HISTORY

S-199 painting

The most difficult aspect of making accurate representation of the Avia S-199 is

confirming the color of the airplane. Historians of the IAF relayed on a document

issued by the IAF in the early 1950’s which

listed the airplanes in IAF inventory and

their colors by name, with no reference to

any color standard. The S-199 was found

on this list and was described as being

painted gray. Post-World War II black and

white photographs of the S-199 in Czechoslovakian service show lighter and darker

airframes next to each other, which have

been interpreted to be differing shades of

a locally manufactured color MNO 2036

smalt 02 - similar or the same as RLM 02

or RLM 02 with a bit of RLM 83 Dark Green

added. In a mid-1994 visit to the Israel Air

Force museum by former Messer pilot and

Israeli president, Ezer Weizman insisted

that the gray painted S-199 on display had

wrong color. On January 2, 1995 I met with

president Weizman and when asked about

the right color, he pointed to the RLM 68

color chip in my Official Monogram Painting Guide to German aircraft 1935–1945,

further stating that the color was more of

a khaki shade “as seen on soldiers uniforms”. In cross reference of RLM 68 published in Monogram Publications book

on WWII Luftwaffe colors with FS.595, I

learned that this color is nearly identical

to FS.34258 green, which is significantly more vivid than the “khaki green” color

Messer D-121 painted in a brown and blue for 101 squadron's 10th anniversary family day celebrations,

held in May 1958 when the squadron was operating Mystere IV French fighter planes in the same colors.

which he meant. I first published my findings about RLM 68 in the December 1995

issue of IPMS Israel, Kne-Mida magazine.

This color finding was close, yet wrong.

A sample of the actual green color was

found several months after my findings,

when my fellow model builders and historians Ra'anan Weiss and Rami Skladman

interviewed a former IAF Avia S-199 mechanic Shabtai Katz. During their visit, he

showed them a fuel cap that belonged to

an IAF S-199. From this fuel cap the color

of the Avia was found as “khaki green” similar to German post WWII standard RAL

6013 Schilfgrün.

In February 2003 the correct RAL 6013

green color was relayed to the Joseph

Goldman, who is in charge of restoration

of the IAF museum exhibits, and he repainted Messer D-112 in the correct green

IAF S-199 kills and probable

June 3

Modi Alon

C-47 Dakota

REAF

D-106

June 3

Modi Alon

C-47 Dakota

REAF

D-106

July 8

Gideon Lichtman

Spitfire Mk.Vc

REAF

N/A

July 10

Morris Mann

Harvard

SyAAF

D-107

July 18

Modi Alon

Spitfire Mk.Vc

REAF

N/A

September 23

Gideon Lichtman

Dragon Rapide

RJA

D-118

October 16

Rudi Augarten

Spitfire Mk.IXe

REAF

D-121

abbreviations

2)

1)

1)

3)

notes

REAF – Royal Egyptian Air Force

1)

According to the IAF historian Alex Yofe

SyAAF – Syrian Arab Air Force

2)

Not credited as a kill, only probable

RJA – Royal Jordanian Airlines

3)

This aircraft is the sole surviving Messer in Israel; it is on display in the IAF museum in Hatzirim.

20

INFO Eduard

May 2022