In 30' and from July 1937 officially ... colour on the tail:
CV-2 USS Lexington – Lemon Yellow
CV-3 USS Saratoga – White
CV-4 USS Ranger – Willow Green
CV-5 USS Yorktown – Insignia Red
CV-6 USS Enterprise – True Blue
CV-7 USS Wasp – Black
The squadron and aircraft markings ...
squadron number - squadron type - aircraft number in squadron and the squadron emblem
the squadron type ...
F – Fighting Squadron
B – Bombing Squadron
S – Scouting Squadron
T – Torpedo Squadron
MF – Marine Fighting Squadron (from 1937)
MB – Marine Bombing Squadron (from 1937)
MS – Marine Scouting Squadron (from 1937)
the flight/section markings from June 1931 ...
the schewron on the wing tops of the flight/section colour with a number of an plane in the section.
the flight/section colours:
1 section – Insignia Red – aircraft 1, 2, 3
2 section – White – aircraft 4, 5, 6
3 section – True Blue – aircraft 7, 8, 9
4 section – Black – aircraft 10, 11, 12
5 section – Willow Green – aircraft 13, 14, 15
6 section – Lemon Yellow – aircraft 16, 17, 18
additional markings:
the leading plane - the front of the engine cowling and the fusealage band behing the cockpit of the section colour
the 1st wingman's plane - no the fuselage band and the front of the cowling painted in a half from its top.
the 2nd wingman's plane - no the fuselage band and the front of the cowling painted in a half from its bottom.
The planes of numbers 19 and more , no section markings but the squadron emblems and colours and the aircraft carrier markings
The info source: my notes.