US Army Air Corps Mediterranean Theater Operations (MTO) WWII

Sand, azure and olive over the Mediterranean

When American air units found themselves over North Africa, they took over camouflage practice from the British crews who had been operating there for some time. The machines were given sand and brown upper surfaces and a light azure underside, which works better over the desert than European neutral gray. The set covers this unusual mixture of British and American practice in eight bottles.

The contents in brief: a dark olive drab tone and a neutral gray as the link to the European scheme, azure blue for the undersides, a lighter green, a medium sand tone, desert sand, an earthy drab brown and a yellow shade for interiors. The range from green to sand makes it possible to build even machines flown over from England and repainted hastily in the field.

What to watch out for: desert finishes changed faster under that sun than anywhere else, sand from the runway scoured the leading edges and oil from the engine ran down the fuselage. That is exactly why it pays off to break the base tone up after spraying rather than leaving it uniform.

The palette suits fighters and attack aircraft from the campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, and equally the aircraft of other Allied operators in the same area.

This palette is not enough for the flying suits of the crews, which had colors of their own. On the other hand, the crates, barrels and canvas shelters set out around a hardstanding are fully covered by the sand and earthy tones, so the set also comes in useful for the surroundings of a machine in a diorama.