Evenin' all

I suspect this may have been covered somewhere here already but here goes
anyway.

I was about to advise another returnee on the likely colour of the wheel wells and inside undercarriage doors when I thought I would check the concensus here!

The project is a Mk Vc in a mediterranean scheme.
I would suggest the wheel wells in the overall underside colour and the inside of the doors in interior green.

Let me know if I'm wide of the mark.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

Hi Steven

I'm not sure there is a definitive answer - I've seen Spits with silver, grey-green or underside colour wheel wells and doors! Osprey have a new book out on Malta Spitfire Aces which I'm hoping to pick up this week - that might have some useful photo references of Mk. VCs...

All the best

Rowan

Thanks for that - he's read your post and is going for both interior green. Also it's a Vb (my mistake)

Steve

Possibly Interior Green when they left the factory but often sprayed over with the underneath colour when repainted. Compare the two 303 Sqn Spitfires taken from a film clip. Both have the port wings painted black. One appears to have the undercarriage painted over with black while the other seems to have been left in the original colour.

First time I've tried to post an image !

Underside colour (Azure) on gear and doors.

Also found this
[img/]http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp202/ruspren/spitfiretropcan.jpg/image.file[/img]

Some joker has even touched up the starboard upper roundel with the underside colour!

Steve

B#####cks that didn't go too well
I'll try again later
Steve

Here you go mate.
(you had a / in the image tag at the front.)


Nige

See if this works - it shows the Azure undercarriage quite clearly.

Nige, I have some time after next week end (" Big Gig" NEC) and will have a go at that beat up Canadian machine. Has that image been reversed? - the side door seems to be on the wrong side and the camo looks like it should be for the other side.

Hope the piccy posts

Steve

Hi Steve.
No time for me, Im still up to my neck in fixing Mac 2k's and 600's.
I doubt the photos been reversed. Its exactly as you emailed it me, and the serial numbers are the right way round.
Nige

Most Spitfires had their wheelbays, inner doors and undercarriage legs painted in the undersurface scheme; Spitfires with the 5 spoke wheels (Mks I, V and IX mainly) had the wheel hubs painted in the undersurface colour, as did those with the removable discs on the wheel hubs:


The colours look 'orrible, but the azure blue doors, legs and wheel hubs are clear enough.


A Vb with clipped wings and "Aboukir" filter; not too clear, unfortunately. What does make this photo interesting are the tapes over the gun ports which are a dark (Mediterranean?) blue

Incidentally, the undercarriage legs had two narrow bright, natural metal straps just below the undercarriage uplock and below the grease nipple respectively. The one below the uplock can be seen on this photo as a white line in the shadow cast by the wing:



Hope these help.

Perhaps it's just any random tape the maintenance crews could get their hands on when running out of supplies?
I remember reading an article about the RAF units based on Malta. At some point during the siege they were so low on supplies that even the red tape used to cover gun ports ran out so they had to use anything similar at hand.