- Yes
- No - I would not like to see this livery in game.
Digital drawing of NZ2503’s scheme
Description:
This RNZAF Livery is quite simple, being a yellow base coat with striped black bands across entire airframe, the serial (NZ 2503) was white, with ‘03’ on either side of nose in black. The text below this number is illegible.
The RNZAF blue-white-blue roundels had no bars, and were placed on both sides of the fuselage as well as on both sides of each wing. The fin flash was also narrower compared to the standard war time scheme.
NZ2503 after conversion to target towing, sitting at Ohakea airfield 1949.
History:
Acquired in 1943 as part of the first batch of six aircraft delivered to the RNZAF, NZ2503 would not deploy to the pacific theatre, as it was believed that the six TBF-1 delivered in October 1943 was sufficiently different enough from the larger group of TBF-1C delivered in December 1943 as to cause difficulty. As such these aircraft would remain in NZ for the duration of the war, being placed into reserve in 1945.
However that would not be the last use of the first 6 Avengers, as a number of this lot would be converted to target towing, including NZ2503. This is when NZ2503 would gain her iconic scheme in 1949, being transferred to No.42 Squadron at Ohakea in 1949.
For this purpose she was repainted from her standard blue scheme, as to appear more visible to the aircraft targeting her drogue. She would wear this scheme until 1956, when she was ditched into the Waitemata Harbour near Hobsonville after an engine failure. She would be raised and scrapped.
NZ2503 sitting in a hangar at Ohakea, probably late 1949
Sources:
30 Sqn RNZAF Home
Grumman TBF Avenger. RNZAF service, post war
https://web.archive.org/web/20250218072544/https://rnzaf.hobbyvista.com/avecol.html