Shark Mouth Aircraft

[vikingBerserker]

I like that one!

 

[Wayne Little]

A weird one to me....

 

[Old Wizard]

 

[Gnomey]

Nice one!

 

[mikewint]

Much to my surprise I came across my favorite aircraft WITH a sharkmouth. Never saw these in Vietnam

 

[Wurger]

 

[Old Wizard]

 

[Wayne Little]

Cool.

 

[buffnut453]

Much to my surprise I came across my favorite aircraft WITH a sharkmouth. Never saw these in Vietnam
View attachment 376575 View attachment 376576

There's a contemporary image of the nose markings of that A1H here:

Modellismo Più

I'd copy the image link but for some reason I can't.

 

[Wurger]

Here ...

 

[buffnut453]

That's the puppy. For some reason, my 'puter won't let me copy images very easily. I think it's a permissions issue.

 

[mikewint]

Thanks guys, unfortunately that Has kit is 1/72. Don't see any 1/48 on line but any 1/48 kit of the A1-H plus sharkmouth decals (P-40 comes to mind)??? What do you think?

 

[Robert Porter]

I read, somewhere on here I believe, that Shark Mouth painting originated in WW1? Am I crazy or did someone here really mention that?

 

[mikewint]

Yup, there's a thread here somewhere to that effect. I had some pics....had

 

[Robert Porter]

Ah ha! I was not dreaming! I mentioned this in passing the other day to someone and they laughed at me and said it started with the Flying Tigers but I was pretty sure it was a lot earlier than them.

 

[mikewint]

Far from it Robert. The Shark Mouth design on the Flying Tigers (AVG: American Volunteer Group) was done after pilots saw a photograph of a P-40 of No. 112 Squadron RAF in North Africa. They in turn had adopted the shark face from German pilots of the Luftwaffe's ZG 76 heavy fighter wing, flying Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters in Crete.

 

[Old Wizard]

 

[Robert Porter]

Great info, along the lines of what I suspected but did not have the specifics.

 

[Graeme]

Probably been posted before but the L-39 certainly looks the shark...

 

[Graeme]