I am preparing to build one of the Delphin Models italian subs in 1:400 scale. The kit (resin) is much simplified so it will be a semi scratchbuild. At this stage I am particularly interested in completing documentation. I am wondering how those boats were painted in the early years of WWII. I know there was black paint used for the upper surfaces. In Italian books I have, I decoded (unfortunately I do not read Italian
) that this black paint was something in between graphite and navy blue colour. Is this correct? Here is an early photo of Barbarigo:
One can see that upper part of hull is darker and has semigloss finish. Bottom part of the hull is lighter and has matt finish. Was it some kind of green anticorrosive paint? Another question - were the wooden decks left unpainted?