Fairchild-Hiller N352F "Armed Porter"/OV-12A (1967/68) Query.

500 Fan

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Hi. Does anyone have any information on the Fairchild Porter aircraft N352F that served as the company demonstrator for the proposed OV-12A version? In particular I am trying to find out the colour of the demonstrator in 1967/68 when the aircraft appeared in the aviation press of the day.

http://www.pc-6.com/history/2011.htm

https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200439.html?search=Armed%20Porter

https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200440.html?search=Armed%20Porter

Fairchild referred to this version as the "Armed Porter" while the US Navy were going to assign it the designation of OV-12A if it had been procurred for riverine operations in Viet Nam. Flight Global and Aviation & Space Week both carried small articles on this airplane and published black and white photos. It is hard to tell what colour exactly the airframe is painted. It is either white or very light grey. I am leaning towards a white finish but I am not sure. Most photos appear to lean towards a light grey finish but the photo in the third link above, where the two guys are examining the fun-pod hints towards a white finish. The only thing for sure that I can decipher from the photos I have is that the airframe is painted in a lighter shade than the grey colour on the propeller blade.

Does anyone know for sure what colour she was? Thanks for any assistance anyone can offer.

500 Fan.
 
Pure guess, but I'd go with the same light gray the Birddogs, Oscar Deuce, and Broncos were painted in that timeframe.
 
I've examined the photos I have a little more closely. It looks like the landing gear struts might be white while the airframe is a slightly darker shade. It seems likely that the airframe was painted a pale grey colour, similar to the pale grey painted on the O-1 and other similar aircraft of the time.

500 Fan.
 

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