Italian Camouflage - Under Surfaces - 1940

[stona]

My next project is another Italian job, a CR.42 based in Belgium late in 1940. The question pertains specifically to the colour of the under surfaces.

I am pretty ignorant about Italian aircraft, but all my researches indicate that the accepted wisdom is that these under surfaces were in one of the Italian grey camouflage colours, opinions differ as to what exactly that looked like, but everyone agrees on grey.

So here is my problem. I have the text of two CEAR's written by two different RAF intelligence officers about two different CR.42s that were examined after their unintended delivery to these Isles. Both reports state, unequivocally, that the under surfaces were SILVER.

Now, we might mistake silver for a grey in a B&W photograph, but I find it inconceivable that two different RAF officers, examining two different aircraft, both of whom would have been familiar with 'silver' aluminium dope finishes from our own aircraft, would have written 'silver' in their reports when they meant grey.

So what do I do? Silver or grey? I'm hoping that someone knows a lot more about Italian aircraft than I do, which, to be honest, would not be difficult!

 

[fubar57]

This is a great site for Italian aircraft...STORMO! The Online Magazine of the Regia Aeronautica and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana

 

[Crimea_River]

Yep, that and other sources led me to go with silver on mine as well. See here: **** DONE: GB-39 1:48 CR. 42 Falco - Battle for France to Battle of Britain

 

[stona]

I checked that out. Apparently some early CR.42s did have 'aluminium' undersides, which could certainly be described as silver.

I also found a description of a scheme as seen on CR.42s over Malta which was the Havana (light tobacco brown) background with green and chestnut brown mottle. This sounds much more like the scheme on the CR.42 that force landed near Lowestoft. The CEAR describes this as, "Upper surface muddy brown with green blotches, under surface silver."

The scheme on the CR.42 examined on the beach at Orfordness was described as, upper surfaces mottled greenish yellow, under surfaces silver. So that probably had the 'Giallo Mimetico' background colour with the Verde Mimetico mottled over it. Whether the third colour, Marrone Mimetico, was also applied is a bit unclear. I can't see it in photographs which show the top of the upper wing, but photographs...you know.

I'm becoming more convinced that the received wisdom, that these aircraft had grey under surfaces in 1940 is far from correct and that some at least still had both silver/aluminium under surfaces and the earlier camouflage scheme (with the 'Havana' base colour).

I am definitely leaning towards a silver underside with the Giallo/Verde/Marrone mottled upper surface camouflage.

 

[Crimea_River]

You have probably seen this: STORMO! A Re-Evaluation of RA Camo 1940

 

[stona]

I have.

I would disagree with Eisenman's contention that the two descriptions are 'identical' in the British reports, except as regards the silver undersides.

For me, 'muddy brown with green blotches' describes a different scheme to 'mottled greenish yellow' and I think the two base colours were different, one being brownish (Havana) and one being yellow (Giallo Mimetico), exactly as the CEARs describe.

I have read a lot of CEAR's, mostly for Luftwaffe aircraft, and though they can be a little vague or even misleading, they generally describe what the officer saw. These two officers saw two aircraft in different schemes but with the same silver/aluminium under surfaces.

I thought that Italian aircraft would be easy

 

[Crimea_River]

I only modelled one and I learned just how much of a can of worms it they can be.

 

[le_steph40]

Yep, that and other sources led me to go with silver on mine as well. See here: **** DONE: GB-39 1:48 CR. 42 Falco - Battle for France to Battle of Britain

The same for me CR.42 underside