Battle of Britain engine cowl colors.

tallus83 · Post by **tallus83** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:19 am

Taking into account the painting of Me109 engine cowls for quick identification in combat, were there any other reasons? Such as unit identification? I've seen yellow, orange, and white used.

wiltaz · Post by **wiltaz** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:41 am

Someone who is an expert will probably give a better answer, but it might be related to the Staffel they were assigned to. I just read a book on JG54 and the color of the numbering identified the Staffel they were in and their call sign. Black-7, White -2, Yellow-3 for example. At least the text and photos matched up and made sense. But I didn't pay attention to see if the cowling colors matched the numbers. I'll have to look when I get home.

tallus83 · Post by **tallus83** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:25 pm

Thanks, Wiltaz.

The idea of cowl color equaling staffel color doesn't work though.

I've seen yellow noses on aircraft with red numbers.

wiltaz · Post by **wiltaz** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:18 am

Yeah it didn't match up in the book I read either. I was just throwing it out there because the number thing was fresh on my mind.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:08 am

Here's a thought - were there any identification problems or friendly-fire issues with the ALL-OVER green colour scheme used on 109D's in Poland at the start of the war?

tallus83 · Post by **tallus83** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:15 am

I'm not sure, but I didn't notice the cowls being painted during the Phoney War or the Battle of France. It seemed to start during the Battle of Britain.

It was probably either a Staffel or Gruppe memo that was sent out, stating 'Paint the engine cowls for identification between us and the RAF'.