NIVO (Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness)

[ovenpaa]

Whilst at the Shuttleworth collection on Saturday I spotted a box of good sized patches of canvas that has obviously come off exhibits during refurbishment and were now available as souvenirs for a donation. Included were some 8"x8" ish patches from an Avro 504K finished in a sort of muddy greeny black and I chose one of the patches as much as a small contribution to the collection as anything, plus it seemed like a fun idea. Once home I wrote Avro 504 and the date on the back and popped it in a drawer for future research, it will almost certainly end up as an extra Christmas present for my son who like me is interested in such curiosities plus it was a little bit of history.

But what about the colour? Well black did seem a bit odd so I had a bit of a read and it turns out the black is actually NIVO (Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness) and yes Orfordness is not a typo. NIVO was developed in 1918 by the Experimental station at Orfordness, as a low-visibility colouring for the Royal Air Force it had a sheen to match that of open water on a moonlit night. It was a mix of yellow ochre, lithopone and ultramarine blue.

Well it made me smile, not just a pot of green and black mixed together and painted on.

[Chuck]

Get a few bales and turn out some nifty night gear.....