I'd wager a "WW" (War Weary) formation plane for a bomb group. Also notice all of the guns have been removed as well. That would make me guess a formation a/c.
Snautzer, I'd guess it could've been the personal a/c of a General. I have a couple of pics of a P-47 that was the personal a/c of 8th Fighter Command General Kepner (I"ll attempt to post here) that have only 3 guns per wing. Photo credit Fold3.
Yup! I have that sheet in the stash. I'd build it, but it's not like I don't have about 30 other schemes I'd like to do first! Such dilemmas we have.
Here are a couple more shots I have:
I think Chris Goss was right. This "plastic coating" was a black rubberised substance that was sprayed on, manufactured by a company called Plastiphane. It had nothing to do with shrink-wrap.
After googling 'Eronol' and 'Plastiphane' I learned that "...the first substance used was called Eronol. This was a very 'bitchumen' [sic] black application that was sprayed on, and was later considered both labour intensive and dangerous due to it needing to be removed by hand, using paraffin!! Later (from 1944 onward) the contract was given to the Plastiphane Co. who devised a solution that was more hard-wearing, easier to apply and remove, and was protective in a wide range of climate conditions...".
It took about 54 gallons of "Plastiphane" to coat a P-51.
Baugher: Republic P-47C-5-RE 41-6364 (Headquarters, 1st Combat Crew Replacement Center) in taxiing accident at RAF Bovingdon, England Jun 25, 1944. Pilot survived, aircraft badly damaged, unknown if repaired.
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