[Lefty Hartnett]

I dont really know why late Navy planes were painted black . as a camo its horrible . over the blue sea you see a big black dot or on the sky you see the same thing in the white clouds .
But it sure looks badass..

Were they actually black?

Many times the colors you see in book are compromises printers have to make---meaning dark blue and black may have been the same for this printer.

I don't know I am just asking.

The other possibility is that the original artist misrecognized the color from B/W photos.