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Camouflage of the He111 in Luftwaffe Service |
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The Germans being methodical sorts, there weren't a lot of variations in individual camo schemes for the Luftwaffe's bombers; however, the standard factory scheme for all variants up through the J is extremely attractive, and will no doubt be a pain in the glutes to mask properly! At left is the camo layout for this initial 61/62/63/65 scheme; note that there are photos of 111s in service which have had the red and white tailband overpainted in solid 61 leaving just the Hakenkreuz outlined in white. |
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At right is one of the most superb shots imaginable of this four-color camo scheme; this shot shows He111Es under construction at NDW (Norddeutsche Dornier Werke). Items to note are the obvious good fit of the full-size kit as the outboard wing panels are prepainted (not damn likely on the Roden kit), as well as the partially clearcoated example in the foreground; it appears NDW applied the final coat of Future once the cowling panels were secured and no further work on the wing panels was necessary. No documentation has surfaced to indicate how the Future was applied to the airframe; however, examination of the photo suggests it was brushed on. :) |
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With the
onset of P-model production in 1939, a simplified scheme of 70 and 71 was
applied to the uppersurfaces; the official Heinkel Oberflächenschutzliste
(literally, uppersurface protection document) at left gives not only the
pattern to be followed, but also the measurements of each individual side
of the camouflage. It's documents like these which I believe spawned
the derogatory term "accuracy Nazi"... it's hard enough
trying to mask this on a model without worrying about whether the angle of
the camo lines follow prescribed documentation!
Please note that while this is specified for the H/P/D series, the earlier variants would carry a very similar scheme with the obvious exception of the nose. |
