O.D. Covering Invasion Stripes

[fubar57]

Would this be Olive Drab covering the invasion stripes? What would be used to cover those on the bottom? I can't find any colour photos or plates for a 410th FS P-47s but right now I'm thinking the front of the cowling is red or blue, leaning to red

 

[Crimea_River]

Google search came up dry here as well Geo but one modeler produced that model with a black cowl. I would tend to lean toward that rather than red.I would guess that the overpainting is OD. The underside could possibly be have been left alone but it could alslo be OD or neutral grey I would guess. There are several other pics of that same aircraft in flight and another from the same squadron with the cowl band:

 

[Crimea_River]

Oh, and by the way, I checked my "Airforce Colors Vol 2" by Dana Bell which is a great resource for squadron colours and unfortunately 410 FS is not covered.

 

[fubar57]

Thanks Andy. "Battle Colors Vol.3" says that the 373rd FG carried no squadron colours yet in the photos I've seen and those you posted definitely show colour on the cowling. After looking at a whack of photos I tend to agree with you about the black

 

[fubar57]

Not definitive by any means...

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WARPAINT SPECIAL No.1, Alan W. Hall, Hall Park Books

 

[rdriscoll]

Not definitive by any means...

View attachment 447640
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WARPAINT SPECIAL No.1, Alan W. Hall, Hall Park Books

A few thoughts:

In the book: The 9th Air Force in WWII by Ken C. Rust
It was noted that the 410 FS had no band on the nose of the P-47 (but noted that some had black nose bands).
Remember that the P-47s in the ETO were delivered with black noses and tail bands. It may be that it was not worth the extra work to remove them.

I agree that the upper invasion stripes were over-painted with OD (probably). Remember, it was easier to obtain local paint so it may also be RAF Dark Green. I doubt that in this case as it looks like faded OD (RAF Dark Green is darker).
The underside invasion stripes were usually left. I doubt Neutral Gray was used since it had been phased out.
Also note: the profile above show incorrectly that the portion behind the cockpit under canopy was painted. Look at the photos, that area is unpainted. The photos above show it is a P-47D-22. It ultimate fate was: (410th FS, 373rd FG, 9th AF) in ground accident at RAF Woodchurch, Kent, England May 25, 1944. Pilot survived, aircraft badly damaged, unknown if repaired.

From the Finish Section of the P-47 Erection and Maintenance manual:

"Starting with P-47D-20 AC 42-25274, camouflage paint will no longer be applied to the P·47 at the factory. There is one exception to this and that is the top portion of the primary cowl, secondary cowl, and fuselage directly in front of the windshield. These surfaces will be painted with olive-drab No. 613 antiglare paint. The width of this painted area will line up approximately with the canopy rails."

 

[fubar57]

Many thanks

 

[Wurger]

The enlarged pic can come in handy..

 

[Airframes]

Agree with the black nose, and the underside retaining the stripes, as per directive from approx mid-July. The upper stripes could very well be over-painted in RAF Dark Green, or even a shade of British Army green, both of which were commonly used, being readily available.
If it was US OD, then it's unlikely to be faded, as it would have been relatively 'fresh' paint, although looking to be thinly applied, just to cover the stripes (with the black stripes showing through as a darker shade.).
Is the date of the loss correct ?
The AEAF stripes were ordered to be applied as late as possible before the eve of June 5th (the original date for D-Day, postponed to June 6th due to weather in the Channel). The photo clearly shows stripes, over-painted on upper surfaces which, as previously stated, didn't happen until mid to late July in most cases.

 

[Crimea_River]

Good point.

 

[fubar57]

Good stuff gents. One last ponder, the port wing tip. Definitely similar to O.D. but curious as to why only the one tip. In the books I've looked through I've seen 410th Bubbletops with painted wingtips but never paid attention to them. Perhaps the ground accident rdriscoll mentioned involved the left wing and it was replaced. Back to the books............

 

[parsifal]

As the square peg, why couldn't the invasion stripes have been oversprayed with grey? The camo was a mix of grey and OD with the grey components appearing to have been very roughly painted over in the more well known squadrons at least.

I agree that most likely the nose is black. Its too dark for it to be the only other alternative of red. I'm not convinced about the painted out bits of the invasion stripes.

 

[rdriscoll]

As the square peg, why couldn't the invasion stripes have been oversprayed with grey? The camo was a mix of grey and OD with the grey components appearing to have been very roughly painted over in the more well known squadrons at least.

I agree that most likely the nose is black. Its too dark for it to be the only other alternative of red. I'm not convinced about the painted out bits of the invasion stripes.

The OD wingtip might be from the boneyard. It might of been off an OD painted aircraft.

 

[Wurger]

Here is another P-47 of the 373rd FG. It can be noticed the top D-day strips were overpainted while those on the undersides weren't.

 

[Crimea_River]

Very helpful reference Wojtek. I like the idea of a replacement wingtip. Perhaps the accident described in late May on Joe Baugher's site wasn't so bad and a new wing tip and other repairs put the aircraft back in the air before AEAF stripes were applied.