What-if I-153 with the camouflage of spring 1941

Updated on April 3, 2016

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http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=1809.0 and http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_954_start_300.html

New instructions for the camouflage of military planes were published in spring 1941. They were based on the experiments made with polichromatic camouflages in 1940. The instructions were never applied, perhaps for the lack of supply of paints and for their complexity. Only few photos of planes of mid 1941 (MiG-3, Pe-2, DB-3, LaGG-3, Il-2) show camouflages that resemble, very vaguely, to those included into the instructions of spring 1941.

These instructions considered 3-colors camouflages for fighters as I-153, I-16 and I-26 (Yak-1), and 4 and 5 colors camouflages for larger planes as SB, DB-3 and '100' (Pe-2).

The colors prescribed for fighters were sand (probably similar to AMT-1), yellow (intended as a sort of olive or khaki drab, somewhat lighter and more yellowish than green AMT-4) and black. Undersurfaces had to be painted in light grey, probably AII light grey. The instructions don't say anything about national marks, that probably had to be applied above and below wings and on the fuselage sides, as prewar standard.

These instructions were replaced by new and simpler ones on 21 June 1941, that prescribed the well known black-green camouflage and the new wartime positions for national marks.

Here is a what if drawing of how the instructions of spring 1941 prescribed to paint I-153s. Though, there is not any photographic evidence that this camouflage was ever applied on real I-153s.

 

 

Drawing by Tapani Tuomanen

Top: a whatif drawing reproducing the camo described in the painting instruction below.

Left: the legenda relative to the colors of fighters.

Below: the templates for many types of planes, including I-153.