Colour Conundrums of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain Part 1

Confidential Admiralty Fleet Order (CAFO)477/40 'Colouring and Markings of British,French and German Aircraft' dated 23 March 1940 provides a useful summary of British knowledge and understanding of Luftwaffe camouflage and marking practice at the start of the period under examination here.

- Paul Lucas

Section III was headed 'German Military Aircraft' and read as follows:

'(A) Camouflage and Colouring.

(i) Upper surfaces are painted dark olive green.

(ii) Under surfaces are usually painted light sky blue.

(B) National markings.

(i) A black Greek cross on both sides of the fuselage and upper and under surfaces of the wing tips.

(ii) a black Swastika on both sides of the tail plane.

(C) Aircraft letters.

A combination of letters and numbers is shown on the sides of the fuselage.'

The description of Luftwaffe camouflage and markings contained in this CAFO can probably be taken as an indication of what British pilots were told to expect Luftwaffe aircraft to look like when they met them in combat. This description was what was considered to be normal and thus anything that did not appear to match this description would have been considered abnormal and thus worthy of being reported.

The reports quoted here have been accepted in good faith, as being accurate descriptions of what the pilots concerned thought they saw. Irrespective of whether the colour schemes described actually existed or not, they represent variations from the norm, and it is not the author’s intent to try and make the case that any of the finishes described here saw widespread use. It may be the case that the finish was limited only to the particular aircraft reported, or a relatively small number of aircraft from the same unit. If aircraft from the same unit were reported using similar nomenclature on different days in different reports, this might give the impression that a particular scheme was more widely used than was actually the case.