Falklands Painting Guide

BRITISH

Sea Harriers were painted grey over-all on the way to the South Atlantic but Invincible used a much darker grey than Hermes, hence the Argentinian nickname for Harriers of La Muerta Negra.

All other aircraft, bar most helicopters which came in dark green or dark sea grey, were patterned in standard British NATO dark grey and dark green camouflage.

As a low-visibility measure the white middle portion of the British roundel was painted over.

ARGENTINA

Argentinian aircraft came in a variety of colour schemes. Mirage fighters and the Hercules transports carried a three colour look consisting of mid green, dark green and dark sand. MB.399 light jets had two colours, green and dark sand, and Pucaras had a swirly light green pattern over a light sand base (as per the one at RAF Cosford below). The Canberras scheme was similar to the RAF's green and grey but the latter was lighter. All had light grey undersides. Some Argentinian aircraft seem to have had large yellow recognition panels painted on the wings.

Navy planes were generally dark blue with light grey undersurfaces. Skyhawks seem to have sported the greatest variety; as well as the dark blue they also came in light grey with white undersides, light grey with brown camouflaged patches, and also camouflaged dark green and dark sand. Navy helicopters were light grey above dark grey.

Nose-cone from a crashed Mirage

now in the Fleet Air Arm Museum

British and

Argentinian

national insignia

Click on the links below for more information