Yokosuka D4Y1 "Suisei" (Judy) wheel wells & wheel covers

In the previous post Harold K asked:

"Are the wheel wells of the Suisei correct, painted in the same gray as the undersides?
This rather than aotake or some other color?"

 

Personally I cannot say with absolute certainty what the color (or colors) of the wheel wells and covers of ALL Yokosuka D4Y1 "Suisei" (Judy) was (the official painting instructions have not survived AFAIK) but in the vast majority of photos it seems to be a bright color very similar to the rest of the undersides. The photos below are proof of this.

D4Y3

D4Y1-S



D4Y1

D4Y1

D4Y1-S

D4Y1

D4Y1

D4Y1



D4Y1

  The two photos below in particular are very clear.

D4Y1

D4Y1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevertheless a very small number of aircraft seem to have these areas painted in a darker color as shown in the photos below. My take would be blue/green "aotake" but I don't think we should exclude the cockpit color. Photos in a US report of a destroyed "Suisei" also show the wheel well doors in a darker color. 

D4Y3

D4Y1

D4Y1

D4Y1-S

The best and latest publications on the subject are the two DNK books, available through our on-line store, here. Unfortunately they are all in Japanese.

So, if you want my take, I would say it can go either way with the underside color more probable if you don't have original photos of your modeling subject. The curator of the Yushukan, Mr. Suzuki, was very friendly, very knowledgeable and most helpful. He has spent hundreds of hours with the aircraft going through every nook and cranny and you can feel the love and interest he has to be as accurate as possible. In a fairly recent overhaul they were most thorough  and corrected various details that were applied in haste during the original restoration, like for example the size of the fuselage hinomaru. The aircraft still has secrets but I felt they were doing their very best.