Aero Vintage Books

So, just for fun, I looked at some aircraft in the Life archive in the background of thier main pics. I found one that showed up fairly well in the cropping proccess and then looked it up. Here are three pics, the first from kingman, the other two in England from the IWM website. This was a 388th BG aircraft.

Not to worry, this is my last one.

That color pic was posted on the 388th website as the same aircraft as the other two. But I just noticed it does not have a chin turret. I see no reason why it would be removed and then put back on.

The second image isn't Ready Maid; I lightened it up and the name reads Lilly Ann.

Trying to figure out what the writing under the wing on the Kingman shot was.

Scott,

When I was looking at these pics I noticed that a number of planes had these markings.

At first I thought they were a parking code, but then it really seemed to be random as to where they were parked, other than by type.

And a why a multi letter code in large letters on the bottom of the wing?

It looks like at least in one case it is the squadron code Other examples that I am not sure of:

Squadron codes!

The last one: CQ – yellow – 708th Bomb Squadron

When did that happen? Super late in the war? On the way back? Either way some modelers are going to have to change thier models

jmkendall wrote:Squadron codes!

The last one: CQ – yellow – 708th Bomb Squadron

When did that happen? Super late in the war? On the way back? Either way some modelers are going to have to change thier models

Well documented (in my book) that this aircraft was transferred

she had half and half on here codes -- she also carried the division markings for her original group on her right wing.

****************************

as far as Ready Maid, the 388th BG did not use squadron codes.

I think we are talking about different things.

I was refereing to the codes under the wings. And noted taht CQ was the code for that squadron, so that the code was it's squadron code.

I've never seen the codes on the undersides of the wings like that.

Perhaps that was a very late 8th AF thing as the stateside trainers at Kingman don't have them.

8th AF anti-Buzzing marking -- pretty common

P-40 Trainer with serial number under wing. Plenty of TB-17's also had the serial number under the wing as well

I would not use the word "common".

Common means that you see something more often than not.

For instance your pic of a group of P-40s, show One plane out of the whole group. Not common at all. In fact fairly rare.

The photo of the 100 BG is more telling, but I can tell you that when I was doing the online research for the squadron for the plane in question, I found lots of pictures from 1944, if not early 45 without those markings. It appears that this was a late war marking mod. IN fact the only pictures I can find, so far of a plane from that squadron with those markings are the ones in the boneyard.

Again, not common at all. Unless you specify a time period when these markings became mandatory.

Lastly I have been building models of B-17s for 40 years. I can't remember ever seeing a decal sheet with squadron codes on the bottom of the wing. Now I have not seen every single decal sheet ever made, but the ones I have seen don't have this feature.

So, no, not common at all. Unless you mean in the last month(s) of the war when the 8th was more concerned with ac buzzing people and enacted a change.

Further research shows that, for the most part, these markings were applied post VE day.

That there might well be individual units that applied this before hand,I can accept. However; most were only applied for a month or two of operational use before being flown back to the States.

I would love to find a TO for this, or some similiar such.

So no, actually quite rare to see a photograph of these markings.