Camouflage & Markings
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Colours
of the Dutch Air Force|
Marine Luchtvaart Dienst (MLD) - Naval Aviation ServiceAs in most other countries, the Dutch Navy also wanted its own air force to protect the coast, harbours and ships. Unlike their KLu brethren, the MLD also send many planes to the Netherlands East Indies for similar tasks. MLD 1919-1939, Land-based AircraftPerhaps due to desire to compete with the LVA, naval aviation of the
yearly years also
operated some land based planes that did not show any apparent sea patrol
talents. To add confusion, these used the same green colour as their
land counterparts,
but initially did without the blue lower surfaces.
Aircraft types legend
Fokker C.Vc and Ryan had interchangeable wheels and floats and have not, for the purpose of this table, been classified as land-based aircraft. See the following section on MLD seaplanes below. Additional colour notes The Naval colour Khaki was a direct equivalent to LVA Khaki. Likewise MLD Blauw was the same colour as LVA Blauw. Metal-plated areas on land-baseed aircraft were usually painted with clear varnish only, except Fokker D.VII from 1928 on and Koolhoven FK-51 - both painted khaki overall. Metal plating on Fokker S.III was marbled. Fokker S.IX details: interior surfaces were protected with Anodiseergrijs, outside of fuel tank hatch also Anodiseergrijs.
MLD 1919-1939, Seaplanes and Flying BoatsFor sea-based aircraft, various shades of grey and silver were used, either to make the planes less visible against cloudy skies or to protect them against the aggressive sea climate.
After the 1938 Munich crisis more attention was paid to actual camouflage
- with
various solutions including a forerunner of the scheme that was
later used by the US Navy.
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes Hollandgrijs, licht was a substitute of Marinegrijs, although possibly it was a bit greener: Hollandgrijs mixed with white. Noordzeegrijs was yet another substitute for Marinegrijs, although possibly this shade was slightly darker.Another interpretation of Donkergrijs is that the shade was closer to FS 36231 (H-140 / X-131 / X-403). On delivery, Friedrichshafen FF-33L had German pre-printed fabric, or was clear doped.Fokker C.V had a peculiar blend of gloss and matt finishes on the wings. Bottom surface of a top wing and and upper surface of the bottom wing were matt; the opposite sides of both wings were finished in gloss lacquer. In 1936, for test purposes, one Fokker T.IV and one T.IVa were given a pattern of grey camouflage over their original one-colour finish - the original colour becoming part of the camouflage.In September 1937, for test purpose during a fleet exercise, three Dornier Wals were given a camouflage scheme of Lichtblauwgrijs and Donkerblauwgrijs. From 1938, the Fokker C.XIw carried aboard patrolling cruisers got an irregular pattern of zigzags, stripes and bands in Marinegrijs and Donkergrijs across their aluminium finish. A few types were also finished in overall natural metal finish: B.II (for evaluation purposes only), C.VIIIw, C.XIw, T.IVa, Fairey III-D, Ryan. Anti-glare panel on Ryan was probably black and only covered the fuselage section behind the engine hood.Floats and underwater parts of hulls on flying boats were finished as follows:
MLD 1940-1945Sharing the complicated fate of their KLu colleagues after German occupation of the low countries, MLD pilots found themselves serving under British command. Starting with Coastal Command in their old Fokkers (maybe even meeting the same type operated by the Germans), they ended up flying KNIL-ordered bombers for 2 TAF. Others moved to the Pacific, operating their MLD Catalinas and later Liberators, both types carrying Dutch markings. Even the Fleet Air Arm had a Dutch squadron, operating from Merchant Aircraft Carriers. Many pilots stationed with British squadrons stayed there throughout the war, like the FAA flyers operating Corsairs, Seafires and Hellcats. The Dutch squadrons were:
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes Donkerblauwgrijs was sometimes also referred to as Blauwgrijs (Blue Grey) or mud. This scheme looks similar to the one introduced by the USN half a year later - Non Specular Light / Blue Grey.Exact shade of Olijfgroen in the above table is unknown. US-manufactured aircraft such as Douglas DB-7B and Lockheed Hudsons were finished at the factory in US equivalents of Dark Green and Dark Earth which generally only roughly resembled their British counterparts. Medium Green, Dark Olive Drab or Light Earth could be used on these planes.Dutch Swordfishes served aboard the Dutch Merchant Aircraft Carriers Gadilla and Macoma and British MAC Acavus. These aircraft had gloss finish. Lockheed Hudsons and Avro Ansons could get temporary washable black finish on lower surfaces for night operations. An example of this practice are the Hudsons that participated in the 3rd "1000 bomber raid" on June 25/26, 1942.In 1941, units in the East Indies acquired a number of civilian Tiger Moths. At that time, about half of them were red, most of the rest blue, exact shades unknown. Seaplane hulls usually had a grey or black coating below the waterline. Many had darkened lower rear fuselages.Dornier Do-24K were gradually repainted in the above scheme. Delivery of Vought Kingfisher and most DB-7 (in the event, six of them reached NEI) was rerouted to Australia. They were handed over to the RAAF, arriving with Dutch markings (orange triangles).There was at least one Consolidated PBY Black Cat serving with the Dutch. In March 1942, all remaining Dornier Wals and Fokkers T.IVa, C.VIIw and C.XIw in the NEI were destroyed.MLD 1945 to Today, NATO (STANAGs, Standardization Agreements)After the war the Dutch continued their aircraft carrier experience with three (technically two) aircraft carriers and war missions flying British-supplied Hawker Sea Furies. Eventually the capability shifted to anti-submarine warfare and patrolling. Due to progressive budget cuts, only some ship-born helicopters remain to this day. Apart from some late war dark blue models, most planes used the two-tone NATO scheme, with either a high or low demarcation line between colours.
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes With the Canada-supplied Trackers, it should be noted that the Canadian names for the quoted colours were "Dark Sea Grey" for Extra Dark Sea Grey and "Light Sea Grey" for Medium Sea Grey. Following aircraft types ware painted in silver aluminium lacquer overall: Douglas DC-3 Dakota (except ex-KLu machines), Navigator TC-45, later also Taylorcraft Auster, Consolidated PBY Catalina and Martin Mariner. Dakotas had blue bands above windows. Some Catalinas had black hull bottoms. Many immediate post-war deliveries carried WW2 camouflages (see KLu 1942-1945). These got a gloss coat and/or were changed to the schemes discussed in this section. PBY Catalinas delivered in 1946-47 initially had the same Donkerblauwgrijs - Melkwit scheme as the very first MLD PBYs, see MLD 1940-1945.KLu aircraft started their marine service in their original colours. These include Taylorcraft Auster and some Harvards (see KLu 1942-1945); Piper Cub, Douglas DC-3 Dakota, North American Harvard, Gloster Meteor T, S-11, De Havilland Tiger Moth (see KLu 1953-1960s). Meteor T and camouflaged Dakotas kept these schemes throughout their service life. At least one early Harvard had its wartime trainer scheme changed to Extra Dark Sea Grey overall.US Grumman Tracker and Lockheed Neptune for Europe were delivered with a fuzzy border between colours. All other schemes had hard borders. The white on the mid Neptune was matt on sides and on engines. The Dark Sea Grey on later Neptune was semi-gloss at first. Later Neptune operating from the Antillen (West Indies) could have white upper fuselage surfaces.New Guinea Neptunes (P2V-7B) were delivered with white upper fuselage. On operational aircraft this was changed to a locally blended mix, slightly darker than Seaplane Grey (maybe only because it was less weathered). An interesting fact is that while on the ground, the temperature inside the parked aircraft rose 8 degrees higher due to the darker upper surface! Anti glare panels were usually repainted to matt black during maintenance.Beech 200 Super King Air belongs to the MLS (Marine Luchtvaartschool, Naval Aviation School), stationed with a civilian school and having its own scheme. MLD 2004+, Current Changes
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes New colour scheme gradually introduced up to the moment of the Orion's career end in Dutch service in January 2005. Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (ML-KNIL) - Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands-Indies ArmyThe Netherlands' East Indies being so huge a territory as it was, the Dutch decided to give it its own army. The air force (LA-KNIL, later renamed to ML-KNIL) officially always remained a part of that army. Being a long way from Holland, LA-KNIL had more liberty in choosing aircraft types by their own requirements. However, they had shown a bad habit of asking Dutch manufacturers to design a specific plane for a specific purpose, only to drop the whole thing and order abroad once the prototypes were flying. In the beginning there were problems finding right protective aircraft finishes, as the climate was very hot and very humid, making many early wood-and-fabric aircraft literally fall apart as their glue dissolved... The paint scheme that was finally settled on was a combination of green and heat-reflecting silver. 1919-1935, LA-KNIL
The acronym LA-KNIL stands for Luchtvaartafdeling van het Koninklijk
Nederlands-Indisch Leger - Aviation Department of the Royal
Netherlands-Indies Army. This was the final name of the organization
established in 1919 as PVA-KNIL - Proefvliegafdeling
van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (Test Flight Department
of the Royal Netherlands-Indies Army), and then from July 22 1918 VA-KNIL - Vliegafdeling
van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (Flight Department of the
Royal Netherlands-Indies Army). The department was finally renamed
to LA-KNIL on August 10, 1921.
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes Engine hoods of the Panders was left in bare metal finish.On delivery, the Fokker S.IV had a bare metal engine hood. Also, the lower surfaces of outer wings were painted LVA-blue (see KLu 1920-1940). Avro 504K and De Havilland DH-9 were rebuild with local resources withh plywood covering replacing the fabric. These converted aircraft were usually painted in clear varnish overall, with the following known exceptions:
ML-KNIL 1936-1950, US ColoursSeeing in Europe that their earlier decision to defend the NEI by patrolling air cruisers (Martins) was not really feasible, a mad rush begun by the late 1930s to build up a modern, all-round air force with adequate reserves in time before the expected Japanese onslaught. Many Dutch pilots joined the KNIL from Europe and a huge program was started to train plenty of flyers, including a Reserve Corps. Significant of this development, LA-KNIL was renamed to ML-KNIL on November 20, 1940. Unfortunately, the Japanese came just a few months too early. Like Britain's Bloody April in the Great War, pilots were eventually thrown into action straight from flight school. Although outnumbered and out-experienced, they achieved remarkable successes (all the way up to Hanoi). There were also severe losses, most notably during the ill-planned and ill-coordinated support of the defence of Singapore (Wavell's unrealistic Fortress Utopia), where Martin bombers were sent out singularly and in pairs as reconnaissance planes. After the fall of the NEI, most of the air staff staff joined the Royal Australian Air Force, where they served as independent units:
After the war these squadrons formed the core of the new ML-KNIL. At least nos. 18, 120 Squadrons and probably PEP still carried Dutch insignia on their aircraft. Captured Dutch airmen who became Japanese prisoners of war in the East Indies did not experience the joy of liberation the way that their European colleagues did. Many starved Dutchmen were murdered when they finally could leave their POW camps. Those who survived and returned to active duty were quickly sent to serve in another war in the NEI, dropping food, bombs or paratroopers. The post-war ML-KNIL did not last for long: the air force became superfluous and was abolished on July 1, 1950 Sadly, KNIL's heroes and the whole NEI episode is largely ignored in today's Holland and does not receive the recognition it deserves. Operating over jungle, the only suitable camouflage was of course green, until camouflage was no longer needed when the skies were controlled by the Allies.
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes Natural metal finish could be seen on metal parts of Ryan and Lockheed 212, Hawk 75, and from 1945 on B-25, C-40, C-47(A), C-54, DC-3(D), Ki-54c, Ki-57, L-2M, L-12, Mavis, P-40N, P-51D,K, UC-64. Of the pre-1943 natural finish types only the Ryan had a black anti-glare panel behind the engine hood. From 1945, both black and Olive Drab were used for anti-glare panels. Some C-40s also had the interior surfaces of the engine nacelles painted in the same colour. Exact name and shade of Chocolade bruin remains unknown, eye witnesses reported that the fuselage of FK-51 was 'chocolate colored'.In the harsh climate of the NEI, Dark Olive Drab 41 faded to a variety of shades: brown, brown-yellow, light green or even grey. In 1940 or 1941 one Martin was experimentally camouflaged in grey, blue and other light colours. All non-camouflaged aircraft, including trainers and civilian types were camouflaged during 1940-1941, Hawks and Martins first. Jongblad camouflage on Curtiss Hawk 75, Interceptor, Falcon, Brewster Buffalo, L-18, WH-2, Douglas DC-3 and Fokker F.XII was applied in large fields. When applied on US-based colour schemes such as that for Douglas A-20A, North American B-25 and Curtiss P-40, this colour was applied in "splotches" along the leading and trailing edges of wings and tail.On the Hawk 75 and Martins the camouflage was wrapped around the leading edge on the underside of the wing. The emergency-supplied P-40E and Hurricanes received Dutch national markings, but it's unknown if they got Dutch numerals. One P-40E possibly had a white "3" on the fuselage and tail. The P-40Es arrived late, but two of them may have seen combat action on the last day (March 8). There have been rumours that up to 12 extra Hurricane Mk.II and 24 extra Hurricane Mk.I have been supplied to and possibly operated by the Dutch.Also, quoted camouflage colours for the Hawker Hurricane are somewhat speculative. The Dutch were very good in camouflaging their airfields and understood the importance of camouflaged planes. As there was time enough to give the Hurricanes Dutch national markings, I believe it is possible that at least the Dark Earth patches of the camouflage were repainted with Jongblad, which was readily available. Ordered planes still undelivered in December 1941 - some Lockheeds, many Buffalos and Falcons, and all B-25Cs arrived too late. All did carry Dutch national insignia and most went to Australia, following the remainder of ML-KNIL, to serve in the RAAF or USAAF. An exception were the Bermudas which didn't arrive at all but were retained in the US to serve with the US Marines - who had to cope with Dutch language instructions on all the placards in the cockpit! However, these aircraft never carried Dutch colours or markings. There are a few preserved pictures of British Brewster Buffalos in Dutch markings. Therefore a conclusion can be drawn that there were some Dutch-operated Buffalos carrying RAF-style camouflage (see RAF colors). To me however, judging from the sort, shape and position of the markings and probable damages, it seems more likely that these were captured planes, collected and given suitable Dutch markings by Japanese for a propaganda photo shoot of an 'overrun airfield line up'.Douglas A-20A which served a short time alongside some B-25C's with 18 squadron during readiness preparations most probably didn't carry Dutch insignia. At least one B-25C (N5-145) was painted black overall. The three RAPWI B-25Cs were painted white overall with green crosses.Ex-Japanese transports (like Ki-54c, 57, Mavis)) were initially painted white (RAPWI & green crosses) or left in their original finish. In 1946 all were stripped to natural metal finish and given Dutch markings. From 1945 on, camouflaged planes were stripped to natural finish during regular overhauls. This process took some years to complete. A frequent occurrence during the transition period was the use of natural-metal replacement parts on faded, camouflaged airframes. With the introduction of the roundel insignia (replacing the flag from early 1948), camouflaged planes were stripped of paint around the national insignia but could be left camouflaged on other parts of the airframe.The only post-war aircraft type in the inventory that never lost its camouflage was the L-4J. On delivery they could have Medium Green splotches. Some were given white wing tips. After delivery, some Harvards were stripped to natural metal finish and given bomb racks (like B-417, B-418).In 1949 C-47s of 20 Squadron got a blue band above the windows with yellow lettering. Others: Royal Netherlands Military Flying School (Jackson Mississippi), West Indies, 1940-1945With the collapse in the Netherlands' East Indies and considering the ridiculously high cost of training in Britain, it was quickly decided to set up an independent flying school in the United States. This school, established in Jackson, Mississippi, operated throughout the war. The West Indies had an
improvised air force, which operated for a while alongside its US
counterpart to protect West Indies' oil fields against U-boats and
to intercept German ships fleeing to Central America. Even the
venerable Fokkers managed to achieve success.
Aircraft types legend
Additional colour notes In the hot climate, Dark Olive Drab 41 faded to many different shades: brown, brown-yellow, light green and even grey. The exact shade of Olijfgroen remains unknown.Medium Green splotches were not always present on Olive Drab aircraft. Some L-12's (like L2-45) were camouflaged in the Oudblad - Jongblad scheme like the aircraft in the NEI.The AT-11s were originally ordered by the MLD. Planes on loan from the US kept their (sometimes outdated) US national markings.After the end of hostilities, L-3Bs got yellow wings, nose and rudder, with L-3B 'A-1' having a red fuselage, and L-3B 'A-2' a blue fuselage. Natural metal finish could be seen on AT-11 except upper surfaces (RNMFS), BT-13A (RNMFS), Texan (RNMFS), PT-26 (WI).
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