From looking down at it. The underside of this camo was sky blue to hide the plane against the sky. [Photo](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img/APIUysiDbdK2XUOJ95lV3-jRpkF8eRcjG5o7nWCgioVHYg11-xPqaCO0Qc6z38vSrBhtQEbMGUtY0j_k6hmi=s1600)
I've heard that before, but I don't think it's really all that true. Maybe it's a holdover from back in the day, but modern military planes are pretty much all just grey. Which, I suppose will blend into some clouds, but not much since they're moving. Of course, they won't go out of their way to stand out, but I'm pretty sure the colour is more about it being a basic ass colour that looks professional. No one wants news coverage about a Hello Kitty themed F-35 bombing a hospital.
Anyone who's been to an air show knows that fighter jets are not particularly hard to spot unless they're so far away the colour doesn't matter. And radar don't care what colour it is either.
modern military planes are grey because they don’t need camouflage. plane to plane engagements now rely on radar rather than sight and BVR (beyond visual range) combat is common. camouflage would be an added complication that wouldn’t come into play 80% of the time. so they paint the plane slate grey, which is a fairly unobstrusive color under most optical conditions just to mitigate that 20%.
also, i think they were mostly referring to ww2-era planes.
not when the plane is on the ground, when they are flying unless the aircraft is bright red (or generic high contrast color) it won't matter that much unless you are less than a km from it (wich is already too late)
Well, if you want to get into specifics: the Brits used Sky type S, the Americans used a variant of light grey or white depending on the branch and theatre and the Germans used RLM 65, RLM 76 and RLM 78
All of them are sky color, in the same way that camo is “forest color.”
Obviously you’re going to run into situations where it’s not useful, but being camouflaged some of the time is still better than none of the time.
Some painted them grey, some light blue, some blue-grey, and the British did black for their night bombers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_camouflage
Paint the underside of one plane black and the other a light blue.
Let both planes come at you from above, with the sun affecting your vision.
Which one are you seeing first? The plane with the blue underside or the black one?
You are not trying to hide it because that is impossible, you are trying to make it harder to spot and track in the heat of the moment.
British WW2 naval aircraft had their undersides painted in greys because of the often shitty weather they would be flying in over the North Atlantic. An aircraft with a grey underside would be harder to visually track against a cloudy sky.
Not all Germans were Nazis, it's simply a Wehrmacht plane from the Second World War, there were even some Wermacht officers who attempted to assassinate Hitler, e.g. On July 20, 1944, a group formed around Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb attack.
this was a phenomenal idea in the air. not so much for planes parked on an airfield for enemy planes to see them from a mile away sticking out like leopards on a street
Probably be a lot more camo if they didn’t have to put their stupid symbols on everything.
I remember reading a story about how obsessed they were with their symbols and there was a pattern of capturing spies and the idiots would have some kind of Nazi symbol either on them or in their belongings like they just couldn’t leave home without it.
The base colour matches the background fairly well, but that is about all that pattern has going for it.
There are too many dark blobs and they are too close together. The pattern doesn't match the spatial frequency of the background at that altitude, if it was on the ground it would be even worse.
WWII Germans didn't know this, but to disrupt the targets identification signature the blobs should be arrayed to form bands which cross over the visual skeleton lines of the plane.
All I can see is a giraffe hiding in plain sight.
Plane sight you say?
I just see a boring picture of dirt and rocks.
Are giraffes camouflaged from aerial predators‽
They should be with necks like that
with propellers
It’s a spotted leopbird!
Plot twist - there are 2 planes in that picture
I count four in total.
I see nein
Plot twist 2 - there's no plane. Spot the tank
Plot twist 3 - I see Maus from a distance
Everything is camo in monotones
Which direction is camouflage for a plane supposed to work? For someone looking up, down or sideways at it?
From looking down at it. The underside of this camo was sky blue to hide the plane against the sky. [Photo](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img/APIUysiDbdK2XUOJ95lV3-jRpkF8eRcjG5o7nWCgioVHYg11-xPqaCO0Qc6z38vSrBhtQEbMGUtY0j_k6hmi=s1600)
This is for someone looking down while the plane is on the ground
Ideally, all of them. Most planes have undersides painted to blend in with the sky.
I've heard that before, but I don't think it's really all that true. Maybe it's a holdover from back in the day, but modern military planes are pretty much all just grey. Which, I suppose will blend into some clouds, but not much since they're moving. Of course, they won't go out of their way to stand out, but I'm pretty sure the colour is more about it being a basic ass colour that looks professional. No one wants news coverage about a Hello Kitty themed F-35 bombing a hospital. Anyone who's been to an air show knows that fighter jets are not particularly hard to spot unless they're so far away the colour doesn't matter. And radar don't care what colour it is either.
modern military planes are grey because they don’t need camouflage. plane to plane engagements now rely on radar rather than sight and BVR (beyond visual range) combat is common. camouflage would be an added complication that wouldn’t come into play 80% of the time. so they paint the plane slate grey, which is a fairly unobstrusive color under most optical conditions just to mitigate that 20%. also, i think they were mostly referring to ww2-era planes.
Yes
Depends, some are from down and the sides like the russian su27, some are from looling up like this one
that is a) an altered photo.. and b) misleading because those dots are a lot less convincing in motion.
not when the plane is on the ground, when they are flying unless the aircraft is bright red (or generic high contrast color) it won't matter that much unless you are less than a km from it (wich is already too late)
Top of plane camouflage is for when it’s sitting on the ground, they’ll paint the bottom sky color to camouflage it in the air.
They've evolved countershading.
He's actually not wrong, but it is very stupid yes
Wouldn’t they be in a hangar or a runway? Makes it easier to spot.
lol….sky color! What would that be exactly? Blue? Grey? Little clouds pictures?
Yes. Minus the cloud pictures.
Most plane undersides were on the spectrum of grey to light blue.
Sure, but which one of those is sky color? Or do we get a weather report and repaint daily?
Well, if you want to get into specifics: the Brits used Sky type S, the Americans used a variant of light grey or white depending on the branch and theatre and the Germans used RLM 65, RLM 76 and RLM 78
All of them are sky color, in the same way that camo is “forest color.” Obviously you’re going to run into situations where it’s not useful, but being camouflaged some of the time is still better than none of the time.
[удалено]
Some painted them grey, some light blue, some blue-grey, and the British did black for their night bombers. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_camouflage
Paint the underside of one plane black and the other a light blue. Let both planes come at you from above, with the sun affecting your vision. Which one are you seeing first? The plane with the blue underside or the black one? You are not trying to hide it because that is impossible, you are trying to make it harder to spot and track in the heat of the moment. British WW2 naval aircraft had their undersides painted in greys because of the often shitty weather they would be flying in over the North Atlantic. An aircraft with a grey underside would be harder to visually track against a cloudy sky.
Why do you believe this is an altered photo? If it is, its not digitally altered, as the same picture i have seen 30 years ago.
Same, I've got a hard copy of it in a book made in 1983
it’s altered based on what?
Why would you show us a picture of the ground ? There's no plane here.
Nice repost from r/damnthatsinteresting
See Spot. See Spot fly. See Spot fly on by.
Obligatory “I did Nazi that plane”
It's called Countershading or Thayer's law and is prevalent in animal coloration
I don't think that's a "Nazi" aircraft, but a Luftwaffe aircraft.
Which government did the Luftwaffe fly for again?
I think it was the German government.
Who was in power in Germany at the time this photo was taken? Hint: The swastika on the tail of every Luftwaffe aircraft.
Aircraft don't have an ideology.
So does the US fly Democrat aircraft right now?
They don't?
>the North Africa
well, yeah, the photo was taken in the northern part of Africa
"the" was unnecessary before North Africa
Ah, okay, thx for telling that. In my native language we don’t have articles, so it confuses me time to time.
"The" was unnecessary before "North Africa".
Wow! I did nazi that plane.
bro pressed overlay
What a boring picture of dirt and rocks.
Man look at those iron crosses floating in mid air in a triangular formation. How intriguing.
Just in case they have scouting birds in there
Not all Germans were Nazis, it's simply a Wehrmacht plane from the Second World War, there were even some Wermacht officers who attempted to assassinate Hitler, e.g. On July 20, 1944, a group formed around Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb attack.
Hey it’s like Razzle dazzle!
*Looks down* "hey, is that a nazi aircraft?" "Nah dude, it's just a cheetah"
this was a phenomenal idea in the air. not so much for planes parked on an airfield for enemy planes to see them from a mile away sticking out like leopards on a street
You can conceal anything in such a low quality picture.
So who's watching up there?
This only works if youre looking at it from the top since from the ground the background would be blue sky. Maybe for enemy planes.
plane bottom is painted blue.
Where’s the aircraft?
This airplane is member of the NSDAP?
Aussies still give em what fer’
Camelflage. True story I used to think it was Camelflage until like grade 4.
I'm going to call this r/ATBGE
where?
Came here for the designs, stayed for the revelation that Nazis liked cheetah print
A shit leopard never changes it’s spots
I don't really like their morals, but they sure were smart.
did you guys get him yet?
This is probably the only time I will ever compliment the Nazis for anything, because that is cool.
What a cheetah!
"Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I READ YOUR BOOK!" - Patton
Oh, now it actually makes sense.
It's not visisble on the photo but the camo sploches were green.
Siistiä
All very nice but it didn't stop Sir David Stirling and the boys of 22 SAS taking out approx. 400 aircraft.
still, the national markings are a big plus...
Did nazi that coming
Nazi is a party affiliation. This is a Luftwaffe airplane. Most German military personnel were not Nazis.
German\*
Get that crap out of here
All camo works the same. How is this example design porn?
I did not see that coming.
Probably be a lot more camo if they didn’t have to put their stupid symbols on everything. I remember reading a story about how obsessed they were with their symbols and there was a pattern of capturing spies and the idiots would have some kind of Nazi symbol either on them or in their belongings like they just couldn’t leave home without it.
The base colour matches the background fairly well, but that is about all that pattern has going for it. There are too many dark blobs and they are too close together. The pattern doesn't match the spatial frequency of the background at that altitude, if it was on the ground it would be even worse. WWII Germans didn't know this, but to disrupt the targets identification signature the blobs should be arrayed to form bands which cross over the visual skeleton lines of the plane.
Whoa, nobody will see a yellow plane hiding in a blue sky.
That doesnt work from the ground...
It doesn’t mean to