I recently added this picture to our gallery:
http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/U-S-Air-Force/p40
However, I’ve never seen an American flag insignia like that on aircraft. Does anyone have more info about that and why they had it?
I’m guessing it was pre 1942 era.
I couldn’t tell you but I’ve never seen the stars and stripes on an aircraft :shock: :?
1942 USAF markings
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/insig7.htm
In 1943 USAF changed its markings:
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/insig9.htm (with red border)
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/insig10.htm (with black border)
So the picture shows a P-40 before 1943 but after 1940.
(in 1940: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/insig6.htm )
Edited: No info about US flag beside the marking.
Thanks Dani! Now I just need to find someone who knows about that flag…wonder why they have it like that (and that big). Can anyone think of any good reasons to have it? I mean you already have the big star.
Well the bomber crews were pretty much allowed to paint anything they wanted maybe this guy just picked a flag. Done know if certain pilots were restricted on what they could do to their plane.
Can you make out the tail number on the original picture? I think I can make out the first 3 numbers. If we could make out the number, we could probably figure out where this plane came from and where it ended up, and possibly why that flag was there. It would take a little research, but I know it can be done.
I believe the tail number is 21058 , but I’m not positive. :?
First four numbers are 2105 for sure. For fifth symbol 6, 8, (or B).
So should be either 21056 or 21058.
great, let me know if you find out anything:)
I think that the last symbol is a B or a D. In the actual picture it looks like a B but if you zoom it most likely to be a D. :roll:
Hi everyone! I think I found a great page to help us out with identifying this plane. http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/usafserials.html I looked over the listings quickly and didn’t find anything, so I emailed the guy who maintains this site to see if he could help us out. I’d dig some more myself right now, but I have to go to class! LOL If all esle fails, either myself or someone else can contact either the Air Force Historical Research Agency or the National Air and Space Museum Archive Division to get some help.
I recieved a response from the gentleman I emailed about this picture. Here is what he had to say:
Believe that the tail number has six digits, perhaps it is 210511 but
I am not sure of the 11. This would make it 42-10511, which is a
P-40L.Not sure why the American flag is on the side of the aircraft, but it
might be there for recognition purposes. The white star might have
been hard to see under certain situtations. Many of the P-40Ls were
exported under Lend-Lease and this might have been a publicity photo.
The plane in your picture does have RAF-style camouflage. I have a
picture of a P-40F with USAAF insignia but with an American flag
painted on it. The caption says that the plane had originally been
sent to the RAF under Lend-Lease but had been returned to the USAAF in
North Africa. Perhaps your plane is also in this category.Before Pearl Harbor. many US aircraft had American flags painted on
them to indicate our neutral status, but this photo looks like it was
taken after US entry into the war, perhaps sometime during 1942, at
the time after the original red center had been removed from the white
star but before the addition of the white rectangles.
I hope this helps!
In the book 'America At war in Color" by stewart binns & Adrian wood , it has this same photo in nice quality. The tail number is 210511 and in the book it says this plane is a P-40L operating with the 59th fighter squadron,33rd fighter group, flying over tunisia, north africa in january 1943. maybe with this info we can find out the reason for the flag.
I guess the gentleman I emailed about the picture was correct! Perhaps his estimation on the idea of the flag was correct too.
Wow! You guys rock!
Thanks for the info:)
Hi All, Been looking at this site for a while and thought I sign up to add any limited knowledge of mine.
Regarding the American flag on this aircraft it’s significant that it’s in Tunisia. Remember there was an awful lot of ill feeling from the French after the Royal Navy sank their fleet and a lot of British vehicles carried Americn markings during the invasion and after. It would seem a very clever thing for the American pilots to make sure that it was OBVIOUS that they wern’t British and risk the possibility of being shot at in anger.
Just a thought anyhoo.
Welcome aboard. Nice first post, and you may be right, although I dont really know 