If It Can Fly, It Can Float!!!

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August 1942, Corpus Christi, Texas: "It's an intricate operation, installing a 30-caliber machine gun in a Navy PBY plane, but not too tricky for Jesse Rhodes Waller. He's a Georgia man who's been in the Navy 5-1/2 years. At the Naval Air Base he sees that the flying ships are kept in tip-top shape. Waller is an aviation ordnance mate." Kodachrome transparency by Howard Hollem
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August 1942, Corpus Christi, Texas: "It's an intricate operation, installing a 30-caliber machine gun in a Navy PBY plane, but not too tricky for Jesse Rhodes Waller. He's a Georgia man who's been in the Navy 5-1/2 years. At the Naval Air Base he sees that the flying ships are kept in tip-top shape. Waller is an aviation ordnance mate." Kodachrome transparency by Howard HollemView attachment 510286


Strangely enough, only the right side of the the photo was colorized. That's why it seems to be grey I think. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
But see the lowest window on the blister. Take a look at the forward edge. Just behind the leading edge is goes from blue to grey back to front.

I'm not entirely sure if we're both looking at the same thing but i interpreted that as the demarcation between the Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey camouflage colours.

One other detail I just noticed...there's a RAF serial number just visible above the crewman's head. That would also support my contention that this aircraft was wearing RAF camouflage (DSG/EDSG).
 
I think it reads F3178, but cannot be sure. But the back of the aircraft is blue. Not grey.

It may appear blue to you on your display whereas it may look entirely different on my display. I'm not going to argue over what you can see or how you interpret the colour.

However, the standard RAF upper surface camouflage colours for flying boats for much of WW2 were Dark Slate Grey (which, ironically, had a green tone) and Extra Dark Sea Grey
 
It may appear blue to you on your display whereas it may look entirely different on my display. I'm not going to argue over what you can see or how you interpret the colour.

However, the standard RAF upper surface camouflage colours for flying boats for much of WW2 were Dark Slate Grey (which, ironically, had a green tone) and Extra Dark Sea Grey


We agree to politely disagree? LOL
 
Just to mention that the aircraft in picture 6 (next to last) is a norwegian Northrop N3PB used for anti-submarine (and anti-FW Condor-) patrols from Iceland in 1941-42 (RAF 330 sqdn). These were ordered before 9. april 1940 but after the invasion were delivered to the in-exile norwegian training camp "Little Norway" in Canada and subsequently moved to Iceland. Imagine how it was flying hours long patrol over icy waters in a single engined aircraft....

The single remaining aircraft of this type was fished out of a river in Iceland in 1979, restored by the employees of the former Northrop factory in California and is now on display at the aircraft museum at Oslo Airport Gardermoen (Nice little museum to visit if you come to Norway. They also have a beautifully restored Heinkel 111 and a ju 52, both crash landed during the fighting in Norway in april 1940).

Ole A. Hoel
 

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