Hawaiian P-40B Paint Scheme 1941

[kdriver]

Hi Folks,

Can someone tell me what the official names of both the upper and underside colours of the Oahu based P-40Bs were at the time of the Pearl Harbour attack, in particular Ken Taylor's and George Welch's aircraft?

Looking at drawings and paintings there seems to be some variation of the upper surfaces from almost a shade of grey to a light olive drab.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Josh Patterson]

There were several greens and greys used during the period but the two I default to for base colors (as these are the Federal Standard numbers the instructions call out) when modeling early WWII USAAF planes are: Olive Drab, FS34087 and Neutral Grey, FS36270. (The article calls out against 270 but I use it because I like the way it looks paired with the green.) There are other greens as well, Green Drab, FS34086 which is lighter and FS34088 which has a brown tint to it and some that have no FS number. I've attached a couple of articles which might also be helpful! Part 2 is applicable to your question (particularly addressing the different shades), but I threw in Part 1 just because it is interesting!
http://www.gmodelart.com/2020/04/plane-colors-and-camouflage-wwii-us.html
http://www.gmodelart.com/2020/04/plane-colors-and-camouflage-primer-us.html

 

[kdriver]

Thanks very much Josh. Those are excellent articles. Most of the pictures I've seen show the upper surfaces to be similar to Green Drab, FS34086.