Camouflage colours for B-25C from 12th Bomb Group the “Earthquakers”

[ArmouredSprue]

Hi all

I'm researching for my next buidl and I would like to now what was the paint scheme for B-25's from 82nd Bomber Squadron "Bulldogs" from 12th Bomb Group the "Earthquakers" during its campaign in North Africa and Mediterranean.
Here are the photos I have seen:

And here is how I want to represent it, it was a war weary aircraft given to Brazilian Fighter Group in Italy to be used as a transport aircraft.

Any help with the FS for the painting scheme will be much appreciated.
Best regards
Paulo R. Castro
Visit my blog:
http://armouredsprue.blogspot.com
Hails from Down Under

 

[fubar57]

Hey Paulo. Heading to the sunny Okanagan in a few minutes. If no one gets back to you by the time I get there I'll start looking

 

[ArmouredSprue]

Hey Paulo. Heading to the sunny Okanagan in a few minutes. If no one gets back to you by the time I get there I'll start looking

Thanks mate!
No rush though, this project still on the research step, I'll have to finish a few started kits before getting into this.
Cheers

 

[fubar57]

This is just a quick start with a profile and a crappy one at that. Caption says, "83rd BS, 12BG, Italy, '43" I'm going to assume the Group wore standard desert colors of Sand/Olive Drab/Neutral Grey: FS:30279/34084/36173. Just my guess

 

[ArmouredSprue]

This is just a quick start with a profile and a crappy one at that. Caption says, "83rd BS, 12BG, Italy, '43" I'm going to assume the Group wore standard desert colors of Sand/Olive Drab/Neutral Grey: FS:30279/34084/36173. Just my guess

View attachment 489531​

Thanks mate

That's a good starting point indeed

 

[Wurger]

IMHO these colours should be the 49 Sand ( ANA 616) - FS 30279 at tops with undersides of 43NG - FS 36270 The darker spots at tops and sides seem to be of the the Dark Olive Drab or the british Dark Green. The DOD colour could be the FS 34086 that was used until 1943 or tha late one FS 34087 ( ANA 613 )

And another shot of her...

 

[ArmouredSprue]

IMHO these colours should be the 49 Sand ( ANA 616) - FS 30279 at tops with undersides of 43NG - FS 36270 The darker spots at tops and sides seem to be of the the Dark Olive Drab or the british Dark Green. The DOD colour could be the FS 34086 that was used until 1943 or tha late one FS 34087 ( ANA 613 )

And another shot of her...

View attachment 489536

Thanks Wurger
I had seen this photo. This is when it was with the Brazilian squadron.

I also have a few other colour photos of this same day (I'll try to scan and post it here).

Here are some photos when it crashed in Greece, May 1945:

This aircraft was later lost in an accident in Eleusis AAF, in Athens Greece in 1945 with no injures but lost of the aircraft that was than abandoned there.

Cheers
Paulo

 

[fubar57]

One person that may know the correct answer is D Dana Bell

 

[MIflyer]

When I moved here in 1993 my next door neighbor flew B-25's in the Med and after his death his wife gave me his 50th anniversary copy of the book "The B-25 in the Med." It has a section on the 12th BG. There is a famous shot of a 12th BG B-25 with shadows of others in the formation showing on the ground, in Oct 1943. It clearly is all over tan, sometimes called "desert pink." and has the national insignia in 6 locations without the center red dot or side bars.

In the Squadron B-25 In Action book they show a couple of shots of12 BG 82 Sqdrn B-25 with a caption of Desert Pink over Neutral Gray. The book shows color artwork of a 12 BG, 83 Bomb Sqdrn, in 1942. Colors are given as Desert Sand over Azure Blue..

 

[fubar57]

PM sent Paulo

 

[ArmouredSprue]

PM sent Paulo

Thanks mate

 

[Dana Bell]

Morning Paulo,

Sorry to be late to the party - works has been pretty busy, and I don't get much time to answer questions any more.

It looks like the info you've gotten already covers most of your questions, but let me add a few details.

The 12th BG's aircraft were originally camouflaged AAF Sand (that pink-apricot color) over Neutral Gray and shipped to eastern North Africa. Once there the Brits asked that the aircraft carry four star insignia on the wings (rather than the regular 2) and add RAF fin flashes to the outer tail planes.

Later, Allied forces landed in western North Africa (Operation Torch) and the two forces began closing on Axis forces from both sides. In March 1943 the Corps of Engineers for the Twelfth AF (the guys moving from the west) devised a complicated series of schemes to camouflage aircraft over a variety of terrains. No one seems to have adopted the colors of the colors of those schemes, but the patterns certainly were carried on B-25s of both the Twelfth and Ninth air forces. If the aircraft were Sand over Neutral Gray, a pattern of Dark Olive Drab was added to upper surfaces and sides; the opposite seems to have happened to a few aircraft that were delivered in OD over Neutral Gray.

The big thing here is that the pattern was standard, not random. I've included the original drawing and a photo in my up-coming book about OD and Neutral Gray - but that book is still about three weeks away from being released. If you e-mail me at [email protected] I'll send you a scan of the drawing page and a photo.

Cheers,


Dana

 

[fubar57]

Great input Dana. I sent Paulo a few pages from Chapter Three: "The struggle for Air Superiority in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific" in the book "USAAF Camouflage and Markings 1941-1947". Would these still be relevant or should he ignore them

 

[Dana Bell]

Great input Dana. I sent Paulo a few pages from Chapter Three: "The struggle for Air Superiority in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific" in the book "USAAF Camouflage and Markings 1941-1947". Would these still be relevant or should he ignore them

Hi Fubar,

Although the six drawings in that book totally misrepresent the colors called out in the Corps of Engineers sheets, the patterns are accurate. Of the six aircraft shown, the B-25 is actually closest to have the colors that were applied in service.

It's tough for me to be objective about that book since I disliked Archer so much. Let me simply say that many of the facts in that book aren't factual.

Cheers,


Dana