A question for Wrench and the other expert WW2 skinners

[Heck 496]

What color were the serial number stencils on Olive Drab US aircraft?  Pretty much all modeling sites and artist's paintings depict them in black on the Burma Banshees, but I have seen two photographs; one of Butter Bean II, from Life magazine, and the other, aircraft 64, serial 323304, from the Philip Adair collection, that seem to contradict this interpretation.  323304 is definitely ID yellow in a close up of the tail, it can't be black, comparing the color values in the black and white photo.  I have come to believe that the depiction of the serial numbers as black is a misinterpretation of color values from the black and white photos, but I can find no concrete references to the color.  I've painted 22 skulls, so of them hand painted from photographs, so I want to get the serials right.  Does anyone have a reference that says they weren't ID yellow, other than a modeling site, or artist's interpretation?  I have to do 26 aircraft number/serial number combos, and I'm definitely leaning toward ID yellow serials with White aircraft numbers, on those aircraft that carried both.  Thanks.

 

PS.  This is number 64 from the Adair collection:

 

And this is the link to the copyrighted Life photo:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsheley/6131014261/lightbox/

[Spinners 15,984]

Cracking link. Some awesome shots there.

[Wrench 9,660]

Believe it or not, I actually use RLM Gelb. it's the closest match I've seen to US serial number yellow

 

RGB values:

 

228/164/0

 

 

spinners' is right ... some GREAT PB4Y pics there!!

Edited October 12, 2013 by Wrench

[Heck 496]

Yeah, those Life magazine shots are great.  Thanks for the values, Wrench.  I'm going to use those.