Bf-109G-2 winter camouflage

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi guys,

This will be my first message and I wanted to use this attempt by asking you a question which makes my mind busy for some time.

I am building a Hasegawa 1/48 Bf-109G-2 with winter camouflage. My question is in WWII how were they painted in real life with winter camouflage? Looking to the photos I saw that most of the Bf-109s who received such white paint have been painted so carefully. All the insignias, stencils and other painted parts on the aircraft seems to be masked. Am I wrong? Were they painted white before the delivery at the factory or were they painted on the front, hastily by simple brush or field airbrush, after masking the related areas or even not caring what was on the aircraft before. It is obvious that maybe special treatment has been shown to Erich Hartmann’s aircraft with white paint but what about the others. Do somebody have knowledge about the field painting of the Luftawaffe?

Depending on your comments I will decide the way to paint my Bf-109 in winter camouflage.

Thanks in advance

2

I believe you answered your own question.

All three may apply, depending on the aircraft. Research is the only way to be certain your aircraft was painted carefully or in the field quickly.

I have the Squadron walk around reference book for the Stuka dive bomber, is has interesting pictures of one with ‘worm’ pattern carefully sprayed on white camouflage on the front landing gear, one crew man with a brush on the fuselage & another applying white with a mop to the wings! If this aircraft was to be modeled a supporting picture would be needed to show its authenticity. It would make for a great little diorama or vignette.

Personally I prefer the aircraft painted in haste on the Eastern front, it shows improvisation out of necessity.

3

First of all, the winter camouflage wasn’t applied at the factory… Winter camouflage is time and regional-specific . The Germans used a water-soluable paint, similar to tempera paint, that was applied in the field by any means available. Depending on the Staffelfuhrer’s directive, the pilot’s personal taste, and the crewchief’s time, they were done meticulously, hastily, or somewhere in the middle… The winter camouflage paint was removed by washing the aicraft with soap & water and rags, mops, & brooms.

Maskings over the insignias and stencils were fairly common (The Germans, and especially the Luftwaffe, had a knack for camouflaging their aircraft for every little condition) during the application, but it wasn’t always the case, with some crewchiefs prefering to “freehand” the camo and just “block” around sencils, leaving the base color intact under the area of the lettering. As SF pointed out, sometimes several methods were used at the same time. Also, the amount of paint applied would be dependant on the supply, the local surroundings (Overall-white vs. blotched), and the type of aircraft it was being applied to.

Keep in mind that the aircraft camo is not, like many believe, to hide it from observation in the air by other pilots, but rather to hide it on the ground, break up it’s silhouette (disguising it’s type) and to fool others as to it’s true attitude (A great example of this practice is on Candadian F-18s that have a “false canopy” painted on the undersinde directly below the real cockpit, complete with a whte-blob “pilot’s helmet”).

I think most modelers prefer to do the “meticulous” white-wash paint (with some fading and wear) simply because it looks better than brush-applied, cross-hatched paint job, cheifly due to the fact that others (especially contest judges) will think their work is sub-standard because the paint was brushed rather than airbrushed, regardless of how historically accurate the portrayal is…

There was a great diorama someone did a few months ago (although I can’t remember who did it) in the Diorama Forum of a ground crew removing the white camo from a Bf 109… It was complete with half the white camo off, hoses with water running, buckets and mops, and a couple puddles of white-tinted “water” on the ground under it…

So the bottom line is research, research, research… Then go ahead and do it your way anyway, lol…

4

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciated your informative answers. Now the winter camouflage application issue is much more clear on my mind. I am planning to build “Yellow 4” Bf-109G-2 in winter camo. I found only one photo evidence and trying to search for more to get different angles. Depending on your comments I will not paint it like a factory fresh painted aircraft.