Hi folks!
I'll start my next project in the next days, which will be the new Hawker Sea Fury FB 11 from Airfix (1/48). I wonder what cockpit interior colour they had? Airfix suggests Black but I'm not sure about that ....

Also, what colour had the wheel wells? Airfix comes up with something that looks similar to Zinc Chromate Yellow of the USN. Is that true? Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
Torsten

Hi Torsten as far as I'm aware the cockpit was indeed black, it started with the Typhoon/Tempest. The Canberra was cockpit was also painted black, I think it fitted with the then doctrine on suitable cockpit colours.

Thanks a lot, Chris!
Never seen a black cockpit but okay, if it was so, then I'll follow that line.

So, I believe, the wheel wells were painted then also really in something "yellowish", as Airfix suggests .... ? Should have ZCY somewhere in my Vallejo chart.

Torsten

Hi Torsten

Yep - pretty much unremitting black was the overall colour for the cockpit. There were a a few spot colours on levers etc., plus the seat padding - and yellow/black stripes on emergency systems. The colour scheme held true through the 1970s, and I'll always remember being told in the ATC before a flight in a Chipmunk "In case of an emergency, pull anything and everything that's painted yellow & black" (with the Chipmunk, half the cockpit fell away if you pulled everything)!

With the wheel wells, all the colour photos I've seen are of restored aircraft. But, again in the 1970s, when I worked at BHC (ex-Saunders-Roe), a yellow-chromate primer was common on interior parts, so the instructions may be correct.

I can thoroughly recommend Valiant Wings' reprinted Airframe Album 2 as a reference for your build.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Torsten check out this thread as well it contains some interesting pics of Sea Fury wheel wells. Looking around the pics of the wheel wells you can see remnants of an almost bright yellow.

Rowan, Chris, thanks for all your feedback!

Those photos in that link are really helpfull, Chris. Now I can start with the kit and hope it will please me more than the last I had on my bench ....

Over the years I've seen a Sea Fury flying a few times here at the Hahnweide Meeting near Stuttgart and was amazed by that power and engine sound. Just awesome! Sadly I've lost my videos of it due to a HD crash 4 years ago ....

Torsten

The Sea Fury has to be amongst my most favourite aircraft right behind the Fw190 both are simply awesome! The Sea Fury has the claim of the only piston engined fighter to shoot down a jet fighter. (Mig 15 during the Korean War)

Not true. A few Me 262s were shot down in WW2, and a couple of Migs were shot down in Vietnam by A-1s. I'm not sure of Korea.

Well colour my face red! I'll amend it to say the only Fleet Air Arm pistoned engine fighter to ever shoot down a Jet.

Here's the combat I was thinking of.

Thanks for your additional answers, guys.

Troy is right, there were some Me 262 shot down in 1945, mainly by P-51. I have also heard of that MiG 15 kill for a Sea Fury during the Korean War. But there was also a F4U Corair, which successfully attacked a MiG.

Chris, that link doesn't work for me.

Well, today was time to fire up my air gun. Unfortunally the photos don't show the yellow as yellow as it is .... It's a bit brighter, here it looks more like Beige. There must be something wrong with my camera. The cutting matt looks blue here but in fact it is green. Anyway, I have used US Interior Yellow from Vallejo and it looks quite good on the parts. So next week I'll start to glue the parts together ....

Happy modelling!
Torsten