The colour picture of the Hellcat in flight is from one of three possible original sources.
1) An original reversal film image (transparency/slide film) possibly Kodachrome.
2) Printed from an original contone colour negative.
3) A B&W print coloured with Kodak colour tints, which were applied carefully by brush, onto a B&W 'Bromide' print by very skilled photo retouchers.
(In addition, although I doubt it, it could be a digitally coloured original B&W print.)
None of the above three can be accurately compared to today's photo-imaging, and the colour tones and colour temperature values can not be accurately assessed, either by eye or by computer assistance, without access to the original image - there are too many variables and unknowns to make an accurate assessment.
Any and all of the above three described originals can be, and would be, affected by age, storage, printing and, of course, the original exposure and processing of the film image and subsequent printing or duplication. The image is typical of a colour image of the period which has been duplicated many times, at each stage losing original density and contrast, and with a progressive shift of colour values, and therefore can not, and should not, be accepted as a true rendition of the colours. This is particularly true if the original was a transparency, which was then duplicated as 'insurance' (normal practice), with the duplication(s) used for subsequent reproduction. If this image is then printed in, say, a magazine, and then copied for further duplication, and then perhaps scanned for display on a computer, then it is easy to see and understand the many stages which eventually lead to the image being far from it's original contrast, brightness and colour values.
There is also another factor known in traditional, silver-imaging photography as 'anomalous reflection', where certain man-made dyes, pigments and paints will be recorded by film at a different colour temperature to that perceived by the human eye, a good example being in wedding photography, where the groom's black suit may look blue in a traditional colour print, or where brown-painted objects may have a red tinge, and so on.
This is not to say that all such images should be disregarded, as it depends on the quality and source of the image, and there are often indications within such images which can help to assess the true colour values displayed. For example, an item of a known and measured neutral colour which is reproducing as it would be expected in the image, showing the correct colour and tones.
The interpretation of photographic images, both monochrome and colour, is a complex and complicated art and science, and often, even very experienced experts can only reach a 'best guess' conclusion.
After quite a number of years working as a technical specialist for a very large photographic manufacturer, both in the Professional Photography and Graphic Reproduction fields,I would base the colour choices for the model on the known, published paint references, as described by Wurger, rather than a personal 'guess' as to the actual colour tones in a 70 year old, multiple reproduction, computer- displayed colour image.