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World War II
Discuss WWII and the era directly before and after the war from 1935-1949.
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Early WW2 USN aviator colors
pnance26
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California, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, March 07, 2017 - 08:35 AM UTC
I am building a diorama with figures in a USN plane circa mid-1942.

I know the Mae West is yellow but I need help with the other colors.For instance, their flight overalls... are they light or medium brown, tan or khaki? How about the Mae West? What color was the "snoopy" cap they wore? And finally, are the flight boots black or another color?

Any and all help would be appreciated. I didn't get a set with a paint call-out, so I am asking for assistance.

Thanks in advance.
JPTRR
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RAILROAD MODELING
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Posted: Tuesday, March 07, 2017 - 08:47 AM UTC
Hi Patrick,

It depended on the area of operations and season but generally, PTO USN pilots wore a tan-khaki uniform. The snoopy was tan cloth or dark leather. USN gave their pilots dark leather jackets, too.

Color portrait of Butch O'Hare early 1942.
http://www.daveswarbirds.com/navalwar/men_pics/clrohare.jpg

TBD Devesstator pilots:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5MHz5YxGy6M/TLPGRoNZehI/AAAAAAAAEC4/qh6GLvQxtnU/s400/Carrier+Pilot+and+Gunner+USS+Hornet+WWII.jpg

Ever seen the Technicolor movie Dive Bomber? Here's a still: http://www.impdb.org/images/thumb/8/8f/DiveBomber_SOC-2.jpg/350px-DiveBomber_SOC-2.jpg

Note the pilots' shirt was a light olive.

They also wore olive cloth jackets:
http://aolx.tmsimg.com/iconic/h12/AllPhotos/355/p355_i_h12_aa.jpg

I think that in the Atlantic that USN aircrew had leather flightsuits.

pnance26
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California, United States
Joined: January 22, 2016
KitMaker: 766 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, March 07, 2017 - 09:36 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Patrick,

It depended on the area of operations and season but generally, PTO USN pilots wore a tan-khaki uniform. The snoopy was tan cloth or dark leather. USN gave their pilots dark leather jackets, too.

Color portrait of Butch O'Hare early 1942.
http://www.daveswarbirds.com/navalwar/men_pics/clrohare.jpg

TBD Devesstator pilots:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5MHz5YxGy6M/TLPGRoNZehI/AAAAAAAAEC4/qh6GLvQxtnU/s400/Carrier+Pilot+and+Gunner+USS+Hornet+WWII.jpg

Ever seen the Technicolor movie Dive Bomber? Here's a still: http://www.impdb.org/images/thumb/8/8f/DiveBomber_SOC-2.jpg/350px-DiveBomber_SOC-2.jpg

Note the pilots' shirt was a light olive.

They also wore olive cloth jackets:
http://aolx.tmsimg.com/iconic/h12/AllPhotos/355/p355_i_h12_aa.jpg

I think that in the Atlantic that USN aircrew had leather flightsuits.



Thank you so much! Incredible that they wore their ties into combat! Great resources photos... I knew I could get good intel here, as always!

Much thanks!
Removed by original poster on 03/08/17 - 04:37:13 (GMT).
Kevlar06
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Washington, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, March 07, 2017 - 09:38 PM UTC
Patrick,
Yes, Fred has sent some great photos here, but they are all Officers (well maybe a couple of Petty Officers). The enlisted gunners would likely have been wearing a different uniform, including dungarees in some cases. Carrier Air War in Color is a book I've used in the past. Maybe someone with more technical ability can link some enlisted flight uniform photos. By the way, Eduard makes a set of 1/48 early war figures.
VR, Russ
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