STORMO! Forums

Greetings:
I have a question about late war Italian interior colors. I plan to do a couple of Veltros in ANR markings, Centauros subseries 0 and series 1, and an RA Sagitario. I've gathered a lot of references, but they either ignore interior colors or contradict each other!
Can you experten please help me with info about the base colors of wheelwell interiors, and also the inside of undercariage doors? The more info, the better.
Also, the base colors- sidewalls, floors, and bulkheads- of the cockpits of these aircraft. GAC or some variation of VA?
Thanks for your help!
Patrick

Welcome to Stormo and thank you for your post. In the link, examine the Fiat G.55 at Vigna:

https://www.stormomagazine.com/Referenc ... Valle.html

There's plenty of close-up photos of the G.55 at Vigna in the Aviolibri reference. The interior cockpit and wheel wells are a yellow primer. The inside undercarriage doors are unpainted.

Regarding the Re.2005, there's a famous shot of the rear fuselage section of MM.092351 (wreckage), and the port side view shows an opened access hatch door and the interior of this door is FS.34227. The plane was finished in the Tavola X colors (exterior), so if you use these colors, interiors (generally) were first finished in a primer followed (not always) by GAC. The exterior surface color of known Re.2005s was VOS 2. ADI #16 shows a sketch of the interior cockpit of the Re.2005 finished in FS.34227. The inside undercarriage doors appear to be GAC in b&w photos.

Hi Vince:
Thanks for your reply. I am often doubtful about paint on restored aircraft, but it sounds like you think the G.55 is pretty reliable.
It is frustrating as I have seen so many books and references which seem to contradict each other, including online articles. Some indicate Anticorrsion Green for cockpits & wheelwells, others GAC or "underside color."
Do you think I'd be on reasonably safe ground to show any Tav. X painted aircraft with GAC cocpit interiror and wheelwells?
(Like an Mc 205 series 3 in Macchi tropical scheme?)
I want to build a Veltro of ANR GC 1, 2 Sq in smoke ring camou, but I'm finding it hard to get started because of my doubts about the interior.
Thanks again for your help!
Patrick

Hi Patrick,

I was lucky enough to visit Vigna this year, though we won't mention the Champions League Final result - the reason for my being in Rome, and I must say I was very impressed with the museum, beautiful location, I think every effort was put into replicating accurate markings for the exhibits. Regards the Veltro I'd go with the same colour for the interior as can be seen for that of the Centauro.

I've long since given up on strictly interpreting colors, unless you have a specific reference(s) that clearly indicate the colors of the aircraft, interior and exterior, I think its a safe bet to use those colors declared in the official directives such as the Serie Mimetica 1938, Tavola X 1941 etc. Use the Directives to fill in gaps where photographic evidence of a specific aircraft is unavailable. The G.55 at Vigna does have a information that shows it was finished in a yellow primer, it doesn't mean all G.55s were finished this way, just the plane on hand while the wreckage of the Re.2005 shows an interior gray-green FS.34227. I agree, in general the colors of restored aircraft can't be relied on, the worst case that comes to mind is the CR.42 at Hendon in which children were allowed to repaint the plane – its unbelievable but true.

I agree with Vince.

Let us see a brief history on RA interiors colours, for what we know until today.

Before standardization of Tavola 10, colours used were simply protective industrial paints, as you can see in elder metal furniture or equipment. They had the hue of their components: i.e. Bakelite grey was FS36231.
An example: SIAI sheet of 21 February 1940 stated the following paints:
- SIPA P 495 Green primer for light alloy stuctures as cowlings and exterior parts
- ARSON 53518 Grey primer for propellers and metal furnitures
- Arson 6083 Grey paint for metal parts, over the primer
- Bakelite anti-rust Grey paint for metal airframe, inner parts, etc.
- SIPA I.T. 534 Garnet paint for control sticks
- Dark grey paint for doors & floors (simply obtained by adding black to Bakelite)
- Havana paint for pilots' seats
and so on...

For standardization purpose, Tavola 10 ordered that all interiors had to be painted Grigio Azzurro Chiaro, itself probably a finish coat, as it had little of blue. This happened at least by Spring 1942, but probably the same paint was yet in use before.

Some factories, later in the war, didn't apply the grey finish over the primer, probably to spare time/money, and the green was left for interiors. Clearly, in aircraft like CZ.1007 that were entirely wooden-made there was no reason tho apply the green primer. So we can say that models of CANTs with green interiors are a mistake.
Photo and relics suggest that the factories which had green interiors were Aermacchi, Reggiane and perhaps Caproni, while FIAT (at least on CR.42 and G.50) and Breda kept the grey.
Of course, primers had different hues, even in the same aircraft. The RE.2002 relic, currently under restoration, had cockpit painted FS34300, rear fuselage interior FS34241, exterior surface primer lighter than FS34373 and bare metal fin frame!

As for wheel wells, it was often easier to paint them with the same colour of undersurfaces than to mask them. This happened also for Luftwaffe, RAF, USAAF and USN. There is a photo of a late Aermacchi-built MC.202 (so presumably with green interiors) with GAC1 wells.

If you're interested to ANR MC.205s I can tell you that in Museo di S. Pelagio, near Padua, is kept an ANR Veltro seat painted Verde Anticorrosione, so, the cockpit was likewise.

As Vince states, we can't find a rule, expecially in a Country that was soon to loose the war. Unless credible documents on that same aircraft are available, an educated guess is better than a historical mistake.

Stefano

Happy new Year, Stormites!
I want to thank all of you who replied to my question. I can now proceeed with my modelling with more confidence in my choice of interior colors! I'm hoping to build at least several of my planned ANR models in 2010. . . maybe I'll actually complete at least 1 or 2 of them!
Thanks again, and Ciao!
Patrick

One more question on Macchi cockpit color.

So, now we know that later in the war Macchi didn't apply the additional coat of GAC just leaving the cockpits in VA instead.

However, what about the time around the adopting of the Tavola 10 - are there any documents, photos or relics suggesting whether the GAC was ever used (and then abandoned at some stage) or just never applied? Of special interest is a C 202 Serie III AS built by Macchi in late 1941.

The C.202 Serie XI (Breda built) at Vigna. The cockpit interior of the C.200 Serie VII (Macchi built) at Vigna is also finished (original) in GAC.