Voyenno Vozdushnye Sily Colours (USSR)

On this page I’ve tried to create a comprehensive list of the paintings, camouflages and markings utilized by the VVS, the soviet air force in the period leading up to the second world war to a bit thereafter. It is based mostly around the research of Mikhail Orlov. Even though I’ve tried to create this list carefully, mistakes are possible.

The shown colours are an approximation. The exact colours are often difficult to determine, and could vary from factory to factory and fade over time. The displayed colour can also differ depending on the monitor used. The shown examples should only be regarded as general approximations.

Paints

Prior to second world war, or Great Patriotic War as the Russians call it, a few old systems were still in use on older planes, namely “A”, “AEh” and “AE”. When the war broke out in June 1941 they were already abandoned for the AMT system.

AMT-X / AGT-X

End 1941, a series of specifications for a new series of aviation finishings was drawn up known as ‘AMT’, or aerolak Matoviy for use on mixed construction aircraft. They were on a Nitrocellulose base. These were ordered together with the A-XXm series for all metal aircraft, however these paints were introduced much later. Due to large shortages and the harsh winter of 1941, the introduction of these new lacquers happened only gradually, and pre-war finishes were used up to 1945, sometimes together with the new lacquers.
The primary reason for these new paints was that they could be applied without a primer and were much more durable.
The delivery of the first three colours, AMT-6 Black, AMT-4 Green and AMT-7 Blue began begin 1942 to LaGG and Yak fighter programs. These were manufactured using the same pigments as their AII counterparts and only later new colours were introduced, which also bore a close resemblance to earlier finishes.
AGT paints were the glossy equivalents of the matte AMT line.

Code	Name	FS equivalent	Gunze	Tamiya	Vallejo	Hataka
AMT-1 AGT-1	Light Brown	FS *0372	H-072 C-022		71.320
	Upper surface camouflage of all aircraft types except fighters together with AMT-4 and AMT-12. Fades to a darker shade.
AMT-4 AGT-4	Green	FS-*4151	H-303 C-303		71.301	HTK-A073
	Upper surface camouflage
AMT-6 AGT-6	Black	FS-*7038	H-077 C-137	XF-69	71.251	HTK-A041
	Upper surface camouflage propeller blades
AMT-7 AGT-7	blue	FS-*5190	H-323 C-323	85% XF-23 5% XF-4 10% XF-2	71.318	HTK-A072
	Undersurface of planes.
AMT-11 AGT-11	Blue Grey	FS-*6375	H-331 C-331		71.304	HTK-A071
	Upper surface camouflage together with AMT-12
AMT-12 AGT-12	Dark Grey	FS-*6187	H-337 C-317	XF-54	71.308	HTK-A070
	Upper surface camouflage together with AMT-11

Other paints:
lacquer No.67 asfaltoviy. Bombs were painted twice, first normally with the markings and then with asfatoviy, a dark grey , slightly sticky lacquer which was easily removed with turpentine, presumably to check the markings.

Roundels

Plain Red Star

The emblem started as a plain, red star which can be seen from the early 1920’s onward. The exact origin of the red star is unknown, but the star  has always been used in one way or another as the roundel of the Soviet Russian air force. The plain star was used commonly to 1942, but began to disappear in 1943 and was rarely seen after that.

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Black Bordered Star

This variant came into swing at certain factories in 1941 and was commonly seen on for specific fighter programs such as early yaks. the pattern fell out of use in 1943.

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Circle Star

This variant was became popular during the 1920’s and 30’s, and was occasionally seen in the early periods of the war on planes manufactured in 1937-1939.

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White/Yellow Bordered Star
Initially the border of the white line was quite thin, comparable to the black bordered star. By 1942 the border became gradually thicker over the years. Some examples of this variant are known from before the war, but it didn’t become popular until 1942. While never really common, the yellow bordered star seem to have been used as a decorative substitute for the white bordered star.

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Victory Star
The term Victory star was coined in the 1950’s. Before that this star was also known as the outline star. Usage of this star was rare before 1944, but was used in some quantity. In 1945 this variant had become the de facto standard and replaced all other variants. A Silver bordered victory star variant was also known to be used as a decorative substitute.

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Transit Star
During the war, the USSR received a lot of US aircraft via the Lend-Lease program. These aircraft had American roundels painted on them during production. When these aircraft were shipped to the Soviet Union, Soviet star was painted on them, either before or after ferrying. The blue outer part was most of the time repainted in the same colour as the surrounding camouflage.  But due to availability and different green hues used by the Soviets results varied, often resulting in a very visible, green outline of the old roundel. However sometimes it was either left blue or it was painted white. The style and size of the interior star could differ per plane.

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Sources

• E. Pilawskii, Soviet Air Force Fighter Colours 1941-1945. Classic Publications (2004). ISBN 978-1903223307
• M Góralczyk, G. Högl, J. Kiroff, N. Millman, M. Orlov, Real Colors of WWII Aircraft. AK-interactive (2019) ISBN 8435568300385
• http://wio.ru/simbols/simbrus.htm, accessed 23-04-2021
• https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lendlease/p-39/p-39.html, accessed 23-4-2021