Warbird Information Exchange

"WITH EFFECT FROM 5 JUNE 1944 AIRCRAFT OF AEAF ( Allied Expeditionary Air Force ) TRANSPORT AND COASTAL COMMANDS MAY BE SEEN WITH FOLLOWING
SPECIAL MARKINGS WHICH IN NO CASE WILL OBSCURE NATIONAL MARKINGS :
(1) SINGLE ENGINED AIRCRAFT
(A) UPPER AND LOWER WING SURFACES WITH FIVE WHITE OR BLACK STRIPES EACH EIGHTEEN INCHES WIDE
PARALLEL TO LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF AIRCRAFT ARRANGED IN ORDER FROM CENTRE OUTWARD WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK WHITE
STRIPES END SIX INCHES INBOARD OF NATIONAL MARKINGS.
(B) FUSELAGE WITH FIVE PARALLEL WHITE OR BLACK STRIPES EACH EIGHTEEN INCHES FROM LEADING EDGE OF TAILPLANE


(2) TWIN ENGINE AIRCRAFT
(A) UPPER AND LOWER WING SURFACES FROM ENGINE NACELLES OUTWARD WITH FIVE WHITE OR BLACK
STRIPES EACH TWENTY FOUR INCHES WIDE ARRANGED IN ORDER FROM CENTRE OUTWARD WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK WHITE
(B) FUSELAGES AS FOR SINGLE ENGINED AIRCRAFT BUT STRIPES EACH TWENTY FOUR INCHES WIDE."


As the purpose of the stripes was ground recognition, to avoid the " friendly fire " incidents that occured during earlier invasions such as Sicily, these stripes were only applied to A/C which would be flying at low to medium altitudes in the invasion area. No high alitude, 4 engine bombers had them as they would be flying too high for the stripes to be seen. However, the Lancs, Sterlings, etc that were used as glider tows did have them applied, as did possibly a few 4 engine "transport " planes that may have landed on forward strips in Normandy.

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SHAEF1944
American Veterans Museum

This pertains to the temp DDay markings. The ETO marking are separate and post DDay.

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Don't touch my junk!!

AFAIK the marking Jack is referring to - distinct from D Day stripes - were a single black band on the inner wing and horizontal tailplane (stabiliser) or white, when over camouflage. I was not aware that the under fuselage was part of this scheme, (nor a tail band) but in the position of the D Day stripes I'd assumed it was part of that one.

The RAF markings at the introduction of the Mustang Mk.I were white stripes in these positions. (And of course they had the sky colour band around the rear fuselage pertaining to all RAF fighters in theatre.)

To confuse matters further there were other sets of stripes seen on Mustangs including the black/white/black on this example as based in the Philippines - not D Day stripes - wrong arrangement - but often given as such.

http://www.hangar11.co.uk/mustang.php

Meantime, being no expert in this field, I will refer to m'lerned gentlemen for more. Stand by...

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

I have a photo of my Spitfire XIV taken later in 1944 and it has only small D-Day stripes underneath the fuselage only. No wing stripes and the fuse stripes only extend to the bottom of the upper cammo.



On the other hand look at this neat job!

Also have pics of A-26 Invaders with black/silver/black/silver/black markings. Some P-38's appear to be marked the same [from late 1944 in Belgium]

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..defeat is never an option!

Four things - IIRC the D-Day stripes were ordered June 5th, top and bottom of wings and around the fuselage of all single and twin engine Allied aircraft in the ETO.

All were applied by 'hand' i.e Crew Chiefs, Asst CC and Armorers worked their asses off.

On or about July 16, 1944 orders came to the Fighter Groups to remove the top stripes on wing and above the star/bar. Most were off within two days.

Many Mustangs retained a black 'ETO stripe on wing and tail if NMF and white stripe if camo'd... ditto Jugs and Lightnings.

Most of the ETO bands were gone by late November 1944.

By late October all the Fighter Groups sported the 'official' Group colors for cowl, spinner and rudder. The 355th for example had white spinner, red/blue and yellow cowl bands and rudder colors respectively for 354/357 and 358 Fighter Squadrons.

Regards, Bill

The first Spit and the A-26 show the ETO required theatre marking. Many many folks mistake these for leftover DDay stripes which they are NOT. If you go to the allied fighters webpage you can see the gensis of Dottie Mae's markings. She was delivered well after DDay so you at her progression of markings and see for yourself.
[url]alliedfighters.com[/url]

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Don't touch my junk!!

Jack - simply awesome website - looks like a lot of your photos.

I had something in my eye but it was just fine after a couple of minutes of listening to Roosevelt/Churchill speeches and the music.

Thanks for that!

Bill

It is a very nicely done web site. The first time I had it up, I did not have my speakers on, then later, I turned on my speakers and all this music came forth! I didn't have I-tunes on, had to hunt down where it was coming from!!! Reminds me, I need to digitize my W Churchill LP Collection, it is 12 LP's and a book in a big leatherbound box my mom got for me at a thrift store!!! Thanks Mom!!!

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Aviation Illustration Website
http://shepartstudio.com/illustration/

Jack - that is a super website and it seems there is some truly excellent retoration work being undertaken there, however I would just like to pick up on your point about the partial fuselage stripes on the Spitfire XIV and A-26. Looking at the Spitfire, from an initial view one would consider these to be vestiges of D-day identification stripes in addition to the normal Day Fighter Scheme, however the aircaft in question probably would not have had the full set of stripes if it was delivered after June 6th (perhaps the clean appearance of the fuelage paintwork above the stripes is evidence). This is illustrated by the 'Delivery Scheme' profile picture on the Dottie Mae website also shows similar D-day style stripes on the lower fuselage and black ETO theatre markings (stripe on the tail and the black cowl ring) but as you point out the aircraft was not delivered until after June 1944. I have always considered these to be in effect two seperate sets of identification markings in response to two different orders, albeit applied at the same time.

It seems quite likely to me that D-Day style stripes were (partially) applied some time after D-Day to newly delivered aircraft operating over the invasion fronts simply in order to ensure their markings were consistant with those currently in service and therefore avoid confusion, as portrayed in the DM profile. However I would say that is all they were - markings applied to ensure consistancy of appearance between aircraft that were in service on 6th June and those delivered later, rather than a general ETO theatre identification marking.

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Warbird Colour - Authentic historic aircraft finishes http://www.warbirdcolour.co.uk

I think these are actually white and black markings and the picture somewhat reduces the contrast between white and silver colours. On the A-26 picture the white does look very similar to the silver areas nearby but it is, well, a little whiter and close in rendition to the white areas in the national marking next to it. However look on the P-38 tail boom and the white area around the G is quite clearly lighter than the adjacent silver/bare metal areas above.

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Warbird Colour - Authentic historic aircraft finishes http://www.warbirdcolour.co.uk

What's interesting is in the marking applied post DDay usually consisted of only 3 stripes.

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Don't touch my junk!!

I am sure there were variations, there certainly were some interesting examples applied prior/on D-Day and the markings were by no means consistant.

I just checked the history of the Spitfire above (RM797) and it was delivered to 41 Sqdn on 15 September '44 - so the partial markings were, like those on Dottie Mae, in all liklihood the only stripes applied.

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Warbird Colour - Authentic historic aircraft finishes http://www.warbirdcolour.co.uk