Yellow tailed B-29s

[res6kgcr]

Hi Scott,

What do you make of these yellow (?) tail and left wing painted B-29s that are listed on e-Bay?



I don’t think they are from Biggs AFB for post-war Biggs was a TAC base and since these ships are fully armed I think they are probably SAC ships.

Best regards,

Tom

[mike furline]

45-21840 http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/ ... Submit4=Go

Almost looks like the wing insignia is post Oct. 47 with the bar, while the fuslage insignia is without.

[Steve Nelson]

Terrain looks subarctic. I wonder if the tails may be red (that would esplain why the stripes in the fuselage insignias are so faint.) The sun is at a pretty low angle, which could make the red look really light on B&W film.

SN

[C VEICH]

Possibly Day-Glo? I agree that these are probably USAF rather than AAF aircraft and the red stripe in the star and bar is just not readily visible in the pictures. Sure would like to see this picture in color!

[WallyB]

Terrain looks subarctic. I wonder if the tails may be red (that would esplain why the stripes in the fuselage insignias are so faint.) The sun is at a pretty low angle, which could make the red look really light on B&W film.

SN

I tend to agree particularly as it wouldn't be red but "international orange" aka dayglo perhaps?


This serial appears to 45-21658 which is close.

[JohnB]

Certain camera filters can make red look white.
Also, the stamp on the back hints that the photo was taken post-1947.

[res6kgcr]

Hi All,

Google is your friend.

Thinking along the lines of you Steve that the location of the picture is taken in the subarctic I thought of KEE BIRD which crash in Greenland 21 February 1947 the same month that the red stripes were added to the national insignia:


In the same Wikipedia article it has this trio F-13s/B-29s which looks like to me to be the same trio in the e-Bay photo as part of some P.R. photo set:


AAF T.O. 07-1-1 left the arctic camouflage and High-Vis markings up to the Alaskan command. I think they are painted in with ANA 508 International Orange which may explain the lighter tone in the b & w photo.

And in this link:
http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/77ColdWarStor ... cwscvr.htm
Has this photo:

Which to me for sure is International Orange.

The link also explains what the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron is doing armed recon flights over Soviet Siberia.

Best regards to you all,

Tom

[Clifford Bossie]

Hi Scott,

What do you make of these yellow (?) tail and left wing painted B-29s that are listed on e-Bay?



I don’t think they are from Biggs AFB for post-war Biggs was a TAC base and since these ships are fully armed I think they are probably SAC ships.

Best regards,

Tom

Biggs was SAC from 1948 until closed in 1966. The 97th BG (later 97th BW) moved into Biggs in May, 1948. Prior to that the unit had been based at Smoky Hill, KS and 26 Mile Airstrip (Later Eilson AFB). From '47 until '50 the 97th was equipped with B-29s and while that photo was taken nowhere near Biggs, it could have been taken over Alaska.

[WallyB]

In the same Wikipedia article it has this trio F-13s/B-29s which looks like to me to be the same trio in the e-Bay photo as part of some P.R. photo set:

Not the same three, well not from the same sortie anyway. The dayglo paint is not as extensive - check out the distance between it and the stars-n-bars.

[res6kgcr]

Good eye Wally!

They are in International Orange since Day-glo paint, yellow-orange and later red-orange was adopted in 1958 and drop by the AF in 1962 as maintenance nightmare. When Insignia Red was adopted as an Air Force wide color for Arctic operations I don’t know but the famous color photo of the P-80s of 94th FS with Insignia Red tails was taken at March AFB before they did a TDY to Ladd Field in November 1947. So this may have been a new USAF wide T.O. about that time frame.

The e-Bay B & W photo is AAF since in September 1947 when AAF became the Air Force they put UNITED STATES AIR FORCE or U.S. AIR FORCE on everything just to let you known that they were not Army anymore!

Best regards to you all

Tom