Hawker Hurricane Mk I, mid-1940, Rotol prop, B-pattern camo, Azure-like blue v.18

            As winter changed to spring, some decision makers in RAF Fighter Command began considering alternatives to the black and white underside markings they'd begun the War with. The 1/2 black, 1/2 white, was suited to the shorter days from autumn to spring, and cloudy weather, but long days and blue skies suggested alternatives. White and black remained the standard, but credible witnesses recorded alternatives. 

Plain Aluminium finish reappeared experimentally, and various blueish tints and pale grays were tried as well. Some of the bluer finishes were quite pale, as shown on , some were a far richer blue approaching the Azure that eventually became standard in the Mediterranean/North African theatre. which is what this profile shows.  Greenish tones casually described as "Duck Egg Green" were also tried, as shown by 

 Close study revealed that the greyish light-green developed by Stanley Cotton for his pre-war, clandestine, aerial surveys of Germany was the best fit at 0-15,000 feet altitude, in the European summer, and it was standardized as "Sky", and authorized from sunrise, June 6, 1940. But the color wasn't commonly seen before August, when supply caught up with demand.  Until then, a deep blue, a light blue, a pale green or even a rich green might grace the underside of an RAF fighter, as well as the authorized white and black, and the original Aluminium.

Later, about the time "Sky" became available generally, Hurricanes began being sent to the Mediterranean.  Although the Volkes particle filter was tried in Egypt as early as 1939, the chaos of war-time meant that the first Hurricanes sent to Greece, Palestine, Egypt and points south in Africa were often without filters. They were also often Dark Earth and Dark Green, to top, but this was reasonably effective, even in the Western Desert of North Africa.

The black and white, or greenish tints, on the underside, were not, however, reasonably effective, in the blue vault of the Mediterranean sky. So some finite number of Hurricanes, Spitfires, and other modern types, served in Dark Earth and Dark Green with Azure blue undersurfaces (and, occasionally, black under the Port wing). In 1941 and later, Midstone replaced Dark Green, as shown in. But top and bottom colors were applied and maintained without tight linkage to each other, in the early part of the war

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Taken on: February 1, 2014

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