Crimea_River
Marshal
Username: Crimea River
First name: Andy
Category: Judge – Non competing
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Roden
Model Type: Gloster Gladiator Mk. II
Aftermarket Add-ons: None. Scratchbuilding parts and decals
The subject of this build will be Gloster Gladiator #433, a uniquely painted aircraft that was one of 12 Gladiators that served with the Norwegian Army Air Service up to the time that Germany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. All Norwegian Gladiators were painted in a silver colour, presumably aluminum dope. I've been told that #433 was selected to receive what might have been an experimental camouflage scheme in 1939, the cost of NOK 200 at the time being considered too high to apply to more than one aircraft. Data on the scheme is minimal and it appears that there are only two known B&W pictures of the plane. One can be found on line on Pinterest and is unattributed. It's attached to a doctored profile which I will not reproduce here (it's wrong anyway) but I've cropped the photo and include it here:
Interpretations vary but there is apparently a written description in the book "Fornebu 9 April" by Cato Guhnfeldt. He's quoted as saying: "On the experimental aircraft, Gladiator 433, areas of the wings and fuselage (the dark areas) are partially covered with brown-green (khaki) and grey, wavy lines that blend into one another. The remainder of the fuselage sides and bottom (the light areas) are painted in a mix of matte silver and light blue, intended to make the aircraft as inconspicuous as possible when seen against the sky. Areas of the top of the wings (the light areas) are instead painted grey or grey-green." The particular colours used are not known but there is speculation that Italian paints were used.
A nice account of the use of Gladiators during the invasion can be found here: Håkans Flygsida - The Gloster Gladiator in the Norwegian Army Air Service (Haerens Flygevåpen). 433 was flown at the time by Finn Thorsager who, after spraying bullets at various attacking German aircraft on 9 April, 1940, landed the aircraft on a frozen lake 12 miles east of Oslo where it was left abandoned. He was picked up by car and driven back to base on the same day where he rejoined his squadron. After the German occupation, Thorsager escaped from Norway and made his way to "Little Norway", a training field for expat Norwegian pilots in Toronto, where I was born. Thorsager's route from Norway was via Sweden, Moscow, Vladivostock, Yokohama, and California! He went on to become CO of 332 Squadron RAF and then went to Ferry Command in the closing months of the war. He survived the war and died in 2000.
Photos that accompany the article in the above link do not include 433 but do show other Gladiators based at the Fornebu base with no skis. I don't know when the photo above was taken but I'm going to assume that it was taken in early in 1940. The skis displayed in that photo are a bit problematic for me in that they are very different than what is supplied in the kit, which represents the skis used by the Finns and Swedes. To replicate the Norwegian skis, I would need to scratch build the fairings and make the stencil decals that appear in the photos. I'm led to believe that the stencils are the Norwegian equivalent of "No Step" and that they say specifically:
TRÅKK IKKE
PÅ SKIA
If I can swing it, I'd like to replicate the skis, though it would appear that wheels (the easy way out) would not be out of line for the invasion period.
I am still gathering info on the specifics of the camouflage but am inclined to believe that the underlying silver dope was first oversprayed with a light blue or grey in a wave pattern. A khaki green was then sprayed over that, also in a wave pattern, to form the disruptive dark areas. The wing uppers appear to have been completely painted a solid medium grey and then the khaki applied similar to the fuselage.
There's plenty of opportunity for more discussion on this and I hope to get going on this build shortly.
First name: Andy
Category: Judge – Non competing
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Roden
Model Type: Gloster Gladiator Mk. II
Aftermarket Add-ons: None. Scratchbuilding parts and decals
The subject of this build will be Gloster Gladiator #433, a uniquely painted aircraft that was one of 12 Gladiators that served with the Norwegian Army Air Service up to the time that Germany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. All Norwegian Gladiators were painted in a silver colour, presumably aluminum dope. I've been told that #433 was selected to receive what might have been an experimental camouflage scheme in 1939, the cost of NOK 200 at the time being considered too high to apply to more than one aircraft. Data on the scheme is minimal and it appears that there are only two known B&W pictures of the plane. One can be found on line on Pinterest and is unattributed. It's attached to a doctored profile which I will not reproduce here (it's wrong anyway) but I've cropped the photo and include it here:
Interpretations vary but there is apparently a written description in the book "Fornebu 9 April" by Cato Guhnfeldt. He's quoted as saying: "On the experimental aircraft, Gladiator 433, areas of the wings and fuselage (the dark areas) are partially covered with brown-green (khaki) and grey, wavy lines that blend into one another. The remainder of the fuselage sides and bottom (the light areas) are painted in a mix of matte silver and light blue, intended to make the aircraft as inconspicuous as possible when seen against the sky. Areas of the top of the wings (the light areas) are instead painted grey or grey-green." The particular colours used are not known but there is speculation that Italian paints were used.
A nice account of the use of Gladiators during the invasion can be found here: Håkans Flygsida - The Gloster Gladiator in the Norwegian Army Air Service (Haerens Flygevåpen). 433 was flown at the time by Finn Thorsager who, after spraying bullets at various attacking German aircraft on 9 April, 1940, landed the aircraft on a frozen lake 12 miles east of Oslo where it was left abandoned. He was picked up by car and driven back to base on the same day where he rejoined his squadron. After the German occupation, Thorsager escaped from Norway and made his way to "Little Norway", a training field for expat Norwegian pilots in Toronto, where I was born. Thorsager's route from Norway was via Sweden, Moscow, Vladivostock, Yokohama, and California! He went on to become CO of 332 Squadron RAF and then went to Ferry Command in the closing months of the war. He survived the war and died in 2000.
Photos that accompany the article in the above link do not include 433 but do show other Gladiators based at the Fornebu base with no skis. I don't know when the photo above was taken but I'm going to assume that it was taken in early in 1940. The skis displayed in that photo are a bit problematic for me in that they are very different than what is supplied in the kit, which represents the skis used by the Finns and Swedes. To replicate the Norwegian skis, I would need to scratch build the fairings and make the stencil decals that appear in the photos. I'm led to believe that the stencils are the Norwegian equivalent of "No Step" and that they say specifically:
TRÅKK IKKE
PÅ SKIA
If I can swing it, I'd like to replicate the skis, though it would appear that wheels (the easy way out) would not be out of line for the invasion period.
I am still gathering info on the specifics of the camouflage but am inclined to believe that the underlying silver dope was first oversprayed with a light blue or grey in a wave pattern. A khaki green was then sprayed over that, also in a wave pattern, to form the disruptive dark areas. The wing uppers appear to have been completely painted a solid medium grey and then the khaki applied similar to the fuselage.
There's plenty of opportunity for more discussion on this and I hope to get going on this build shortly.
