Wartime Swoose photos I haven't seen before

[Chris Brame]

From an eBay auction - the ventral "bathtub" is still there, and I see a Western Airlines DC-3 in the background, so this must be in California when it returned from the Pacific in 1942:












(Right-click the photos and click on View Image for these - they're big!)
Great detail on what was left of the paint job on the undersides.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-WW2-The-Swoos ... 2c9f9b01fd

[varsity07840]

I've always wondered about why, when and where the black undersides came about. Every other photo I've seen of Philippine based B-17s with rush camo paint jobs done in the field had bare metal undersides.

Duane

[384thBG]

I've always wondered about why, when and where the black undersides came about. Every other photo I've seen of Philippine based B-17s with rush camo paint jobs done in the field had bare metal undersides.

Duane

Others here know more about the wartime paint history in the SWP, but is it possible that the black paint was applied when The Swoose was based in Australia after the evacuation from the PI and before it was rotated back to stateside?

The photos might when The Swoose arrived in the states after its record breaking flight in August 1942.

[varsity07840]

The Swoose and 19th BG cousins

[05564]

Fantastic photos!! What a great find. I've never seen them before. Thanks for sharing them with all of us.