I’m sure that this question has been asked before but I can’t find the answer. What was the pracctice of painting external tanks in the field? I know that the finish on them was originally almost natural metal. Did units paint them in the camo of the lower surface of the plane? I have a black and white photo that shows one that looks like the same color as the upper surface with extreme weathering on the front of the tank.
If you are talking WW ll style paper tanks they were usually a one shot tank and would break down and start leaking after a very short time. Metal drop tanks were some times painted in OD, left natural metal, or painted in the color of the underside. The metal tanks could be carried without danger of falling apart or where they would no be dropped as often.