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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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Air Ministry Orders relating to Aircraft Markings post-1945
Colouring and Marking of Aircraft
The following regulations, which take effect immediately, apply to all aircraft of the Royal Air Force in the production line and to those in the Service which require re-doping in the normal course of maintenance.
These instructions supersede those contained in all Air Ministry orders previously promulgated on this subject.
Wood and fabric aircraft. - Wood and fabric types of aircraft, e.g., Mosquito and Wellington are to be painted with a silver finish, except: -
night fighters,
night bombers,
training aircraft.
Day fighters. - All day fighters are to be painted with a silver finish and with the smoothest surface possible, to produce the best performance.
Night fighters. - All night fighters are to be -
Upper surfaces -
unshaded areas - dark green
shaded areas - medium sea grey.
Under surfaces - medium sea grey.
Boundary between upper and under surfaces - In side elevation, the boundary is to follow the centre line of the fuselage, but is to be curved upwards or downwards to meet the leading and trailing edges of the main plane and tail plane roots.
Fins and rudder - medium sea grey, with a standard flash on the fin.
Spinners - medium sea grey.
Night bombing aircraft. - All night bombers or aircraft with a day/night bombing role, are to be: -
Upper surfaces - medium sea grey.
Under surfaces - anti-searchlight black. (AP 2656A, Vol. 1, section 7 chapter 4)
Boundary between and under surfaces - pattern No 2 (AP 2656A, Vol. 1, section 6, Chapter 1)
Spinners - medium sea grey.
Coastal aircraft. - Medium and long range anti-shipping, anti-submarine, and GR aircraft, are (subject to para. 3 above) to be -
Upper surfaces - medium sea grey, except where white is specified in the following sub-para. (b).
Under surfaces - under surfaces as defined in pattern No 1 AP 2856A, Vol. 1, section 6, chapter 2, including the under surfaces of the wings and tail, are to be glossy white - see sub-para. (c) below for definition for special requirements for flying boats. The under surfaces between the boundaries defined in patterns Nos 1 and 2 are to be white (i.e, with the standard matt finish) and, in addition -
the standard white is to be extended upwards and merged into the upper surfaces in such a manner that, in front and side elevations the aircraft appears almost entirely white;
for the engine nacelles, the standard white is to be extended upwards to cover the whole of the top surface, forward of the boundary of the upper surface colour of the wing near the leading edge.
Definition of glossy white. - The glossy finish called for in sub-para. (b) above is to be obtained as follows: -
Where "C" finishing materials are used, AP 2656A, Vol. I, section 6, Chapter 1, para. 35, sub-para. (i) will apply. Where "C" finishes are to specification DTD 751-754, the white is to be followed by a final coat of transparent cellulose finish (Stores Ref. 33B/803, 804, 805).
Where "S " finish materials are used, AP 2656A, Vol I, section 6, Chapter 1, para. 35, sub-para. (ii) will apply.
For flying boats, the under-water surfaces of the hull and wing-tipped floats are to be given two coats of white anti-fouling, to specification DTD 420B (Stores Ref. 33B/367.)
Fins and rudder - white with the standard flash on the fin.
Spinners - white.
Rubber do-icing sheath - flexible paint to specification DTD 557 (Stores Ref 33B/505)
Engine cowl rings - white to specification DTD 314 (Stores Ref 33B/176, 177, 343 or 396)
Anti-glow shrouds - anti-glow white (Stores Ref 33B/528)
Identification marking - the serial registration numbers on the fuselage by the tail plane are to be in light slate grey instead of night.
Other coastal aircraft not covered by para. 7 above are (except aircraft coming under para. 3 above), to be: -
Upper surfaces - medium sea grey;
under surfaces - white.
Boundary between upper and under surfaces - pattern No 1. (AP 2656A, Vol. I, Section 6, Chapter 1)
Training aircraft. - Training aircraft, other than operational or semi-operational types which may require an operational finish to simulate realistic conditions, are to be painted silver, if of wood or fabric construction, or left unpainted with a polished bare metal surface if of metal skin construction. In addition, a band of identification yellow is to be painted round the fuselage and each main-plane: -
Size of bands - yellow bands are of three widths. Small aircraft will have 2 ft. wide bands, medium size aircraft will have 3 ft. wide bands, and large aircraft will have 4 ft. wide bands.
Position of bands - the position for the fuselage band is between the roundel and the tail plane. The position for the main-plane band is half-way, approximately, between the roundel and the fuselage. Note. - The exact position of each band will vary by aircraft, and is to be decided by commands, so as to present the best appearance.
For economy, where aircraft with an operational finish are allocated for training but require the silver and yellow training scheme, it will be sufficient if the yellow bands only are applied until the complete aircraft requires re-doping in the normal course of maintenance, when a silver finish can be given.
Operational and semi-operational training aircraft in operational training units, Central Fighter Establishment, Central Gunnery School, Empire Air Navigation School, Empire Central Flying School, and other advanced training units are to conform to their operational function. This does not affect the authority given for certain specific aircraft at Empire Schools, and other advanced training units, to have a polished metal finish.
Target towing and parachute test dropping aircraft - These aircraft are to have superimposed on the training scheme given in para. 9 above, under-surface additional markings of night coloured stripes, 3 ft. wide, running from port forward to starboard aft and inclined at 60 degrees to the lateral axis of the aircraft. The distance between the centre lines of the stripes is to be 9 ft., and the centre line of one stripe is to intersect the centre of the port roundel. The under surface of the tail plane excluding the elevators is to be night.
Moveable control surfaces. - Moveable control surfaces are to be kept free from identification markings, including the yellow bands applied to training aircraft.
Communication aircraft. - Communication aircraft with a metal skin are to be paint free, i.e, in bare metal - polished bright.
Photographic reconnaissance aircraft. - Photographic reconnaissance aircraft are to be painted with a silver finish and with the smoothest surface possible, to produce the best performance.
Air observation post aircraft. - Air observation post aircraft are to be: -
Upper surfaces -
unshaded areas - dark green
shaded areas - dark earth
Under surfaces - as upper surfaces.
Spinners - dark green or dark earth.
Other aircraft. - Aircraft not specified in the foregoing paragraphs are to be uncamouflaged and unpainted, except for certain specific parts of some aircraft which may require a protective covering of paint (these parts requiring paint are to be decided upon after consideration, is given to them by the Ministry of Supply - the colour of any such painted areas is to be silver), where, however, aircraft require certain surfaces filled to provide a smooth surface, the complete aircraft should be painted to obtain uniformity of colour.
Patterns. - Where aircraft require a disruptive pattern camouflage, appropriate diagrams of AP 2656A, Vol. I, section 6, Chapter 1, will apply.
Roundels. - A decision has been made to revert to the
pre-war roundel on all aircraft. Unfortunately it has proved
impossible to obtain the requisite bright red and bright blue paints on
account of the acute shortage of the necessary raw materials. It is
hoped, however, that supplies will be available in the not distant future,
and modest demands for supplies should be submitted in the usual way.
Stores reference numbers are contained in AP 1086.
Details of the roundels which are to replace existing roundels when supplies
of paint are available are as follows: -
Position and dimensions. - Position and outside dimensions of roundels are to remain as they are at present.
Proportion. - The proportions of the colour bands are to be as follows: -
Where R is the
radius of the roundel.
The radius of the red inner = ½ of
R.
Radius of the outside of white band = ⅔
of R.
Radius of
outside of blue band = R.
In the interests of economy, new roundels should be applied only when
the repainting of existing roundels becomes necessary.
Tail fin flashes. - Tail fin flashes will be painted
with the new red and blue colours when paints are available and when
repainting of flashes becomes necessary. The overall size of flashes will
remain the same, but the colour proportions are to be
changed so that the width of the red, white and blue stripes are all equal.
(AMOs A864/44 and A1035/45 cancelled)
Air Publication 2656A
This entry was last updated on 20/01/26©
