Can someone please give me a bit more info on who operated the bare metal F2 Banshees?
I have the Academy 1/72 kit for grey or NAVY blue, but the NMF one looks rather cool.
Theuns
The USN tried a Lacquer or NMF type finish experimentally in the mid 1950’s. The F2H, F7U, and F9F, among other aircraft wore it. I beleive that a few aircraft within a squadron used that scheme while other were in the standard overall Sea Blue or the new Gull Gray over White schemes. The NMF was discontinued due to corrosion issues.
Cool, thanx for the interesting info.
Theuns
That kit has most of the markings needed for a Metal F2H-4
Two Old VF-11 Metal F2H-4 were P-101 and P-106. Use the markings for the Academy Gray/White aircraft, plus the nose flash from the Blue aircraft, but remove the White from around the nose and fuselage flashes,then use the Blue aircraft markings placement guide to lay them out on your model
I used Ginter # 91 Big Banjo for the reference photos, Old VF-11 section,in case you want to see it yourself
Rex
The NMF really didn’t work very well. I have a picture somewhere of a F9F Cougar in NMF with gull gray painted on to the nose and on to the landing gear doors and some panels in a haphazard manner. I kind of looks like it was applied in the hanger by mechanics over recent repairs. I can’t see it working because of all charged ions that float around in sea water, it ought rust out a plane like that in a few weeks.
Not that aluminum rusts, but corrosion was the reason that was such a short lived scheme/experiment.
and it also wasn’t “bare metal”
the aluminum was anodized with clear, and the other metal areas were painted with aluminum colored paint
to get an idea of what an anodized surface is like,look at the Red and the Blue fittings on a hot rod or race car,same coating, just different colors
Rex
oh, and I forgot,the experiment specified that each aircraft be left in the aluminum finish for a minimum of two years,to compare the wear to the blue painted aircraft
so, it wasn’t really a matter of being unsuccessful, it had run its course,and then the “nuke flash protection scheme” was chosen
Aluminum does rust- oxidize to form a metal oxide. However, in its natural state it is clear and very hard, so makes a protective coating. However, it is possible to create other “salts” that create similar stable and protective coatings. Some of them are clear, others have a color.
While the normal oxide coating is clear, it and other such coatings (even those called anodized) can also be dyed with many types of dyes, including some black ones. These aluminum compounds are very stable, so that the dyes are protected and it makes a very durable finish.
However, the natural oxidization due to oxygen in air does not form a very thick coating (it protects so well that it even excludes more oxygen. The result is that in spite of being a durable and stable coating, it can be mechanically eroded too easily. Thus the many proprietary “conversion” coatings. Unfortunately, the ones that are colored are more stable and durable than the clear ones, and most operators of fleets of aluminum aircraft have decided it is better to use one of the non-clear conversion coatings and follow that up with paint. I loved to see the old Great Silver Fleet and other operators of DC-3s, but those days are long over. Labor was cheap in those days and the operators could afford to keep them clean!
Quite correct DOn. The process we use the “corode” the Alclad parts just prior to instelation is called “etch and allodine”
Basically the wholw piece is washed with an acid solution to take off any contaminents and then put into a solution od salts mixed in water. It brings a microscopic thin coat of pure alluminium to the surface witch makes it more resistant to oxidataion. The stuff we use turns the allu a light yellow/brown color.
I have mates who had a Beech 18 in pollished alluminium, every few months it had to be pollished and it took a while to do so! As you said, labour is not cheap anymore.
Theuns
One of the reasons that aluminum is not used so much in electrical conductors is because the aluminum oxide that forms becomes an insulator thus diminishing its conductivity. It forms fairly quickly.
That, and because it has dissimilar properties with copper which is another topic entirely.
The cleaners and scrubbers that aircraft maintainers use were specifically called out as “prohibited for use” on the metal colored USN aircraft at the time.
The exact wording of the directive and the directive’s number were all spelled out in that section of Elliot’s book series. (allowing us to hunt down our own copies of the directives for more in depth study than just reading his books)
An interesting thing about aircraft maitenence it a very good internal inspection periodically.
We tend to think of corosion only on the outside, but when building these planes it is not difficult to scratch the inside of a rib, spar or wing-skin while driving rivets or a spanner slipping. while changing a fuel or hydrollic fitting.
Especially in a highly corosive area like on a ship it is pretty darn imposable to keep the salt air out of these areas.
Speaking of polished aluminum, when I was in pilot training (before I washed out) the only plane in the squadron that was polished was the squadron commander’s plane. Later in the Air Force experience, I saw a number of T-birds that had a high polish on them- all Squadron Commander’s planes. Labor is expensive but in the military there is enough cheap labor to do one plane per squadron 
I suspected that Tarn and a few others woiuld have a more thorough explanation of the “unpainted” finish.
cool, Stik,that is one of the two aircraft I was talking about
the only difference is that by the time P-106 was photographed with P-102, 102 had been repainted in Lt Gull Gray over White,and 106 had the fuselage slash added to it
there is a photo of the three different color schemes all standing together, -103 is Blue with two slashes with White outlines, -102 is now Lt Gull Gray, with the front slash only, no White outline, and -106 is Metal with two slashes without White outlines
there is one more variation on that date,the Lt Gull Gray scheme with single P tail code is the only one of the four single code schemes that has the last 4 digits of the BuNo on the tail, when -102 was still in Metal scheme, it didn’t have the “last four” on the tail
I wonder, does the OP have any use for a list of all the units that operated at least one Natural Metal -3/4 Banshee? It would give you a basis for searching out other online pics, if you wanted different options for your model.
Rex
Well I just stumbled across this shot… I presume this is the one you are referring to Tarn.
and this shot from the Coral Sea website. These appear to be in the same scheme and unpainted.
How about this? Gull Gray or Anodized?
Man, those are great, cool pics stik! They are glimpse into a by-gone era aren’t they? The early jets that paved the way for today’s naval aviators. Thanks for posting those!
Gary
that top photo is one of two that are also printed in the Ginter book,this one and one from the opposite side,together, they give a great comparison of three of the four marking layouts used by VF-11 in the single letter code days
your VF-171 shot of R-103 is Metal, the Lt Gull Gray aircraft had much more uniform appearance of those panels up near the canopy