Flanker Nose Color

[maverickvf142 2]

Hey guys,

 

I was looking at some SU-27 Flanker pics which triggered a question that I had since I was young. I've noticed that most SU-27s you see today have the white nose but if you look around, some older pics (1980s-1990s) seem to be a combination of white noses and green noses. Can anyone enlighten me on the reason for the different colors if there is one? I assume that it's probably like the Navy F-4s where it just depended on squadron but I've never found any evidence to support that assumption. 

 

Thanks! 

 

maverickvf142

[+CrazyhorseB34 937]

Older dielectric panels like cones where green.

 

No color significance.

 

 

[Snailman 517]

Soviets used special paint on dielectric covers, bone white, bright green and rarely dark grey.  White were used by Navy and PVO, green mostly used by VVS. Grey is rare, in some cases were used on bombers/transports, ASW helos and experimental craft (Yak-141).

 

In this case, I suspect green Su-27 is from VVS (Su-27S) and White is PVO (Su-27P).  S differs from P, that it had air-ground weaponry and sights while interceptors had no such capabilities.

[+The Trooper 104]

I don't think it was service related. Judging by my experience with Russian/East European factories and repair facilities, it was entirely dependant on what kind of paint was currently available in storage. Economic situation in these parts of the world wasn't very bright in the 90s, so no one really cared about paintjob uniformity within the squadron.

Snailman, grey was often used on MiG-29 and MiG-23 too.

Edited August 21, 2016 by The Trooper

[maverickvf142 2]

Thanks everyone for the answers. I saw something that mentioned what Snailman was saying about the color difference being in PVO or VVS but then there was also an article of some sort confirming what Trooper and Crazyhorse mentioned. Many of the aircraft weren't kept in hangars and so when it came time to do some maintenance, whatever paint the guys would use whatever paint they found. I am assuming that originally, the color of the noses was use to distinguish between PVO and VVS but as time went on, the guys working on the planes just knew they needed paint and used whatever thy had or could find. Guess there isn't a definite answer but regardless of nose color, Flankers sure are sexy to look at

[+Gepard 11,315]

I have asked in a german aviation forum and the specialists gave the answer, that only the first series of Su-27 had green noses. The more advanced later series got white noses.

[Toryu 156]

That's about as much as I'd have known. To take it a little bit further:

Does "early production batches" mean "Su-27P", or did that include S-versions as well?

 

I'd hazard a guess that it means the former.

[+Gepard 11,315]

The P version was for PVO only (air defence), while the normal Su-27 was for VVS, the frontline units. I think that "earlier" has not to do with the version, but with the production date.