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Like most Luftwaffe aircraft, the
Me 262 sported a variety of different camouflage schemes.
The use of mottling to break up
the decarmation line between upper surface and lower surface
colors usually ensured that no two aircraft looked exactly alike.
There were two official camouflage
schemes specified for the Me 262. The first early scheme utilized
the standard gray colors of 74/75/76.
This "late-war" Me 262
camouflage scheme was issued on 26 September 1944 and featured
a revised splinter pattern in the late-war colors of 81/82/76.
The two top colors were in RLM
81 Brown-Violet & RLM 82 Bright Green with bottom surfaces
in RLM 76 Light Blue. A random spray of 81 & 82 was used
on the sides to blend the upper and lower surface colors together.
The amount of mottle and how far it extended down the fuselage
and nacelles varied.
A "typical" scheme is
illustrated at left. Note that is closely follows the official
diagram. Careful study of wartime photos will reveal many other
variations, some bearing no resemblance to the official directive.
Since RLM 82 was a rather bright
color, sometimes RLM 83 Dark Green would be used instead. The
result would be a low contrast scheme that would be very effective
when the aircraft was parked on the ground. Since the Luftwaffe
was constantly on the defensive at this point in the war, ground
concealment was extremely important. This is an interesting
contrast to the earlier 74/75/76 scheme which could be considered
an "air superiority" color scheme.
In an effort to save resources,
the undersurface of the wings and fuselage were sometimes left
bare metal.
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