In World War 1 the Germans developed a polygonal multicolored camouflage pattern that was printed onto fabric that covered their aircraft. The pattern was available in three sets of color. “Day-light” represented the overall lightest shades and was used to cover the bottom of their aircraft to blend in with the sky background when viewed from below. “Day-dark” lozenge covered the upper surfaces and was intended to blend in with the darker Earthen tones when viewed from above. “Night” was used on German bombers whose work was carried out predominantly after sunset. Technical specifications

Vintage Aero Fabrics offers all three color combinations of Germany’s “lost colors”. The fabric is available on aircraft quality linen, which is the historically authentic medium. We also offer the print in Ceconite for aeroplanes that will be subjected to the rigors of frequent flying. The lozenge pattern is available on percale cotton that closely resembles the linen. The percale is appropriate for static display aircraft as well as our line of accessory items.

Considerable effort has been undertaken to ensure that the fabric, pattern and colors are historically accurate. The thread count of the fabric is virtually identical with the original German linen thread count. The colors have been matched to original fabric samples that have been spared of extended exposure to light. The original production method of roller printing has been used to reproduce the subtle behavior of the inks on the fabric. Even the width of the traps (the area of overlap between two adjacent colors) has been duplicated in the printing process.