1940; No. 815 NAS Swordfish Paint

[mark.au]

Hi all;

 

I've searched unsuccessfully for the answer to this, time to seek the collective wisdom.

 

Of the two camouflage patterns in the profiles below, which is more likely to have been applied to 815 NAS Swordfish in 1940?  I'm only interested in how far up the fuselage the underside colour comes.  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

[ClaudioN]

AFAIK, in 1940 Swordfish of 815 Squadron had their undersides painted in black distemper to a high demarcation. Black serials were retained in a small Sky Grey rectangle, codes (4A, 4B, etc.) were in white on the fin, ahead of the red-white-blue flash.

 

Claudio

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by ClaudioN

[JackG]

Demarcation line on fuselage may be in @iang wheelhouse.  He had a posting here that the style may be dependent on the manufacturer, though the discussion was not specifically about 815 Squadron:

 

 

[mark.au]

9 hours ago, JackG said:

Demarcation line on fuselage may be in @iang wheelhouse.  He had a posting here that the style may be dependent on the manufacturer, though the discussion was not specifically about 815 Squadron:

 

 

Thanks for that link, my searches hadn’t found that thread.  Reading through it I understand the importance of the manufacturer.  Acording to all sources Blackburn didn’t start producing Swordfish until 1941 so the Taranto Swordfish were all Fairey built.  That suggests a high demarcation, even if the 815 were TSS repaints prior to Taranto.

 

Thank you @ClaudioN, your comment is consistent with that too.

 

Cheers.