For the French it seems that the progression of tapes went from CDL (Clear Doped Linen) to black, to horizon blue, to matching the adjacent colour surface.

I added a bit of history from Dan San Abbott on the first page and place it here as well. Its worth reading.

". . .The French fivie color camouflage was adopted in late 1917 and was used on all day aircraft, fighters, observation reconnaissance and bombers. It purpose was to reduce visibilty,and to add protection fron the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The upper and side surfaces were in a dark green, an apple green, beige and chocolate brown and matt black, the under surfaces were light blue, or light yellow and aluminum. The upper (except for black)and lower fabric colors were mixed with aluminum powder, and this is what achieved the reduced visibility. The aluminum powder was 40% by weight and the colored pigments excepting the matt black, the remaining 60%. The metalized dope was not use on metal panels. An oil based paint of an approximate colour was used on adjacent metal panels.

The French firm Société Nauton Freres et de Marsac developed this camouflage dope and the patent was held by their chemist, Mon.T.F. Tesse.They had made a study od earth and plant colors and determine their light reflectance. They then developed a camouflage scheme to utilize these "colors. Patterns were developed for each makers aircraft Section Technique d'Aeronautique (STAe). Each manuuacturer was provided with the appropriate color pattern. Licensed contractors, all had slight variations that were consistant to the maker. By studying these variations the aircraft manufacturer can be identified in photographs a particular, i.e. a SPAD XIII.

A final note. We can be thankful to made this study back in the 1960s, in a program called "Project Butterfly". These men are/were H.L.Elman, H.D.Hastings, Bergen Hardesty and Alan Toelle. Without their efforts we would still be getting it wrong. "Project Butterfly" was published in Cross & Cockade, Part 1, Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 1968. Part 2, Vol.13, No.2 1972 Summer 1972, Part 3 Vol.13, No.4 Winter 1972.

Now folks this is a rare treat! Alan Toelle has responded to some questions concerning the French multi colour camouflage and I quote him here.

"French 1918 Camouflage Scheme
I will try to address the questions regarding 1918 French Camouflage that have been raised in the foregoing discussion.

The basic technology as described in the Cross & Cockade Project Butterfly series was based on direct quotations from contemporary technical reports, and remains valid today as it was then. That information was augmented by the study of a number of original specimens. That work was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Robert L. Feller of the National Gallery of Art Research Project, Mellon Institution. He confirmed that the airplane coating met the standards as described in the technical literature, and that the pigmentation was the same. Based on that, I obtained the various pigments and, by trial and error, determined the proportions that would reproduce the colors seen on the original specimens that I had in hand at that time.

Since that time (35 years), I have been all over the USA, France, Belgium, and Italy, and have seen some 200 original specimens of this material. I also now have some 100 specimens in hand, and have made cross sections of many of them for examination under the microscope. All this has only confirmed most of the earlier work.

Regarding camouflage patterns, airplane production, manufacturers, etc., a great deal of new information has been obtained, and the ability of illustrating it has improved many-fold. The results of this research is evident in publications of the past six years, including Ted Hamady’s Nieuport 28 book, my own Breguet 14 Datafile, Tomasz Groncewski’s book on the Spad VII, Flying Machine Press’ Salmson Aircraft of World War I, and other illustrations by Juanita Franzi, Ronny Bar, and myself, appearing in Over the Front and Windsock. A Datafile on the Spad XII cannon is also well along. Therefore, the Project butterfly illustrations do not represent the latest or best source of information.

Fabric surfaces:
The fabric surfaces received four coats of cellulose-acetate dope. The first and 4th coat were clear, and the 2nd and 3rd coats pigmented. The pigmentation of the camouflage colors contained 42% by weight aluminum powder. The black color sometimes did not contain aluminum powder. The resulting surface was generally not flat, but was slightly undulating according to the weave of the fabric. Sometimes, however, it turned out nearly flat. The tendency was probably toward less dope rather than more.

The aluminum powder was in a non-leafing flake form. The flakes were produced in a ball mill, which resulted in irregular size and shape, somewhat battered in appearance, but generally flattened. In the coating, the flakes take a generally horizontal orientation as the coating dries. The flakes are never at the surface, but are distributed down in the coating. The flakes are not in contact with one another or packed together. They sometimes overlap but are not necessarily continuous. The colored pigments are very finely ground compared to the aluminum flakes. The resulting coating, when viewed under the microscope from the face, has the character of depth, the matrix being colored with flakes appearing colored depending on their depth in the coating. In cross section, the flakes appear as thin bright more-or-less horizontal streaks.

To the naked eye, the coating is reflective and sensitive to the illumination and angle of incidence. As with plain aluminum coatings, the camouflage dopes also exhibit the character known as “flop.” This causes the coating switch from dark to light with a slight change of angle of incidence of the illumination. This phenomenon is quite evident on aluminum-doped Nieuport 17s, where the fuselage sides often appear to be painted with a completely different dark color. Also, on Nieuport 28s having many facets, with certain illumination and viewed from above, the fuselage seems to have one of the stringers caved in. The phenomenon occurs when rays of light get trapped within the coating and dissipate by bouncing off the bottom of adjacent flakes instead of back to the viewer.

The most appropriate description of the appearance of the coating is that of a wet fish. It is not glossy, but neither is it matte. It is reflective or dull depending on the illumination. It has depth.

The camouflage dopes were patented, but were produced under license by a number of manufacturers. The colors vary a bit, but each color stays within a certain tolerable range. They are not a continuum from one color to another. They have distinctively different pigmentation.

Research done by the Memorial Flight is said to have discovered the use of other metal powder(s). But I personally have seen only aluminum, which is very easy to identify under the microscope. Simply expose it to a drop of caustic and it is quickly destroyed!
Of the photos posted on this thread, that of the right side of Frank Luke’s 27th Aero Squadron plane displays the most-correct colors. It is extremely difficult to photograph these airplanes in museums as the various sources of lighting distort the color.

Undersurface color:
The contemporary literature all mentions bleuté or blanc-bleuté for the undersurface color. But virtually all original specimens I have seen are écru, a word meaning raw, unbleached, or natural, but also representing the color of old computers. This is not some aged example of bleuté, but rather an intentional pigmented color. I found ecru on numerous Spad, Breguet, Salmson, and Nieuport 28 specimens. I have only discovered one example of blanc-bleuté, a fragment of fabric clinging to an uncovered tailplane from SPAD-built Spad XIII S.757 constructed in early 1918. It is pigmented with aluminum powder and a white extender. There may be a very small amount of blue pigment. But it is basically a very light silvery-gray color. So, the basic conclusion I reach is that ecru was by far more common color, but SPAD used blanc-bleuté. I presume others did as well, but don’t have any data.

Solid and metal parts:
The solid and metal parts were painted with “Ripolin.” This is a trade name but also used generically to describe a high-grade oil-based paint. Gertrude Stein reported that Pablo Picasso, and other artists of that time (ca. WW-1), used Ripolin instead of artists colors because it was a lot less expensive. Ripolin was produced in a variety of colors that corresponded approximately to the colors used on the fabric surfaces. It did not contain aluminum powder. From original specimens I have seen, I would describe it as semi-gloss. It was definitely not matt. It was specified for wheel discs. I don’t have any empirical data on the composition of Ripolin.

Cocardes:
It was permitted to use either Ripolin or colored dope. I have seen examples of both. I don’t know of any general rule. The colors used on cocardes varied a great deal, especially the blue. Original specimens associated with particular manufacturers are rare.

Alan Toelle"

"RESTORED and REPLICA AIRCRAFT


Spad XIII 7689 #20 NASM I provided 15 gallons of pigmented camouflage dope that was used to paint the airplane that was restored ca. late 1980s. I mixed the colors using the original palette of pigments (including aluminum flake) specified in 1917. The colors were matched to typical original specimens in good condition in my possession. Since the original airplane was composed of parts from three airplanes, and since it had been in an exposed environment for 65 years and was badly distressed, I did not attempt to match those colors, although they would generally have, when new, been consistent with the restoration colors. I did not provide the Ripolin paint. That was obtained by NASM based on their interpretation of what they found during the restoration. I think it turned out glossier than the original. The bright green used on some metal parts was, indeed, a bright and saturated color on the original. It had grayed where exposed, but under the edges was an unexpectedly bright color. I think NASM got it a little too saturated.



Spad XIII #26 Frank Luke This replica was formerly at Champlin Fighter Museum and now at The Museum of Flight, Seattle. It was basically constructed by the late Dick Day and completed by Walt Appleby. I provided the direction for the camouflage and markings. I also provided pigment paste for the camouflage colors. This pigment paste was mixed into clear dope by the builder. It was from the same batch as I produced for NASM, and the resulting colors on the airplane are identical. It is the same material. As now displayed, the serial number on the rudder is incorrect. It is the serial number of a 27th Aero Squadron Spad, but further research has convinced me it was not Luke’s. Also, the configuration of the checkered bands on the wings is incorrect. The Blériot camouflage pattern is basically correct. They made the mistake of putting aluminum-pigmented paint where Ripolin should have been used.


Spad XIII 15295 MAE This is an original Blériot-built Spad XIII that was briefly on hand at the 27th Aero Squadron, USAS, in August 1918. It was photographed in full squadron markings with the #20 before being returned to Saint-Cyr for some latent defect. Remy Longetti has photos of it. Later, it was sent to the Musée de l’Air. It never had guns installed. It had already been restored when I first saw it in 1984. Général Lissarrague, then director of MAE, asked me to provide him with information on how to reproduce the 1918 camouflage. I provided him everything I knew at that time plus samples of the original pigments and samples of colors. MAE then restored the airplane without any further input from me. The MAE painted it in accord with the camouflage and markings of René Fonck as used on his SPAD-built S.700 “VI” ca. spring 1918. They put the almost-correct number 5295 on the rudder. As restored, the camouflage turned out to have inconsistent colors. I think that they either thinned the dope too much or brushed it too much, or both. The result is generally authentic, but a bit wan. It might not have passed inspection out of the factory.




Spad XIII 4377 Memorial Flight This original Kellner-built machine was constructed in February 1918. It was discovered in Belgium in the late 1960s. I inspected it in 1984. At that time it was a collection of bare components resting in a Jean Salis hangar at La Ferté d’Alais. Although the fabric was missing, I was able to salvage fragments of the Belgian cocarde that clung to the steel fittings. The black color of the cocarde was found to contain aluminum powder! So, this was one of the Kellner production that was shared between the British and Belgians in early 1918. The cocarde had been painted on in Belgian colors at the factory. The original Ripolin colors of dark brown and dark green were present on the cabane struts. This was much more of a green camouflage color compared to what was found on S.7689. I was never involved in the subsequent restoration of this airplane by the Memorial Flight, and have never seen it in its restored condition. Therefore, I am unable to comment on its present colors or coatings. But they have done a great deal of original research that I have not seen. I would bet that they did a very good job.

Spad XIII 10086 #15 Javier Arrango This replica, constructed by Roger Freeman, is extremely close to the original physical structure in nearly every respect. The camouflage colors were matched to samples of the dope used on S.7689 at NASM. The color match and general appearance of the camouflage on the fabric surfaces (with aluminum powder) is very good. Javier chose the color scheme of a SAFCA-built machine, S.10086, of escadrille Spa.153 flown by S/Lt. Gaston Bourgois (1 v.) ca. August – November 1918. I provided directions on how to paint it, but the painter got ahead of the curve in some areas by taking direction from some other source. The rudder typography could be improved. But the Egyptian falcon insignia of Spa.153 is based on an original held by the Memorial Flight, and is beautifully and accurately painted. The numerals “15” are probably correct but their form is hypothetical based on photos of other planes in the squadron. I have not seen any photo of the completed replica. The original airplane was the subject of an interesting photo session in the snow with a large dog and Lt.(?) Ferré, who flew it on 24 December 1918. These photos were published in OTF.

Alan Toelle"

Excellent thread Stephen!
Thanks for posting Alan Toelle's answer, I saved it for my color references archive

Mr. Toelle's response was to an on going controversy that has raged over the past several days at the Aerodrome Forum site, If you want to see the hole hairball in all its glory and see some color chips of French 5 color scheme prepared using the Metheun Book of color as mentioned in Mr Toelle's articles

Flypaper

Alan responds with more thoughts.

"Further thoughts
More Spads

Spad XIII S.16594 NMUSAF This is the late-1918 Kellner-built Spad XIII formerly owned by Cole Palen and later acquired by the US Air Force Museum after his death. In the early 2000s, it was restored to the colors of Eddie Rickenbacker’s S.4523 #1. Airplanes in this series were delivered around the time of the Armistice, and this one had no combat or operational history. It is largely original except for the cowling, radiator, motor, and misc. parts in the cockpit area. I provided the AFM with directions on how to paint it and they followed those directions carefully. Therefore, it really does represent the appearance of Rickenbacker’s plane in late October 1918. It even includes the skewed white numerals “1” with orange borders as seen on the original insignia from both sides. One thing caught me by surprise. When examining the original hat-in-ring from the left side, they discovered that the belly had been overpainted light gray. So, without further ado, they painted the whole undersides of the plane, wings and all, light gray, completely obliterating the beautiful écru! I thought that was presumptuous, but it is pretty hard to un-paint an airplane. I could imagine that the belly had been overpainted because of wear and tear, but the whole undersurface? I doubt it. The basic camouflage dope was, I believe, acquired according to the formulation used for the Nieuport 28 restored earlier by Roger Freeman. In any case, the colors are quite good.

See walkarounds here. Click Here.

Spad XIII S.???? MAE/Tillamook Air Museum/Phoenix ?? This Spad XIII is assembled from original parts of several airplanes scrounged from the MAE. It was “restored” in the UK, and ended up in the Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook, Oregon, USA. It was carelessly painted to represent Rickenbacker’s S.4523 #1. It was done poorly, resulting in a caricature of the actual color scheme. My understanding is that it was shipped to Phoenix to be repainted in Frank Luke’s colors, and then to be hung in the airport terminal. I am unaware of the current status and have never been involved with this airplane.

Spad XIII Baracca. This replica was recently completed in Italy and has been flying. It is painted as what purports to be Baracca’s Blériot-built S.2445. From photographs I have seen, the camouflage colors appear ghastly – far from authentic. They also have the appearance of being a matt finish, but I could be wrong. I have not seen any close-up photos.

I forgot to mention that I provided complete uppersurface and profile illustrations of the Blériot and Bernard-built Spad XIII camouflage patterns for the long-awaited book on Frank Luke, The Stand. Hopefully, the wait will end soon.

Regarding the packing of aluminum flakes, the French cellulose-acetate dope was never sprayed on, only painted on by hand. This is according to the American Technical Representative, Lt. Phillip Drinker, a chemical engineer and later Harvard professor. He regularly visited French airplane factories and paint manufacturers in late 1917 and all of 1918. Therefore, spraying did not enter into the question of how the coating turned out. The process of brushing did sometimes result in streaks if the work was done too slowly. This is often visible in black and white photos, especially along the division between adjacent colors. The thickness of the coating was not very consistent.

I examined a tiny sample of material from the Pfalz D.IIIa shot down by Douglas Campbell on 14 April 1918. The pigmentation was exclusively aluminum flake. There was no other pigmentation. The flakes were smaller than seen in French specimens. Also, they were packed together in a random manner that led me to conclude that the coating had been sprayed on. Doug Campbell gave this specimen to Dr. Jim Parks. (At the Lafayette Foundation where I volunteer-Stephen)

Ripolin used to camouflage 1916 Bébé Nieuports was definitely glossy. It was definitely sprayed on.

Alan Toelle"




Hole hairball? Never mind.

More on the Belian Spad XIII.
"Spad XIII 8949 (S.p. 49) Musée Royale de l’Armée, Bruxelles, Belgium. The SFA number is painted inside the cockpit on one of the aluminum panels. However, the airplane is assembled from parts of other airplanes, all constructed by Adolphe Bernard: Fin 8949; tailplane and elevators 7971; lower wings 8919; and upper wing 8865. This airplane is basically all-original and in good condition. It has been repainted using material that does not contain aluminum powder. But the colors simulate the original and the original camouflage pattern has been reproduced. The undersurfaces are painted light gray, which probably represents the original color blanc-bleuté. The original Ripolin light-green (right side), and dark brown (left-side) could be seen where the newer paint had peeled off. But the fabric surfaces seem to have been re-covered. By the way, the cabane struts of camouflaged Spads are always painted with Ripolin, never plain varnished. This airplane is notable in having the original late-style ammunition box, but guns are not present and the gun troughs are covered over with aluminum sheeting. Also notable is the fact that the diagonal strut connecting the cabane with the motor mount has a rigid connection at the base, similar to S.4377. The SFA numbers stenciled or painted on the various parts indicate a production series intermixed with some 100 Bernard-built Spads supplied to the USAS ca. September – early October 1918. For example, Frank Luke was flying S.7984 the day he was killed. The Spads delivered to the Americans had the cocardes placed at an inboard location tangent to the aileron cutout. One could suppose that Bernard was inspired by the early Liberty planes that were then arriving at the front with close-spaced cocardes. The rudder typography of the American machines was also different, being stenciled on in very large characters. However, S.8949 had the cocardes in the normal position centered on the outboard struts. This also raises the question of smaller diameter decals being used for cocardes, as seen being applied in a photo taken inside the Bernard factory. Apparently, that practice did not become general, and small cocardes are not evident in any other photos. Finally, if the blanc-bleuté undersurface color represented the practice of Bernard at that time, then my illustration of Luke’s S.7984 is, hélas, already obsolete in that respect.

Alan Toelle"

May I ask for some assistance here.

I am VERY interested in obtaining quality copies of BOTH of this stereoscopic pair of Nieuport 11 images for my own immensely selfish (not to be shared or sold) reasons. This as I'd really like to see this in 3D for the remainder of my years, as I have a few started models to finish....
Further, in true 3D photography, as the two images are mixed within one's brain (possibly even in my case) this, to see the stereoscopic single image, the amount of colour information is resultingly doubled. THEREFORE, MAYBE I will be able to tell exactly (well, uh, close enough....) what the interplane strut tape and flying surfaces perimeter tape colours actually were!

Thank you.

On CDL Nieuport XI tapes = black. On camouflage Nieuport XI tapes =horizon blue.

To follow up Lars' post about White Ensign Model paints, they have a range of 'Pre-1945' French colours link -
www.whiteensignmodels.com go to the catalogue / aircraft section and french colours. In my experience of using their naval colours they are very good in terms of accuracy of colour, though can be a little hard to use and have to be mixed very thoroughly

I'm planning on doing one of the SPAD XIII in the Eduard 72nd scale dual combo kit as Baracca's aircraft so will try them and see what happens.

Mike

With the advent of Special Hobby's Morane Saulnier A.I we can bring this thread up for another go. Sorry the logo is one of the older ones.





See the Misterkit acrylics review here.

next I would like to show a step by step inscale application of the French Multi colour camouflage on at least one maybe two kits. That will have to come later.

Stay tuned. More to come.

Hello JackFlash,

browsing the internet for my doctorate on the history nitrocellulose paint at the university of Stuttgart (Germany) I just discovered your post on WW1 camouflage paint. The picture you posted is very interesting! (I am quite sure the people in the front row are brushing clear nitrocellulose "dope" lacquer, which had to be applied before the camouflage pattern could be painted). Could you please tell me where the photo comes from, so I could quote it in my writing? Is it maybe possible to have a copy in a better resolution of this picture? I will only use it for my doctorate and give correct credits & quote.

Thank you for you help!

This the best image I have. Originally this came from the Operation Butterfly team historians. Only one is alive today Mr. Alan Toelle. Now he is the man when it comes to early aircraft dope and colour treatments. I could put you incontact with him if he is not too busy.