The Musée de l'Air Polikarpov I-153 has always been displayed to the public with an approximative paint scheme : olive green fuselage and top surfaces with blue lower surfaces. The tail bore a red "9" painted on the rudder.

​

Memorial Flight's investigation started by slowly stripping the paint, layer by layer on several parts. It was quickly found that the aircraft's original paint scheme was aluminum doped fabric and (grey paint on metallic parts), typical for that aircraft at the very beginning of the war. Russian historians helped us doing extensive researches and providing unknown details about the aircraft's operational history, completing the findings made by studying the aircraft itself. Here are the different colours applied to the I-153 #7277 :

​

• Aluminum doped fabric and grey paint on metal parts. This was the original colours sported by this I-153 when delivered on January 24th 1940. The airplane likely saw action during the Winter War between USSR and Finland which took place between November 30th 1939 and March 13th 1940.

  • On August 20th 1940, this aircraft was part of the 15 IAP fleet. This fighter regiment was based in Lithuania, as parf of the 8th SAD (mixed aviation division), attached to the Baltic military district.

  • On January 1st 1941, most of 15 IAP aircrafts were transferred to 236 and 238 IAP. #7277 was thus transferred to 238 IAP (6th SAD, Baltic military district), based in Panevezys [Ponovezh], Lithuania. This airfield being taken on June 26th 1941, #7277 (likely out of order) was captured along many other aircrafts. At this time, a large "21" number was painted on the vertical stabilizer and tail, below a red stripe (underlined with a black line). It seems the aircraft was already disassembled, and only its fuselage (as well as some cowls, but without its rudder) survived.

• Green RLM​ 62 paint. After being captured, #7277 was "re-assembled" by the Germans replacing the missing parts with other I-153 elements (as confirmed by the numerous part numerous different part numbers found). The fabric, which was largely tore off, was "repaired" stitching a new fabric over it. Those repairs are easily recognizable as a  German typical red dope was used to tighten the new fabric parts. Once "repaired", the aircraft was painted RLM62 green, except for lower sufaces that were painted blue. This seems rather like a strange choice, as many parts still had the original paint scheme prior to this repaint. Did the staff that took care of those repairs lacked aluminum paint / dope, or were they ordered to give it new look ? However, it should be noted that the "newly installed" rudder, which came from a different airframe, bore an original VVS green paint, with a "9"identification number painted on it (outlined in white).

• "Musée de l'Air" green colour. When displayed in the 1950s by the Musée de l'Air in Chalais-Meudon, a square piece of the fabric was missing on the left side of the fuselage, where the red star was painted. The museum then repaired the aircraft,  patching up a piece of fabric, once more, between 1954 and 1962. This may be when the aircraft got its last coat of paint (still green with blue lower surfaces). This is the paint scheme that had been seen by the public until the aircraft arrived in Memorial Flight workshop in 2011.

​

A detailed article was written and published in the French Fana de l'Aviation magazine in June 2011 (issue #499). It explains the study and research done, and shows many photos of the process.