| Barry, I don't want to appear argumentive but I very much doubt the black/grey undersurface you refer to. Could this be just misinterperation by colour plate illustrators and perhaps cofusion with grime etc giving the appearance of grey? Or is there a reference to this practice somewhere?, If so, is the shade of grey specified?
DTD memo 332 (issue 2) of 8 Sept 1939 specifically refers to black/white undersurfaces. This was primarily to assist in identification of aircraft flying over continental Europe. Sort of a forerunner to the much later invasion markings. This is borne out by the scheme being discontinued by the order issued on 6 June 1940 after the fall of France. |