assumed that the interior of all USN WWII aircraft was FS 34151 Interior Green. This is not always the case as is obvious from the AM Avenger instruction sheet. Mr. Larry Webster an airplane restorer, volunteer with the New England Air Museum and a friend of mine has extensive knowledge in this area. Here is some help on this subject with all credit to Larry Webster. Also credit must go to Dana Bell for his help in this area. His article in the October 1997 FineScale Modeler magazine should be required reading. His 3 volume set Air Force Colors contains some useful info. (Dana you can send me the check now for the plug. WR)
TBF/TBF-1C; Exactly like the AM instructions show FS 34058 Bronze Green forward from the bulkhead with the window. FS 34151 Interior Green for the rear crew areas. Light Gray (Grumman Gray) inside the cowling (FS 36440 is close). Torpedo bay: FS 34151.
TBM-1C/TBM-3; FS 34151 Interior Green. Everything from the inside of the cowling back.
F4F-3/F4F-4; FS 34058 Bronze Green. Some may have been painted FS 34151. Bronze Green is the first choice. See the Squadron F4F Walk Around. The Aero Detail No. 22 also has some good photos. The inside of the engine cowling and main gear bay were Light Gray, as was the interior of the fuselage. The only area that was Bronze Green/Inerior Green was the cockpit above and below the 'Floor'. The fuel tank under the cockpit was light gray. Tom Cheek who fought the Japanese at Midway says that he painted his cockpit red to keep him alert! Anything is possible.
FM-1/FM-2; FS 34151 Interior Green. Similar to the TBM.
F6F-3; The first 100 F6F-3s almost certainly had Bronze Green interiors. The rest had FS 34151 cockpits. Engine cowling and the fuselage interior including the area behind the cockpit where the small windows are located were Light Gray FS 36440 (Grumman Gray). Remember on all of these a/c the general rule is that the wheel bays, landing gear struts, wheel centers, landing flap bays, etc., are the under surface color.
F6F-5; FS 34151 cockpit. Any F6F with the rear windows will have the rear fuselage in Light Gray (Grumman Gray). Take note: those building David McCambell's Minsi III. The inside of the engine cowling could be Light Gray, Interior Green, or Zinc Chromate Yellow FS 33481 respectively according to production batch.
Later F6F-5 and F4U-4 had Flat Black cowling interior. The inside of the fuselage on the F6F without the windows would normally be FS 33481 ZCY. All other areas of the airframe that were exposed to weather were painted Glossy Dark Sea Blue, ANA 623. Note that this is not FS 15042. FS 15042 is a Korean War color and is an FS 595 color that is close to but not the same as ANA 623 color used during WWII. Although the variation is very slight they are different.
F4U-1; Cockpit. Well, this is tricky. The best evidence is black. Photos of F4U-1s taken at the time show the cockpits as being a very dark color. The F4U-1 E & M manual calls for Dull Dark Green. Photos and some wrecks show flat black. A photo of 'Pappy" Boyington in Bruce Gamble's, The Black Sheep, shows him sitting in a Birdcage with a black armor plate and upper seat. This a/c also has no headrest. All other areas of the F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair would normally be Salmon. Salmon is a pale pinkish/brown primer. The closest Munsell match is 2.5 YR 6/8 or between FS 32276 and FS 32356. This color was applied to the whole F4U before the final camo finish. The landing gear bays were this color. The inside of the main gear doors were Light Gray. Sometimes this was only overspray over the Salmon. Note: there were canvas covers on the inner and outer wheel bays that were either Olive Drab or Light Gray. The closest paint that I have found to the Salmon samples in my possession is PollyScale Railroad, Southern Pacific Daylight Orange. The wheelbays, engine cowling and accessory cowlings were painted in Non-Specular Light Gray to match the underside of the aircraft.
F4U-1A; Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. All other areas of the F4U-1A were Zinc Chromate Yellow FS 33481. Early F4U-1A's may have been Salmon. Landing gear was Insignia White. Early a/c may have had Light Gray landing gear.
F4U-1D; Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. The area above the consoles was black. This matches the Navy's directives at the time very well. Inside of the wheel bays and engine cowling were also Interior Green FS 34151.
F4U-4: Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. The area above the consoles was black. Inside of the engine cowling was Zinc Chromate Yellow, Interior Green or Flat Black. All other visible areas were Glossy Dark Sea Blue similar to the F6F-5.
I could go on but this answers most of the common questions. A whole lot of research needs to be done on this area. Remember that these a/c could and did undergo maintenance, combat and severe weathering. Remember Tom Cheek and his red Wildcat interior. Colors change and S@#t Happens. The term used then was SNAFU. CHECK PHOTOS OF THE AIRCRAFT YOU INTEND TO MODEL.
