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Page 9 of 18 Mirage F1 AZ colour schemes and markings.
Original article N. Scheltema, former AZ driver & AZ display pilot. Additional, D. Cooke, J. van Zyl, A. Dyason, other F1 pilots and ground crew (anonymous).
The colours and markings used on the SAAF Mirage F1 CZ and AZ are often inaccurately quoted. In my research it was striking to note how many publications are inaccurate. Unfortunately this is also true of publications that appeared in recent years.
Please note: - Unlike claimed by leading publications, there are distinct differences between the various colour schemes as used on both the AZ and CZ. The pattern is not the same for all the F1s that were in SAAF service.
- 'Light Admiralty Grey' does not actually exist in the SAAF. Light Grey was applied to the first few Mirage III and F1 types. But this was changed at a very early stage, to a colour that closely resembles Humbrol 65. Most photos were taken when the F1 entered service with the SAAF and thereafter photos were banned due to the classified nature of all operational aircraft. It is therefore assumed that the early photos reflect the entire time frame that the original colour schemes were in use.
- The SAAF never used paints based on the FS system, but these could be used with some colour tuning, to obtain the correct shade for modelling purposes.
Mirage F1 AZ - Original colour scheme:  Example of the original F1 AZ and CZ delivery colour scheme with Light Grey on the underside. As can be seen from the photo, the Light Grey was a sharp contrast against the SA skyline and thus changed to a colour closely to Humbrol 65. | The original colour scheme of Buff and Green was also based on the standard French pattern. The AZs were painted to a distinctive matt finish, even the ones that were painted in France. All the AZs arrive in matt except no's 239 - 247 as the last nine aircraft were flown from France to SA by C130s from 28 Sqdn, to prevent delivery refusal due to the rapidly approaching arms embargo against SA. Some areas of the last nine arrived unpainted, but were painted to a matt finish in SA at the spray paint facilities of SAA, the National airline. In SAAF service all the AZs remained in a matt finish, although No 229 appeared in a satin finish at one time. The "brown" is not Sand, but rather a Mid Buff (closely a bit lighter than Humbrol 63) while the Green is original Olive Drab, with a slight Brownish tint added. The brownish tint is less than what was used on the Mirage IIIs & Sabres. The best hobby colour for the Green is Humbrol 66 (Matt Olive Drab) and not the FS hobby equivalent. For a few years the AZs were painted in Light Grey on the undersides, but due to the vast blue skies found in sunny South Africa this changed at a very early stage. The Light Grey is similar to Light Aircraft Grey (FS 36495), but with a minute dash of mid blue added. Due to the ineffectiveness of the Light Grey the underside colour was changed to a colour that closely resembles Humbrol 65. The Light Grey was also changed on the Mirage III. The pattern contains sharp demarcations between the three colours used on the aircraft. A number of differences in the actual pattern have been noted in particularly on top of the wings, to rear of the aircraft on the starboard side and behind the starboard air intake on the side of the fuselage. Refer to actual photos of the aircraft you intent to model.
The anti glare panel was in Satin Black with the radome in matt Black. Sometimes the anti glare panel were also finished in matt Black. Distinctive of the AZ, was the bottom fuselage colour painted in a narrow triangle towards the small radome above the pitot, at the bottom of the nose. Antennas incorporated into the vertical fin were painted matt Light Grey, with a semi gloss White leading edge on the top part of the fin. The antennas on the spine were painted in matt Yellow with a Yellow Gold tint. Later the spine antennas were changed to Mid Buff (Humbrol 63). The brake parachute housing was in Light Grey, but some examples were in Natural Metal. Just ahead of this housing is small band in Natural Metal. The antenna on top of the brake parachute housing was also in Light Grey, while the horizontal VOR antenna at the op part of the fin was in matt Light Grey with front and side edges in semi gloss White. The ventral strakes were painted in the same colours as the camouflage pattern on the outside while painted Light Grey or Humbrol 65 in later years on the inside. Drop tanks were in the same camou pattern or in Natural Metal. Throughout the F1 service life with the SAAF, the undercarriage and wheel wells were in Duralumium or a darker shade of aluminium. The same applies for the rear of the fuselage which was left in the various shades of natural metal. The pitot and environmental probes were all in Natural Metal. Unlike the CZ, a few AZs retained the original colour scheme until the type's retirement, e.g. 229 & 233. Some AZs camou pattern differ on top rear of the aircraft, if compared to the pattern used on the F1 CZ. |  This is the correct colour for the AZ & CZ during most part of the original colour scheme's service life with the SAAF - closely Humbrol 65. The fairing between the ventral strakes was not used by the SAAF, only on the technology demonstrator aircraft, no 233 & 235. |  Formation of CZs & AZs. Note the differences in the camou patterns. On the CZs note the differences towards the rear and on the AZ just behind the air intake. Although similar in general layout, some F1s had distinc differences. Entire radome in matt Black on the CZ, while the AZ use the narrow pointed triangle towards the small radome on the nose, at the bottom of the aircraft. AZ does not carry Sqdn badges in this photo. |  Destinctive matt finish on the AZ. |  AZ no 229 did however appear in this satin finish at one time. |
Markings used in the original scheme:  AZ with the original Castle & Springbok markings. | Similar to the Mirage III then in service. Blue and white bordered Castle with leaping gold Springbok insignia in standard SAAF six positions. Note the Springbok leap towards the fuselage on the top and bottom of the wings and towards the nose of the aircraft on the side of the fuselage. The rudder was painted in the colours of the Republic with Orange facing forward, followed by White and then blue. Most had the words "Avions M. Dassault" applied on the bottom of the rudder. Note that No 1 Sqdn did not carry their badge at all on the aircraft during the early years, up until the type was publicly announced to be in service. The badge was then applied similar to 3 Sqdn, towards the top of the fin on both sides. Also note that by the time 1 Sqdn applied the Sqdn badge on the AZ, the bottom colour was already Humbrol 65. The serial number was carried in matt black ahead of the tail plane on both sides of the rear fuselage and on the front undercarriage door. The servicing walkway areas on top of the wings were in Matt Red, including the lines indicating the wing to fuselage join and the flap and aileron to wing separation. The following were in similar style as used on the SAAF Mirage III: - Ejection seat warning triangles were in red and white, while the emergency canopy release was in Yellow with instructions in White.
- Servicing stencils.
- Mirage F1 AZ in matt Black.
- All access points to open inspection panels were in Matt red.
|  A few AZs retained the original colour scheme until the type retirement e.g. No 229 & 233. Note the N. Insignia changed to the Castle & Eagle type. |
Mirage F1 AZ - Interim Dark Earth, Dark Green colour scheme:  In typical late Border War configuration with 6 Mk 82 bombs, two underwing fuel tanks and two V3B missiles. This AZ is painted in the interim Dark Earth & Dark Green colour scheme. | During the later stages of the Border War the colour scheme of the AZ was found to be ineffective. Especially if viewed from above, while flying at low level. This was realised during the debrief session, after a MiG 23 tried to engage a Mirage F1 AZ formation, on 25 February 1998. Major Johan Rankin took the decision to immediately over paint the Mid Buff colour of the AZ. The colour used was Dark Earth as used on the Impalas. This was roughly done in theatre and under conditions of war. Some of the markings were over painted. Later the green was changed to Dark Green (similar to FS Dark Green) also used on the Impalas. The Humbrol 65 colour was retained on the under side of the aircraft. Unfortunately there is no record of the numbers of the AZs so painted or the patterns used. Some aircraft that were repainted at Atlas during servicing were also painted in this scheme e.g. Mirage F1AZ 224. However, although this was done in 1998, on the cover of "Aircraft of the SAAF" by H. Potgieter, two AZs apear in the Dark Earth & Dark Green colour scheme. The book was first published in 1980. |  Another view of the AZ in the interim colour scheme. Note that the antennas on the tailfin remained in Light Grey. |
Markings used in interim Dark Earth/Dark Green scheme: On most aircraft the National Markings remained similar to the markings as used on the original colour scheme. | There is no official record of the last colour schemes as used during the Border War. This was done during a time of war and colour schemes were hastily applied in theatre. In general the National Markings remained the same as used in the original colour scheme. The markings were not normally oversprayed as was used on the CZ. Photos is just as rare, while stil the best source if you intend one of the experimental schemes of the AZ. |
Mirage F1 AZ - Experimental colour schemes:  One of the experimental AZ schemes, based on the CZ Air Superiority scheme. Unfortunately the serial number is unknown. Note the absence of markings and antennas in the tail fin over painted in the same colour as used on the colour scheme. This could be No 243, but unable to confirm. | During the Border War period some experimental schemes were also flown and assessed. The current scheme of Dark Earth, Dark Green and Mirage Grey evolved from this. One experimental scheme was similar to the one used on the Mirage F1CZ but used only two colours, these being a mixture between PE Blue, Mirage Grey and Highveld Grey. The aircraft was Mirage F1AZ 243 and all stencilling and insignia were heavily over sprayed. This aircraft flew extensively in operations during the latter part of the war and a good photograph of this particular aircraft is available in the book "The SAAF at War" by S. Bouwer & M. Louw, page 225. A similar aircraft to the one above had the same colour scheme as the Mirage F 1 CZ but since the serial number was also over sprayed I was unable to confirm it. A photograph exists where the two grey aircraft are parked next to each other and confirm that the colours on the two are not the same. If you more photos of these colour schemes, please submit to
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- full credit given. |
Markings used in the Experimental colour scheme:
| There is no official record of the last colour schemes as used during the Border War. As far as could be established, all stencilling and insignia of the experimental schemes were heavily over sprayed to be almost invisible. |
Mirage F1 AZ - Final Three Tone colour scheme:  AZ No 220 was the only AZ that used the final three tone colour scheme during the final stages of the Border War. Note the absence of Sqdn markings, the smaller National insignia and the antennas in the tail fin not overpainted. | From the Interim Dark Earth, Dark Green and the various experimental schemes evolved the last colour scheme as used by the AZ, the so called final Three Tone colour scheme. The scheme used Dark Earth, Dark Green and Mirage Grey. Only one aircraft, Mirage F1AZ 220 was used during operations in the Border War area, in this scheme. This aircraft flew extensively during the final stages of the Border War, where the scheme was found to be highly effective. There are small differences in the actual pattern used on different aircraft. One noticeable area is the waves on the side where the Grey meets the rest of the cammo. The cammo pattern used in the last AZ three tone scheme differs slightly on the top rear of the aircraft if compared to the original CZ & AZ patterns. It is not the same as the original pattern as claimed by most publications. Interesting to note that by 1990 no two AZ had similar three tone patterns. In particularly, No 231, with no Dark Green patch on the front part of the nose. No 227 has a non standard pattern on the top of the tail plane. Some aircraft colour schemes were corrected, to the acceptable standard but most remained with small differences until their retirement. The most accurate drawings of this scheme can be found on this Website, drawn and thoroughly researched by Dave Cooke - see AZ drawings. For the last 3 tone colour scheme of the AZ, the colours are Dark Green and Dark Earth from Humbrol. The Blue-Grey does not exist as an off-the-shelf hobby colour. However, this colour quickly faded in the harsh SA sunlight. The closest colour to this faded shade is RLM75 with a bit of colour tuning. Drop tanks were camouflaged in the similar three tone pattern as used on the aircaft. The only variation on the final scheme was used for ACM training. For more realistic air-air combat training the number of 'bogeys' were increased from 1 on 1, to two or even three. In order to distinguish the larger number of bogeys, the nose cone and tail planes were painted matt White on the 'enemy' aircraft. |  This photo was taken shortly before the type retirement. Note the pristine condition of the aircraft, due to high maintenance standards of the SAAF, despite the aircraft having survived a war. |  AZ no 231 - note the absence of the front Dark Green patch on the nose.
|  AZs during one of the final ACM camps with enemy AZs in white noses and tailplanes and the friendly AZs. During this camp the Cheetahs also attended and at least two AZs earned the nickname CheetahEater.
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Markings used in the final Three Tone scheme:  Example of the last type of National Insignia as used on the AZ. | The stencil markings used on the AZ as part of the final scheme, are the standard NATO markings and are in a dark Grey. One possible way to portray these is to use Black USAF or US Army decals and lightly over spray them with the cammo colour. The NO WALK areas on the wing and tailplane are demarcated with lines and are done in the same colour. Another feature of the new cammo is the use of strips of protective paint on the intake and tail plane leading edges, also in dark Grey. The Castle National Inignia on this cammo also differs from aircraft to aircraft. Some were the standard SAAF colours, others were the standard colours but heavily over sprayed and some were in low vis style outline only. All the other markings were applied in the toned down dark Grey colour. See the AZ drawing fro more info. Following a ACM camp with the Cheetahs, at least two AZs earned the nickname "CheetahEater" and this was applied to the side of the aircraft, below the cockpit windshield. |  Final version of the 1 Sqdn badg. |  Mirage F1 AZ logo and ejection seat warning in matt Red.
|  Following the movie TopGun, the SAAF also applied the pilot's call sign, at times to the fighter aircraft.
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Mirage F1 AZ - Other colour schemes:  Avionic demonstrator, AZ no 235. | At least two non standard SAAF combat colour schemes were used on the AZs. The first was a colourful, various shades of blue on AZ no 235, the avionic demonstrator. This aircraft is also known as the "World's Fastest Dairy Truck" due to the colour scheme. Colours used were Light Sky Blue, Dark Blue and White. See Milk Truck for more info. The other colour scheme was used for the Citroen commercial. AZ no 233 (exTFDC) was painted in a Dark Blue shade on top of the fuselage with a Light Yellow pin stripe. Light Yellow was also on the tips of the wing and tail plane. The bottom of the fuselage was painted in Light Grey. See Citroen for more detail. In both cases the aircraft was finished to a gloss finish. The small radome was painted in matt Black. Antennas on the tail fin were painted in matt Light Grey. |  AZ no 233, used in the Citroen commercial. |
Markings used in the Other AZ colour schemes:  Worlds Fastest Dairy Truck logo applied to AZ no 235. | The "World's Fastest Dairy Truck" used standard SAAF Castle & Eagle markings on the sides of the intakes. "Mirage F1AZ" logo on sides of fuselage, under cockpit windshield was not in the original font and styling. The colour used was a Dark Blue. Ejection seat warning was in typical SAAF Mirage F1 styling, using gloss Red. On the port side, under the cockpit windshield, the aircraft's nickname "World's Fastest Dairy Truck" was applied in gloss Red. The emergency canopy release marking used gloss Yellow and gloss Black lettering. Servicing stencils were in gloss Black. On both sides of the tailfin the words "Avionic Flight Demonstrator" in gloss Black was applied near the leading edge. As small New National flag and the Denel logo with the words "Denel Aviation" can be found on the rudder. On top of the wing the wing/flap separator lines and "Keep Off" warnings were in the light Blue colour. Serial number in gloss Black. As far as I could established, the AZ used in the Citroen commercial did not use any markings. |
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