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Another "dirty SLUF" photo

Navy Chief

Navy Chief

Senior Member
This Dept of Defense photo really illustrates what I have posted several times, about the dirty, mottled look that USN aircraft acquire when deployed! This photo of a VA-87 A -7E was reportedly taken onboard the Indy, during her 1983 deployment. I was onboard at the time, with VA-15. NC
 

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I've never liked the low-vis tactical paint jobs on USN birds.
Med-deployed air wings did not have the services of FAWPRA (Fleet Air Western Pacific Repair Activity) at NAF Atsugi to rehab aircraft during a deployment. The NIPPI Corp. was the contractor and I'm sure some of those old boys had been repairing planes for the Imperial Navy not too many years before. They did good work. A plane would come out of FAWPRA looking like it just came off the assembly line at Vought, Grumman or McDonnell-Douglas.
 
So I have been away from the Outhouse for awhile but I've seen a few of the posts you were referring so if I missed it forgive me..... Is the color difference on that A-7 in the picture from actual paint like from repairs or whatever, or is it more of a moisture type of discoloration?

-witt
 
Witt, I'm pretty sure most of that is touch-up paint from the squadron's Corrosion Control crew. I've seen even worse patchwork looking birds than NC's pic. C/C is a drudge but it goes on constantly so the aircraft don't get eaten up by the salt environment aboard ship. So many access panels and "dzus" fittings (the fasteners that secure the panels, maybe they have a different name nowadays) have to be checked for corrosion and then painted (never ends up the same color as the plane) or coated with preservative. Some of the stuff we used back in the day has been determined to be hazardous to your health. That's good to know... now, LOL.
 
Grey is grey and as long as we removed the corrosion completely the Airframers were happy. Between the 50 shades of grey ( sorry ), greasy hand prints and general dirt a tactical finish never stayed showroom new for long. And it was not just 12C and Airframes that did corrosion control, at least in the units I was in, Maintenance Control had no problem put the Ordies to work doing that s**t too and on a DET in HCS-5 it was a given that everyone helped out doing crud control.
 
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