Any guesses on what was the first color chosen by the Navy bureaucracy for a tactical paint scheme? Of course it was Navy gray!
On 15 March 1918, the Bureau of Construction and Repair directed that all naval aircraft be painted in low visibility naval gray enamel. Over the years the colors and markings of naval aircraft have been tinkered with by each generation of admirals, but overall Navy gray has been pretty much dominant in the scheme of things. Read more about the history of naval aircraft markings and paint schemes here...
The Centennial of Naval Aviation celebration this year has led to many paint schemes of years past being resurrected on our current generation aircraft, here are a few examples from the U. S. Naval Air Forces Facebook page...check out the last aircraft (F-18 Hornet)!
And lastly, we have a picture of the Navy's follow on replacement for the P-3 Orion, the P-8 Posideon and guess the paint scheme after nearly 100 years, a Centennial First...not...
So what is your favorite paint scheme?