Category And Colors

This volume covers the history and development of how and why the US Army Air Forces finished and marked their aircraft, between 1941 and 1947. The US Army Air Forces was formed out of the earlier unsatisfactory command structure, when in March 1941, the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, directed that action be taken to place the existing Air Corps and Army Air Force Com­bat Command (which had replaced the earlier GHQ Air Force) un­der one command. Shortly after this, he revived the office of Assis­tant Secretary of War for Air; the new secretary, Robert A. Lovett, proceeded to promote increased aircraft production and to stream­line the Army air arm.

The resulting reorganization created the new Army Air Forces (note the plural form of the title) on June 20, 1941 with General H. H. Arnold appointed as its Chief, directly responsible to the Army Chief of Staff. The new AAF was superior to the Air Corps and the Air Force Combat Command. Under Arnold, Maj. Gen. George H. Brett, the new Chief of the Air Corps, and Lt. Gen. Delos C. Emmons, commanding general of the Air Force Combat Command, were made responsible for service and combat functions, respec­tively.

However, it soon became apparent that there were still defects in the new organization, but it was not until early in 1942 that these were finally rectified by making the AAF a virtually autonomous force within the War Department. These changes had been made possible by official recognition of the major part airpower had played in the Nazi conquest of Europe, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

As a result, a new War Department Circular, No. 59, was is­sued on March 2,1942, effective on March 9,1942. This abolished the Army GHQ, and placed the AAF on the same level as the ground army, if not as that of the Army itself. The earlier Office of the Chief of the Air Corps and the Air Force Combat Command were abolished. Despite this new directive, Gen. Arnold still obtained most of his authority, as head of an all-but independent air force, from being a member of the American-British Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) and the American Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), formed in February, 1942.

However, this new command structure did get the AAF a posi­tion commensurate with its growing size and power. This resulted in Gen. Arnold and the AAF assuming a role in the war effort far greater than that prescribed in War Department Circular No. 59. This finally reached a point where the AAF reached a quasi-equal­ity with the Army and Navy, as compared to its actual legal status of equality with the Army ground and service forces.

Very rapid growth of the AAF resulted in the formation of no less than sixteen separate Air Forces world-wide. First of these were the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Air Forces, within those areas of the continental USA. These soon became the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Air Forces. The Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth Air Forces served in the Chinese-Burma-Pacific theaters; the Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth in the Europe-Mediterranean theaters; the Sixth in the Panama Canal Zone, and the Eleventh in Alaska. The Eighth Air Force was re-deployed to the Pacific theater in 1945, after the end of the war in Europe.

Other specialized commands were eventually formed, includ­ing the Technical Training Command and the FlyingTraining Com­mand (these were later merged into a single Training Command), Air Corps Maintenance Command, and the Air Corps Ferrying Com­mand (this eventually became the Air Transport Command).

At the peak of its strength, the AAF had no less than 2,411,294 men in service, and 78,757 aircraft in its inventory. There were no less than 243 active groups in service by April 1945, and 224 of these were overseas. After the end of the war, the reduction in strength was very rapid and only 303,600 men remained in the ser­vice by May 1947. Less than four months later the AAF was re­placed by the new, independent, US Air Force, on September 18, 1947. Planning for this event had actually begun in 1943, but it took all of this time before the Air Force finally became an equal partner with the Army and Navy.

To make the subject matter of this volume more manageable and understandable, it has been broken down into seven chapters and two appendices. Chapter 1 covers 1941, Chapter 2 1942, Chap­ter 3 1943, Chapter 4 1944, Chapter 5 1945-1947. Each of these chapters fully covers, in chronological order, the development of standard aircraft color schemes and finishes, development of cam­ouflage color schemes and finishes, evolution of the national insig­

nia, the markings for airplanes and airplane parts, unit insignia and tactical markings, and the evolution of standard color shades.

Chapter 6 covers briefly the development of the colorful Com­bat Aircraft Distinctive Markings for the Eighth Air Force in En­gland, the special SHAEF “Invasion Stripes, and Unit Insignia”. Chapter 7 covers the development and usage of the standard USAAF aircraft color shades.

Appendix A covers the aircraft designation system used throughout the life of the AAF, and Appendix В covers the various aircraft maintenance markings used.

Photographs and color drawings have been included in each chapter and appendix, where applicable, to illustrate the applica­tion of the requirements to aircraft. Some photographs also illus­trate mistakes or incorrect application of the requirements. With the vast number of aircraft used by the AAF, it is only possible to display a representative selection of their photographs, and the reader should also make use of the large number of titles published on the AAF for further reference. However, much incorrect or misleading information has been published on the subject of this book; readers are advised to use their discretion and make use of the official in­formation contained in this volume.

All of the data in the text has been extracted from a huge vari­ety of official documents, specifications, technical orders, memo­randum, etc. produced by the AAF during the period covered by this volume. The AAF used a logical, uniform numbering system for all of its specifications, and all of the earlier aircraft ones fell into category 98-XX or 99-XX. The official nomenclature has been used throughout, including the various changes it went through. To save space, the reference “Specification Number” has been short­ened to "Spec.”. In contrast to many other publications on this spe­cialized subject, the author has given the full text of the main offi­cial documents. This allows the reader to follow the requirements laid down for USAAF personnel to follow, and those levied on the huge number of manufacturers involved during the war. In many of these requirements, the needs of our Allies also had to be consid­ered and, indeed, there were many joint committees formed for just such needs.

Most of the time, the new USAAF cooperated very closely with its chief ally, the older British Royal Air Force, to their mutual benefit. However, as one reads the history of these events, it be­comes apparent that there were two areas in which there appears to have been a degree of unwarranted chauvinism on the part of cer­tain USAAF personnel. The first one was the tremendously slow effort to use white camouflage on the Anti-Submarine Command’s aircraft, like the RAF Coastal Command had been using very suc­cessfully for some time. In fact, the white scheme was not adopted until just before the USAAF handed over this duty to the US Navy.

The second area was the paint and colors to be used on the USAAF long range, high flying, Lockheed F-5 reconnaissance air­craft. Much effort was expended on the so-called haze paint schemes, but in the end various synthetic blue colors were used. This was despite the existence of well-developed color schemes in use by the RAF for the same duties. The discrepancy in this area is height­ened by the later use of totally undocumented blue colors on vari­ous Consolidated F-7 (B-24 modified) aircraft for use in the Pa­cific. These color discrepancies were all the more surprising in view of the existence of the joint Army-Navy committee that issued the joint ANA 157 and 166 color bulletins. However, such events were very unusual, and contrary to the normal cooperation in effect until the end of the war.

To avoid confusion, all dates have been converted to the month/ day/year format. Some of the official nomenclature may seem strange, such as the use of the French word "cocarde” for the “star – in-circie” insignia in Specification 24114 of October 1940, but this was the official term used until the issue of the joint Army-Navy Spec. AN-I-9 in 1943.

To fully understand the use of the official documentation, it is necessary to realize that specifications were mandatory for use by both contractors and the service, while technical orders and techni­cal instructions were only applicable within the service. However, waivers or deviations could be obtained by contractors in specific situations, when agreed to by the service. Although all of the speci­fications, etc., are dated, it did not necessarily mean that the re­quirement went into effect immediately, unless a mandatory com­pliance date was included. Effects of this lag in applying require­ments are called out in the text, where known.

To clarify and coordinate the mass of data generated between 1941 and 1947, charts covering the specifications, technical orders, color specifications, etc., issued during each year, will be found near the front of Chapters 1 through 5.

These charts allow complete correlation of all of the service marking and color requirements for any given period, as detailed in each of the Chapters. To make it easier to find specific references in the text, many sub-headings indicate the more important data in all chapters. To save space, and endless repetition, several have been used in the captions to the photographs; these will be found in the list of abbreviations.

The publisher has decided to print the numerous standard USAAF color shades, rather than using inserted color chips. Every effort has been made to make the printed color shades as accurate as possible: those whose needs require the highest possible accu­racy in color shades are requested to contact the author, via the publisher,

The author is aware that it has not been possible to include all of the available data in this volume; for example, it was found that the data for the section on the very colorful Combat Aircraft Dis­tinctive Markings was so extensive that, after consultation with the publisher, it was decided to publish it later, as a separate work. Nevertheless, the author believes that this work covers a subject long demanding this kind of attention and has done his best to sat­isfy the objective; any errors that may be in this volume are his responsibility. He hopes that the reader will enjoy the volume and that they will inform him of any corrections or additions that may come to light.

USAAF Time Line — National Star Insignia

1941

Insignia Spec. no. 241102-K July 20, 1941 to May 28, 1942

1942

Insignia Spec. ПО.24102-К Amend. #3 May 28, 1942 to June 29,1943

Allied invasion of North Africa Novembers, 1942

1943

Variation with 2 inch yellow outline, 8th AF. op. memo no. 9, October 1, 1942 Also used in North Africa.

Insignia to AN-l-9a June 29.1943 to August 14, 1943

Insignia to AN-l-9b August 14, 1943 to January 14, 1947

Insignia Spec. no. AN-1-9b, Amend.#2 January 14, 1947 to September 26, 1947

USAAF becomes US AIR FORCE September 26, 1947

The Prod. Div. (WF) informed the Martin Omaha, Nebraska, plant of the paint scheme for use on B-26s destined for desert use. Sand shade enamel was to be used instead of, or over the existing Olive Drab shade, but there was no change to the Neutral Gray under surface color. All upper surface fabric-covered parts were to be painted with Sand color dope.

Exp. Eng. Sect. (WF) test camouflage on B-29 stainless steel wings, August 1,1942.

Tests were run by the Exp. Eng. Sect. (WF) to determine the value of camouflage finishes on stainless steel wings for B-29s. They found that camouflage finishes on stainless steel were equal to similar finishes on aluminum coated aluminum alloy. Their report also indicated that the methods used for cleaning the metal surfaces, prior to the application of paint, was satisfactory for stainless steel (note: B-29s did not use stainless steel for the production aircraft, because satisfactory aluminum alloys were available-author).

Douglas Company asked to delete “U. S. Army” lettering under the wings of all camouflaged aircraft, August 10,1942.

Wright Field requested the Douglas Company to delete the words “U. S. Army” from the underside of all camouflaged aircraft. They requested that immediate action be taken to remove this wording on the undersurfaces of camouflaged wings for models C-53, C-54, C – 54A, and C-74 airplanes (this was a very early mention of the C-74 – author).

T. O. 07-1-IB revision issued on August 15, 1942, covering use of Medium Green blotches, deletion of “U. S. Army” under wings and the use of decals for organization insignia.

A revised version, T. O.07-1-1B, was issued on August 15, 1942, and added paras. l.f.(l)(c) and revised paras 5.a., 6, and 7.e.

l. _f. Use of Special Color of Camouflage Materials.

(1) The basic camouflage scheme in permanent camouflage materials for Army Air Forces airplanes is as follows: **********************#*************#*#*$*******************************

(c) Medium green, shade No. 42 in splotches or patches along the leading edges, tips and trailing edees of the wing, vertical and horizontal stabilizers and rudders.

1. Application should be made so that the continuity in appearance of the wing, stabilizer, and rudder outlines

is broken.

2. The size of the splotches, or stripes should extend inward from the edges at various distances ranging from 0 to 20 per cent of the width of wing, stabilizer or rudder member.

5. Markings.

a. The markings for all military aircraft will be in accordance with Spec. 98-24105 (airplanes), or 99-2050 (lighter – than-air aircraft) except that on camouflaged airplanes the marking “U. S. Army” on the under surface of wing will be omitted.

6. Standard Insignia. – Standard military insignia will be placed and maintained on each airplane as outlined in Spec. 98­24102, or Spec. 24114 (airplane camouflage) which includes the following:

a. The new insignia is a five pointed white star within a blue circle.

b. All rudder stripes will be eliminated and color of rudder will be the same as the upper surfaces of the fuselage except as noted in para. l. f.(l)(c).

c. Decalcomania transfers may be used if desired, (for application of decalcomanias on airplanes assigned to Air Service Command see T. O. No. 01-1-21.)

7. e. Decalcomania Insignia. – Where personnel are not available to print organization insignia in a satisfactory manner, the use of decalcomania insignia on airplanes is authorized. (Eland or sprav painting of the new Air Service Command Insignia is not authorized – see T. O. No. 01-1-21.) Owing to the local nature of their usage, however, it will be necessary for organizations (except the Air Service Command) desiring to use these transfers to obtain them by local purchase. Their application does not require skilled workmen. Instructions for applying decalcomanias are furnished by the manufacturer. They should be stored in a dry place where they will not be exposed to temperature above normal.

First production Lockheed F-5 haze painted, August 21, 1942.

The Prod. Eng. Sect (WF) told the Photo Lab. Exp. Eng. Sect. (WF) that the first production F-5 aircraft had been given a coat of haze paint, which had failed to meet expectations, possibly due to improper application. The Material Center (WF) had been made responsible for the testing this aircraft. Problems continued with the application of the haze paint to production F-5 aircraft and the in-flight results were very variable. It was thought that the properties of the original Cabot haze paint were responsible for the poor results, but testing done with haze paint produced by two other companies were also disappointing. Eglin Field eventually produced a Final Report on October 23, 1942, entitled “Test of Haze Paint” (see later in this chapter-author).

North American 0-47A, 37-327, finished in Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray, is seen with the new insignia. These obsolete aircraft were used for coastal reconnaissance patrols until other aircraft were available. (USAF)

Cuitiss P-40E. Close up view of Col. Robert L. Scott’s aircraft in China on September IS, 1942. This shows crew chief J. R. Hill pointing to Col. Scott’s five kills on the side of the airplane. By this lime the American Volunteer Group (AVGl had become the 23rd FG of the L4th AF in China. (USAF)

Curtiss C-46-CU, 41-5180, is one of the initial production model built as troop transports. This is aircraft no.21 of the first batch of 25. (llarry Gann)

The local situation in Northwest Africa caused the HQ. Northwest African Air Forces to issue instructions for changing the basic camou­flage on all aircraft in its command. These instructions contained information on new camouflage patterns for P-38, P-40, A-20, B-25,

B-24, and B-17 aircraft. These patterns were to be applied by spray gun, using paint mixed with gasoline! Seven colors were called out from an existing US Army, Corps of Engineers Color Specification. These instructions were not generally known outside of the theater and the accompanying color drawings are being published for the first time. The document read as follows:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AIRCRAFT CAMOUFLAGE
NORTHWEST AFRICAN THEATER.

Color

General (This color combination will be used on all aircraft except those noted under Special Cases.)

A – Field Drab

В – Olive Drab. (If airplane is already painted in Olive Drab, do not apply new coat unless necessary for maintenance). C – l/8th pint Blue plus one gallon White.

Special (These color combinations will be used when color of plane standing areas have a decided color accent of one color, such as red, yellow, green or sand.

RED

A – (1/2 Earth Yellow) + (1/2 Earth Red)

В – Earth Brown

C – (1/8 pint Blue) + (one gallon White)

YELLOW

A – (2/3 Earth Yellow) + (1/3 Field Drab)

В – Earth Brown

C – (1/8 pint Blue) + (one gallon White)

GREEN

A – Light Green В – Olive Drab

C – (1/8 pint Blue) + (one gallon White)

LIGHT SAND f Desert 1 A – Sand

В – Sand (if area is all sand color)

Field Drab (if area is spotted)

C – (1/8 pint Blue) + (one gallon White)

Note: All colors specified are according to Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army tentative specifications No. T-1213, Dec. 15,1941, Amendment #1 Feb. 5, 1942.

The eight color chips shown in the document were:

2/3 EARTH YELLOW + 1/3 FIELD DRAB. LIGHT GREEN

1/2 EARTH RED + 1/2 EARTH YELLOW. OLIVE DRAB

FIELD DRAB EARTH BROWN

SAND 1/8 PINT BLUE + ONE GAL. WHITE

APPLICATION OF PAINT Paint used will have a dull surface when dry.

Paint will be sprayed on just heavy enough to cover the surface with a solid coat of color.

Paint will be sprayed solid up to the pattern line and then shaded out into the next color.

The following sketch shows how this is accomplished, (omitted—author)

TRANSFER OF PATTERN

Mark off, on airplane, two foot squares with a snap line/chalk.

Sketch in the pattern line appearing in each of the squares, checking with corresponding square on the pattern plan.

On curved surfaces, such as the fuselage, the pattern will have to be sketched freehand. The following sketch shows how this is to be accomplished, (omitted—author)

PATTERN DESIGN

The pattern designs shown on Sheets 1 to 6 may be used directly; however, additional camouflage patterns will have to be designed, as the repetition of one pattern on one type of plane will result in a dangerous eye attraction. Use the suggested pat­terns as a guide in making additional designs, keeping in mind the following points:

(a) Scale of spots: Relate them to the size of the airplane, using the suggested designs as a guide.

(b) Shape of spots: Keep them irregular and varied in form. Avoid any recognizable shape, such as a square, diamond, heart, circle, etc.

(c) Size of spots: No two spots should be the same size.

(d) Placement of spots: Locate the spots in such a manner that the wing, fuselage, tail and rudder surfaces are broken by the darker patches. It will be of assistance to work up new designs in the same scale as the suggested sketches, follow­ing the instructions previously given in transferring the pattern to the airplane.

CAUTION!!

Spray painting with gasoline mixed paints must be done outdoors or in an extremely well ventilated building. Precautions must be taken with flames and lighted cigarettes.

Issued by Headquarters, North West African Air Forces,

Engineers – Section, U. S.A. P.0.650 Drawn by H. W. T. and C. R.H. date 10th March 1943.

50% EARTH YELLOW 50% EARTH RED

This is the only recorded in-theater change of USAAF aircraft camouflage and was undoubtedly the result of the sharp German reaction to the Allied Forces advance towards Tunisia. On February 14, 1943, the Germans launched a powerful counter-attack from the Faid Pass in Tunisia, breaking through to the Kasserine Pass, They made many heavy attacks on the desert air bases and these were probably the cause of the above camouflage changes. Photographs of the time show that it was chiefly the A-20, B-25, and P-40 units that adopted the new camouflage.

No photographs seem to have come to light showing the recommended camouflage on P-38, B-17, or B-24 aircraft. Variations of the recommended camouflage have been seen on many A-20 aircraft, particularly those of the 47th BG, stationed at Canrobert, Algeria, during March, 1943.

Another report by Eglin Field, No. 3-42-106, “Test of Camouflage for Photographic Airplanes at Extremely High Altitudes”, was re­leased on September 22, 1943. It is yet another of the missing reports referred to previously, so we are not sure of the contents. However, we do know that Lockheed finally painted all of the later production F*5As and F-5Bs in a single color synthetic blue haze paint. Later F – 5s were converted from P-38 aircraft at modification centers. It is not known what colors the converted aircraft were painted in, but refer to the entry dated October 16, 1943 (later in this chapter), covering the painting of F-7 aircraft in two shades of blue.

Consolidated B-24J-25-CO, 42-73250, is seen on a test flight, with the red outline insignia in mid-1943. (Convair)

a. The use of decalcomanias, Specification No. 14118,for standard or organization insignia and markings is authorized Instructions for application should be printed on the reverse side of the various types; however, in event of any confusion, the Commanding General, Air Service Command, Patterson Field, Fairfield, Ohio, will be notified, giving Purchase Order number, type, and size.

Douglas Aircraft was informed by Material Command on July 7, 1944, that the deletion of camouflage from the A-20H and A-20K. aircraft was canceled.

Requirements for troop carriers, transports, and war-weary and surplus aircraft added by T. 0.07-1-1B, August 5, 1944.

Another change to T. O. 07-1-1 was made, dated August 5, 1944. This added troop carriers and transport aircraft to those that required camouflage on exterior surfaces.

The war situation was reflected in the addition of two new categories of aircraft to section “3. Markings” of the T. O.. This new section read as follows:

g. WAR-WEARY AND SURPLUS AIRCRAFT. – Two-inch letters will be stenciled directly beneath the type, model, and series designation on the fuselage of aircraft (same color as present markings) in the following categories. This stenciling will be ap­plied by activities at which the affected aircraft are now stationed, and will also include affected aircraft received in the future without these markings:

(1) The letter “W” will be stenciled on all war-weary aircraft which have not undergone a complete DIR. The term “WAR – WEARY” applies to any aircraft returned permanently from service in an overseas theater.

(2) The letter “Q” will be stenciled on all war-weary aircraft that are processed through a depot for DIR. This symbol will replace the “W”, which will no longer appear on the aircraft.

(3) The letter “S” will be stenciled on all aircraft which have been declared by Headquarters, Army Air Forces excess to the military requirements or surplus to the W. D. or both. (Reference paragraph 9.a. AAF Regulation 65-86). Under no circum­stances will the letter “S” be used to indicate or be interpreted to mean “storage.” In cases where the symbol “W” or “Q” is required to be placed on the aircraft, the “S” will be stenciled directly after that symbol. Example: “WS” -“OS.”

It should be noted that this order was not strictly adhered to, in that in every photograph of a war-weary aircraft that the author has seen, the letters “WW” were stenciled rather than the required “W”.

Exterior plywood surfaces will be finished with two coats of varnish, Specification No. AN-TT-V-118, thinned with an equal portion of naphtha or, on open grain woods, one coat of thinned varnish followed by one coat of surfacer, Specification No. 14115, sanded down, before the final two coats of aluminized varnish. Use 16 to 20 ounces of pigment, Specification No. AN-TT-A-461, in each gallon of varnish for the final coats.

This new issue, dated August 14, 1947, made a number of detail changes to the requirements for the new national aircraft insignia. This included using a gray color for the insignia white on upper wing surfaces when finished in low visibility camouflage color schemes, and deleting the small size national insignia used above the wings of night fighters, enlarging them to a minimum size of thirty inches (from the previous twenty five inches). The spec, read as follows:

A. APPLICATION

A-l. Application.- This specification is drawn to present the requirements for the size and location of the national insignia on the exterior surfaces of aircraft.

B. APPLICABLE SPECIFICATIONS,

B-l. There are no specifications applicable to this specification.

C. MATERIALS.

C-l. General.-The insignia shall be applied with approved lacquers, dopes or enamels as are applicable and compatible with the finishes applied to adjacent surfaces, Decalcomanias may be used upon specific approval of the Procuring Agency. The gloss or specularity shall match that of adjacent surfaces, except that non-specular laquers, dopes or enamels shall be used on surfaces finished semi-gloss sea blue.

C-2. Color.- Colors used shall conform to the applicable Army-Navy standard color cards for non-specular insignia and to the Army-Navy Aeronautical Color Standards for glossy insignia.

D. DESIGN.

D-l. Construction.- The national insignia shall be an insignia white five pointed star inside an insignia blue circum­scribed circle with an insignia white rectangle, one radius of the blue circle in length and one-half radius of the blue circle in width, on each side of the star and the top edges placed to form a straight line with the top edges of the two star points beneath the top star point; with an insignia red horizontal stripe centered in the white rectangles at each end of the insignia, the width of the red stripe to be one-sixth the radius of the star; and an insignia blue border one-eighth radius of the blue circle in width outlining the entire design; except that when the insignia is to be applied on a sea blue, dark blue or black background, the insignia blue circumscribed circle and the insignia blue border may be omitted. The construction of the star is obtained by marking off five equidistant points on the circumscribed circle and connecting each point to the two non-adjacent points. See Figure 1. The national insignia shall be applied so that in the normal flight attitude of the airplane the top star point of the insignia points upward and perpendicular to the line of flight on vertical surfaces, or forward and parallel to the line of flight on horizontal surfaces. A gray color, obtained by mixing one part of insignia white with one part of light gray, shall replace the insignia white on applications to upper wing surfaces when finished in low visibility camouflage color schemes.

D-2. Application.- D-2a. Wing Insignia.-

D-2a(l). Location.- Two insignia shall be placed on the wings of all airplanes. The national insignia shall be placed on the upper surface of the left wing and the lower surface of the right wing. On bi-planes one insignia shall be placed on the upper surface of the upper left wing and the other on the lower surface of the lower right wing. They shall be placed at a distance from the wing tip equal to one-third of the distance from the fuselage to the wing tip and tangent to the aileron cut out measured from the center of the insignia. The insignia may be moved inboard the minimum distance necessary where wing tip floats of sea­planes interfere or when space is not available for the minimum size specified.

D-2a(2). Size.- The insignia shall have a blue circle, excluding the borders with a maximum diameter of 50 inches and a minimum diameter of 30 inches. Standard sizes shall have blue circle diameters in multiples of five inches. The blue circle diameter selected shall be the standard size which is closest to, but does not exceed, 75 percent of the distance between the leading edge of the wing and the aileron cut out at the point of application.

D-2b. Fuselage Insignia.

D-2b(l). Location.- The national insignia shall be applied to each side of the fuselage approximately midway between the trailing edge of the wing and leading edge of the stabilizer but in no case shall any part of the insignia be located closer than 35 inches to the trailing edge of the wing, except that the insignia may be moved forward or to the rear of the midpoint to avoid covering transparent material. When the fuselage section between the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge of the stabilizer is not large enough to accommodate the minimum size specified, the fuselage insignia shall be placed on such other parts of the fuselage, as will permit its being readily seen from the side. On patrol seaplanes, the insignia shall be applied to each side of the bow in such position that it is completely visible when the plane is water-borne in normal load condition. Alternate locations, as permitted above, shall be such as to obtain suitable visibility and shall be approved by the Procuring Agency. Fuselage insignia may extend over doors and emergency exits but shall not extend over windows or such opening used during combat which would change the insignia pattern.

D-2b(2). Size.- The insignia shall have a blue circle, excluding the border, with amaximum diameter of 50 inches and a minimum diameter of 20 inches. Standard sizes shall have blue circle diameters in multiples of five inches. The diameter selected shall be the standard size which comes nearest to, but does not exceed, 75 percent of the height of the projection of the fuselage side at the point of application.

E. NOTES.

E-l. Superseding Data.- This specification supersedes those parts of the current issues of the Bureau of Aeronautics Specification SR-2 and U. S. Army Specification 98-24102, which pertain to aircraft insignia, and Specification AN-I-9b for Army; and Navy aeronautical use.

* * *

This ends the history of the ever-changing AAF requirements for the camouflage, markings and insignia on its combat and non-combat aircraft between 1941 and 1947, until the service finally became independent of the U. S. Army, as the new U. S. Air Force on September 26,1947.

* * *

Robert D. Archer spent his early years in Bristol, England. He kept extensive notes on the color schemes and markings to be seen on the huge variety of aircraft at Filton Airfield from 1936, until the outbreak of war in 1939, beginning a life-long interest in aircraft color schemes.

He entered the aircraft industry as a design engineer in 1942, working for Napier’s on the Nomad, Naiad, and double-Naiad en­gines: at English Electric on electrical control systems; and at Supermarine on the Swift series, and Types 525 and 545. He was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1954, and was active in the Air Training Corps and the Royal Observer Corps of the Royal Air Force until he left England in 1954 to join Canadair, Canada, on the CL-28 pro­gram.

Fie was brought to California in 1956 by Northrop and worked on the T-38, F-5, Lockheed Electra and the McDonnell F-4 prototype. In 1964 he joined Douglas Aircraft at Long Beach, initially in military advanced design. He worked on the control systems of the КС-10 and MD-80, made a special review of the F-15 flight control system, and completed his service as a manager on the fly-by-wire control system of the C-17. For a brief period he worked at Lockheed Aircraft, as a project engineer on the WP-ЗА and NKC-121K programs.

In 1966, the USAF granted him the then necessary secret clearances to research at! of the files concerning the subject of this volume. He was the only non-service person granted this privilege. This has ensured the accuracy and depth of the material presented herein, much of it for the first time.

Over the years, he has contributed to various publica­tions, such as Interavia, Flight International, Space/Aeronau – tics, Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft, and the American Avia­tion Historical Society Journal, and wrote a book covering the development and service use of the Republic F-105 Thunderchief.

He was a founding member of the American Aviation Historical Society, serving for many years on the editorial board of the Journal, and was a director for a short time. He
is a member of the Air Force Association and is also a founding member of the US branch of the International Plastic Modelers Society, and contributed scores of articles to several scale model magazines. After 49 years in the aviation industry, he retired in 1991.

His most recent work was the Monogram U. S. Army Air Ser­vice and Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, a definitive reference work covering the period between 1908 and 1941, published in 1995.

The changes in Amendment No. 4 to Spec. 98-24102-K, issued on August 29, 1942, stated that decalcomania transfers could be used for the insignia depending upon specific approval of the AAF. The design of the insignia was changed to the white star within a circum­scribed biue circle, and the following new paras, were added:

3. Size of Insignia for airplane fuselage, – For the fuselage of airplanes, the diameter of the circumscribed circle, shown in Figure 1, shall be 3/4 of the depth of the projection of the fuselage side, but in no instance shall the diameter exceed 48 inches, 9. Location of insignia on fuselage. – One insignia shall be applied to each side of the fuselage, with a point pointing upward midway between the vertical projections of the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. In the event that transparent materials are located in this area, the star insignia shall be moved forward or to the rear as specified by the procuring agency.

Beech AT-ll-BH Kansan, 41-27679, bombardier trainer version of the AT-7. 1,582 were built and had a bomb bay for 1,000 lbs of bombs. (March AFB Museum)

10. Rudders, Insignia. – Insignia will not be applied to rudders. Rudders will be finished with the color which is applied to the vertical surfaces of the fuselage.