WT Forums

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, so I hope I'm not asking a stupid question. I live in southwest Michigan, near Battle Creek. The A-10 outfit there flies grey jets, but I've also seen pictures/models/etc of jets in green camo. Can someone please describe when/where the different camo schemes have been used?

Thanks,

John

They all used to be green. The green changed to grey in the mid 90's. All A-10s are grey now.

They were also all gray in the Before Time. When they first released in the late '70s they were all gray, I was a bomb loader at DM at that time. When they started deploying them to England and other places in the European Theater, they went to the Green Woodland paint. During that time, the A-10 primary mission profile, (to the best of my knowledge), was low and slow and the green paint helped it blend in to the surroundings even in flight.

After the fall of the Soviet Threat, and during the 1rst Gulf War, (I think it was about that time), the mission profile changed to a medium altitude attacks, and the Gray paint worked better at those altitudes to allow the Hawg to blend into the sky. They've been Gray ever since.

Jack, to the best of my knowledge, the ones at DM anyway, were never painted green. I think that the green paint jobs were only for the European bases, or places were there was lots of green. The only green ones I'd ever seen at DM were the ones, fresh from the factory, on their way to Bentwaters, or that base in Louisianna, (forgive my old brain, I can't remember the name of that base). Most of the birds destined for those bases passed through DM on the way. Those Dark Green birds really stood out like a sore thumb on that ramp.

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Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

Mine (76-0534) was the first one at D-M to have the green paint (80ish). It came from Nellis (via depot) to the 358th. It landed IFE with a double gen failure but thats another story.

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If you want to know more about history and colors of the Warthog. Than you better buy books from Don Logan (specially the first one).

A very good one is an old one (from the eighties). From publisher Salamander,
ISBN 086101236, Title \"Modern Fighting Aircraft A-10\".
If you go with this to your bookstore, i think they can help you.
But remember this is not with the grey scheme in it from the nineties.

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The current paint scheme came on line in 92, as a result of stuf we learned in WWDS. Prior to that, all A-10s were green. Prior to that, several schemes were tested, but the light \"ghost\" grey was the production scheme until about 1981.

Coach

Is that the same reason the KC-10's and 135's changed from their \"Shamu\" look in the SAC days to the all grey they are now?

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If it Flys, shoot it

I'll take your word for it, you would know better than me about that. And it's England AFB your thinking of, in Alexandria, LA.

There have been a couple of books (paperbacks) written on just the subject of A-10 paint schemes, like Dana Bell’s colors and marking of the A-10 Warthog. Here’s a trivia fact, the A-10 (at least a few as tests at any one point in time) has, at one time or another, carried over 50 different paint schemes. Without going into to much detail the three “main” schemes used on the A-10 have been the gray symmetrical/asymmetrical scheme in the early days of production (around 1979-1982), the Euro I and II (green) schemes used from around 1982-1993 and the current air superiority gray used from 1993 (last green one was painted gray in 1995)- until today.

Every time a new scheme was adopted ALL A-10s were painted in that scheme including DM in the green EURO I&II. A lot of the time people will mistake the early gray scheme with the current gray scheme and assume they are one in the same and that the A-10 has always been gray. Also when you factor in the fact it takes about 5 years for all aircraft to transfer from one scheme to another it can get very confusing which jets/bases were carrying what scheme at what time in history.

Thanks for the information. I had no idea it was that complex. Regarding the current scheme, are the jets two-tone or a uniform grey? If they're two-tone, what colors are used on the jets and where is the demarkation line? The color difference appears to be subtle, unless that's just from weathering.

Thanks again,

John

Jaceglarek, do you need the information to paint A-10 models? If it is so, than surf on the internet for pictures. Look at the website of Diceman, a lot of pictures. Some stores has information about colors. See this for example. Most modelkits has paint information. And what Diceman an i allready said. Read some books about it.
http://www.aviationmegastore.com/?shopi ... &art=37542

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Tons of pics also here:

Models:
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/Gal-Fea%20Archives/jet_articles/A-10/A-10.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/Gal-Fea%20Archives/jet_articles/A-10/A-10-02.htm

Real A-10s
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/301-400/walk369_NAW_A-10/walk369.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/401-500/walk477_A-10-Engine_Sutton/walk477.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/101-200/walk145_A-10/walk145a.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/101-200/walk145_A-10/walk145b.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/101-200/walk145_A-10/walk145c.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/301-400/walk325_A-10part1/walk325a.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/301-400/walk325_A-10/part2/walk325b.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/001-100/walk003_A-10/walk003.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/101-200/walk120_A-10/walk120.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/001-100/walk003_A-10/part2/walk003b.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/001-100/walk096_A-10%20cockpit/walk096.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/101-200/walk152_A-10/walk152.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/401-500/walk497_A-10_Visser/walk497.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/601-700/walk683_A-10_Middleton/walk683.htm
http://www.s205409446.onlinehome.us/AWA1/601-700/walk655_A-10_Stephens/walk655.htm

Had to be after 95, my jet in Korea was still green when I left in 1998....I think she was painted grey soon after I left....

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My bad prkiii I forgot about the overseas jets, it may have been as late as 2000 before all of them got painted.

jaceglarek, here's a page that will help please excuse the missing graphics but I had it down for redesign and haven't finnished the updates yet.

http://www.warthogpen.com/paint.html

Dice-man,
Thanks. That is what I was looking for.

no prob dice...it isn't very often you get your fax crossed

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While we are talking paint schemes, does anyone know of any other units that used this grey scheme other than Spangdahlem? Logan's first book has pics of these SP A-10s in there, but I really couldn't find any other unit that had this scheme applied, except for possibly one CT jet that, in the picture, looks like it's the same scheme......



quick search, i think this is a real picture of one, although hard to tell:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0317426/M/

A-10 protos had all sorts of colors from light gray to dark Gunship gray to even a tan color. One scheme was all black with various coats of white paint over the black, as air eroded the white over time the plane took on a mottled look. I THINK this was called \"MASK 10\".
Production planes started out two shades of light gray then went to \"Euro-1\" as command decided an A-10s biggest threat was another aircraft, especially fast movers overhead. When they re-decided the main A-10 threat was SAMs and AAA they went back to gray. Then there was the weird stuff like the lozenge pattern from the JAWS II exercises. And a funky Euro-1 with a light gray in the pattern where the gunship gray used to be. There was another scheme called \"Peanut\" but I don't remember what it was.

Oh yeah don't forget the false canopy on the bottom of the fuselage!

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The Peanut color scheme can you see on this modelplane.
http://www.aviationmegastore.com/?shopi ... &art=68584

Sorry that i find only a picture of a model, i hadn't enough time to find a picture of a real Peanut painted A-10.

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