Colours of the Bulgarian Dewoitine 520

[Beejay]

Hi,

Bulgarian Dewoitine 520's are depicted with gray schemes, green schemes, yellow wing tips and fuselage bands or white (even both). And they all depict the same machines.

I've read all the English stuff I could find (Mushroom's book, Nedialkov's books, Ospreys), but no-one says anything about it, yet somehow they all know in their profiles, which are all different! There is an article about these machines in Avions 133 (2004), but I couldn't get hold of it.
And were these 520s the ones captured in 1942, or the ones produced for Germany in 1941-42?

So, what's the consensus: gray or green, white and/or yellow, and why?

Beejay

[Wurger]

As memo serves these D.520s were captured planes in 1942 when the entire France was conquered. Soon after that D.520s became the equipment of two German training units, 60 planes was given to Italy and 100 aircraft got Romania and Bulgaria. 96 D.520s were delivered to Bulgaria in Sepetember and November of 1943 and stayed in service untill 1946/1947. These were both a part of these captured and just assembled planes. The camo scheme for them seems to be made with the same paints used by German Luftwaffe at that time mostly. It means the camo consisted of RLM74/75/76. However some repainting of these with the green colour might have happened. These white or yellow bands were the quick ID elements and depended on units and the period of time. Here a couple of examples.... found in the net.

[Beejay]

Thanks.

The thing is that the same photos are interpreted by one as grays and by another as greens, the same bands as yellow by one and white by another (btw, on their Me-109Gs they're always interpreted as being yellow). It seems some of the Bulgarians were ex Luftwaffe (trainers), while others were ex French. The question is whether the planes got a new paint job (after delivery?), or not. And if so, whether or not Luftwaffe colors were used (the Bulgarians had their own paints and camo schemes too of course).
Take your first pic for example: is the top scheme a 2-tone or a 3-tone? Is the number red, white or something else? Some even interpret the light spot on the lower front of the tail as an arrow pointing up!
It's interesting that the great majority (i.e. all except 1) of Bulgarian (sourced) profiles and art I've seen show greens, not grays, and yellow, not white. But to be fair, none of those books actually mention in the text what colors they are. On the other hand, fighters prior to 1943 used (1 or 2) greens, while the 1943 and later Me-109Gs show a similar disagreement between grays and greens.

The frustrating thing is that I cannot find photos of a D-520 (or Me-109G) alongside another type, so there's nothing to compare. Sigh, does anyone have a copy of the 1943 Bulgarian painting regulations for military aircraft??

Beejay

[Wurger]

Hi,

I've read all the English stuff I could find (Mushroom's book),but no-one says anything about it......

Beejay

It's a very interesting statement. I have checked the Mushroom Model Magazine Special no.6115 and found four profiles of Bulgarian D.520s with RLM74/75/76 camo scheme and RLM74 mottling said in captions. One of them is for the White14. Why the number is considered to be white? Because of the Bulgarian National Marking painted next to it. I'm sure you know these colours for the marking. So there is no problem with an interpretation of the number , also of the band or the thin stripe on the rudder. The trouble can be a colour of the wing tip and the national marking on upper surface of the wing. These look like yellow painted. Why? Check B&W images of Spitfires where the RAF roundels are clearly visible. Then you might grasp what is going on. The yellow paint is always darker than the white colour in old pictures. Because there were used two kinds of camera films, the yellow can be either almost black or dark one like in the shot of the "White14" and can be confounded with the red one rather. Concerning the green colour... RLM74 is called Graugrün in German what is translated as Grey-Green in English. And it wasn't a pure grey as you can think.


And the second image posted above being of a better quality...

[Wurger]

And the next shot of Bulgarian D.520

[Wurger]

The frustrating thing is that I cannot find photos of a D-520 (or Me-109G) alongside another type

I haven't seen as well. Maybe it can help... please, notice the same light effect on the starboard wing tip.




here shots of the same Bf109 of larger size... and from different directions.... the starboard wing tip appears to be white.




And here you are a shot of Bulgarian D.520s just received from Germany. As you can notice their camo scheme doesn't seem to be of French type rather.



And here being in Bulgarian service....

[Wurger]

In the book I have found info that Bulgarian quick ID elements were of white. In 1943 became yellow. Also there is another info that fighter aircraft obtained from Germany weren't re-painted. The exception were Bf109Es that were repainted with the green clour used by Bulgarian AF earlier.

[Beejay]

Thanks! Do you have the exact details about the change from white to yellow?
I know about the challenges with B&W pics.

I do not believe that the machines weren't repainted. For one, the German 520s were from training units, so had yellow under sides. For another, there're pics with neat and clean Dewoitines after delivery with fitting captions, so it seems they were overhauled in Bulgaria. In that case, why would the Bulgarians not use their own paints and colors? Btw the machine you introduced, to me shows a clear 3-tone top scheme.

Beejay

[Wurger]

I'll try to find more about the yellow colour. Let you know.


These yellow undersides could have been repainted by Germans. But it is not sure if these used by them for training , were sent to Bulgaria. It is more likely these D.520s were taken from French factories ( already with German camo scheme ) and sent via Germany to Bulgaria. I have found an info that these were initially intended to be employed for the air defence of the Reich, but in August 1943 the fighters were sold to Bulgaria. 100 units were planed to be delivered in September and these were to be followed by 24 more later that year. In fact 96 D.520s were eventually delivered. These equipped 2/6 and 4/6 regiments at Karlovo airfield, which commenced their conversion in November.
Why no Bulgarian own paints used... it seems to be easy to explain. Bulgaria needed these planes for supporting their fight against allied air raids against targets in Bulgaria and decided to run the war going with Nazi Germany together. As a result it's logical that their camo scheme couldn't be different from the German one, especially that Bulgarian units had to cooperate with the Luftwaffe squadrons.

BTW Why do you think the camo scheme seen in the posted picture was the three-tone one?

Here is the image posted again in our forum and seems to be of a decent quality.

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent info!

[Beejay]

Thanks Wurger.

On the other hand ... I think Mushoom's book says the thing about the trainers. Anyway, there's the photo of the just arrived German 520s which carry non-fighter Luftwaffe codes on the fuselage (very unfortunately you can't see the unit code!). And if you repaint almost half of the plane (yellow), why not the whole thing? Plus the photos don't show any sign that on the other surfaces only the German symbols were overpainted (you would be able t see that, because of the different position of the respective crosses). In some of the Me-109Gs on the other hand this is very clearly visible. Then there's the pic of the D-520 with a Bulgarian cross, but (yet) without numeral, wearing the long stripe and an arrow / chevron shape under the cockpit. Some have opted for the chevron interpretation, I guess because of the link with Germany, but then why the very un-Luftwaffe (and un-Bulgarian) white stripe? On the other hand the white stripe, often with something like an arrow head, was a requirement for Vichy fighters, so perhaps that particular machine was ex-French. And if 1 then why not more?

Why 3-tone? Because I see 3 very distinct tones on the wing and the top of the fuselage and tail (not counting the yellow tip and white/black cross of course). I don't think that can be explained away with dirt/angle to sun/gloss/etc. I won't go as far as claiming it's a French scheme, although one could make a case for that with similar arguments as used for the Luftwaffe scheme. I still think they wore some kind of Bulgarian coat, just don't know the colors.

Interesting.

Beejay

[Wurger]

Can you post the picture of the just arrived German 520s which carry non-fighter Luftwaffe codes on the fuselage?
Here you are a couple of these used by Germans.

And if you repaint almost half of the plane (yellow), why not the whole thing?

If it would be done it was done by Germans but not by Bulgarians. Then these colours were of RLM paints for sure.

.... other hand the white stripe, often with something like an arrow head, was a requirement for Vichy fighters, so perhaps that particular machine was ex-French.....

I don't think so. Judging by pictures of Bulgarins' D.520 all of them were painted with LW camo scheme. No codes and other French-like markings on them, just German national markings or without of them. Have a look at these images below.





Still can't notice any additional colour on the wing of the D.520. Can you edit the pic with Photoshop for instance and mark the one in there?

[parsifal]

Wurgs, amazing..... I am just gobsmacked at your knowledge man

[Wurger]

Then there's the pic of the D-520 with a Bulgarian cross, but (yet) without numeral, wearing the long stripe and an arrow / chevron shape under the cockpit. Some have opted for the chevron interpretation, I guess because of the link with Germany, but then why the very un-Luftwaffe (and un-Bulgarian) white stripe?

Do you mean the D.520?



I have found a profile of the plane. According to the caption the D.520 was flown by Colonel ( Group Captain ). I think , it was the same rank as the LW Geschwader Kommodore. So,no wonder the officer was entitled to sign his plane with the marking that undoubtely looks like the German one but it was adjust to the Bulgarian way of painting and marking of aircraft. Have a look at these profiles and compare them, please. The profile source - the Internet.

[Wurger]

Wurgs, amazing..... I am just gobsmacked at your knowledge man

THX Mate...