"F4U-1D; Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. The area above the consoles was black. This matches the Navy's directives at the time very well. Inside of the wheel bays and engine cowling were also Interior Green FS 34151."
http://www.verlinden-productions.com/vp_htm_1201_1600/vp1518.htm note: there is a transparent window on the bottom of the fuselage!
the cockpit had no floor!
"USN Aircraft Interiors: The answers here are complex. Until recently everyone assumed that the interior of all USN WWII aircraft was FS 34151 Interior Green. This is not always the case as is obvious from the AM Avenger instruction sheet. Mr. Larry Webster an airplane restorer, volunteer with the New England Air Museum and a friend of mine has extensive knowledge in this area. Here is some help on this subject with all credit to Larry Webster. Also credit must go to Dana Bell for his help in this area. His article in the October 1997 FineScale Modeler magazine should be required reading. His 3 volume set Air Force Colors contains some useful info.
F4U-1; Cockpit. Well, this is tricky. The best evidence is black. Photos of F4U-1s taken at the time show the cockpits as being a very dark color. The F4U-1 E & M manual calls for Dull Dark Green. Photos and some wrecks show flat black. A photo of 'Pappy" Boyington in Bruce Gamble's, The Black Sheep, shows him sitting in a Birdcage with a black armor plate and upper seat. This a/c also has no headrest. All other areas of the F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair would normally be Salmon. Salmon is a pale pinkish/brown primer. The closest Munsell match is 2.5 YR 6/8 or between FS 32276 and FS 32356. This color was applied to the whole F4U before the final camo finish. The landing gear bays were this color. The inside of the main gear doors were Light Gray. Sometimes this was only overspray over the Salmon. Note: there were canvas covers on the inner and outer wheel bays that were either Olive Drab or Light Gray. The closest paint that I have found to the Salmon samples in my possession is PollyScale Railroad, Southern Pacific Daylight Orange. The wheelbays, engine cowling and accessory cowlings were painted in Non-Specular Light Gray to match the underside of the aircraft.
F4U-1A; Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. All other areas of the F4U-1A were Zinc Chromate Yellow FS 33481. Early F4U-1A's may have been Salmon. Landing gear was Insignia White. Early a/c may have had Light Gray landing gear.
F4U-1D; Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. The area above the consoles was black. This matches the Navy's directives at the time very well. Inside of the wheel bays and engine cowling were also Interior Green FS 34151
F4U-4: Cockpit FS 34151 Interior Green. The area above the consoles was black. Inside of the engine cowling was Zinc Chromate Yellow, Interior Green or Flat Black. All other visible areas were Glossy Dark Sea Blue similar to the F6F-5."
[This message has been edited by Citabria (edited 05-21-2000).]
