"Ina" and "Kitten" Uploaded

[gaucho_59]

Working the bag, boss...

YOU DID IT, MAN!

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

Working on Creamer's Dream...
How's it coming... I know there is a mistake somewhere...

 

[bub]

Thanks Devildog, appreciate it.

Semper Fi,

Bub

 

[kelticheart]

I don't know either!

I' sorry to ask the question after so much work done, but how is it that these aircrafts carry no serial numbers?
François

Hi François!

In spite of Gaucho's faith in me, quite undeserved if you ask me, I do not know of a specific reason why all of "Tuskegee" aircraft did not carry serial # on their tails, as it was standard practice on the rest of U.S.A.A.F. aircrafts of the day.

I too, as Gaucho offered, think that when they were delivered to their squadrons they had their vertical fin serials like any other U.S.A.A.F. aircraft, later on overpainted by the distinctive "redtail" mark sported by 335th F.G. aircrafts.
All of the pictures/profiles I saw of Tuskegee's mounts had their tails painted solid red, with no serial# showing.

I remember reading that WWII squadron commanders had the final say about how aircrafts under their command had to carry their squadron colours, tolerating to various degrees individual "nose art" to boost their troop's morale. Therefore, Tuskegee commanding officers must have ordered, or allowed, their Mustang/Thunderbolt tails painted solid red.

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

 

[Devildog73]

I believe if you look closely under the rear horizontal stabilizer on the fuselage, both sides, you will find serial #s, though very small.

Also, the red paint has a rather interesting beginning. They needed to make the aircraft distinctive to the 332nd and the only paint that the ground crews could get was bright red. That was abundant because nobody else wanted it. So, according to my book, the mechanic's crew chief painted just the vertical rudder stabilizer red one night. The next morning the pilots saw it and liked it. Benjamin O. Davis liked it and told the chief mechanic to "Paint the whole damn tail red, bright red."

He wanted everyone to see them and know who it was that was flying escort.

 

[gaucho_59]

May I interject....?

I believe if you look closely under the rear horizontal stabilizer on the fuselage, both sides, you will find serial #s, though very small.

Also, the red paint has a rather interesting beginning. They needed to make the aircraft distinctive to the 332nd and the only paint that the ground crews could get was bright red. That was abundant because nobody else wanted it. So, according to my book, the mechanic's crew chief painted just the vertical rudder stabilizer red one night. The next morning the pilots saw it and liked it. Benjamin O. Davis liked it and told the chief mechanic to "Paint the whole damn tail red, bright red."

He wanted everyone to see them and know who it was that was flying escort.

In all photos from the era and illustrations thereof... there does not seem to be any one with this "alleged" small serial under the tail plane...
However, in the adjunct photograph... which... by the way... is a replica paint job done in the last few years... there is such a number...
NOTWITHSTANDING... I must submit that the number in question is NOT a replica number.. but rather, the civil registration for an experimental
aircraft... NX...etc. All civil registrations start with N... and, sometimes, when the aircraft is registered as an EXPERIMENTAL.. the X follows..
Original factory painted serial numbers ... (then) were the production number preceded by the year of delivery...or acceptance... i.e.: 42 + the last four, five or six digits of the factory production number...
Nowadays USAF nomenclature adheres to different canons and I don't think the year number is used anymore... just the last 4 or so digits below AF

 

[kelticheart]

In all photos from the era and illustrations thereof... there does not seem to be any one with this "alleged" small serial under the tail plane...
However, in the adjunct photograph... which... by the way... is a replica paint job done in the last few years... there is such a number...
NOTWITHSTANDING... I must submit that the number in question is NOT a replica number.. but rather, the civil registration for an experimental
aircraft... NX...etc. All civil registrations start with N... and, sometimes, when the aircraft is registered as an EXPERIMENTAL.. the X follows..
Original factory painted serial numbers ... (then) were the production number preceded by the year of delivery...or acceptance... i.e.: 42 + the last four, five or six digits of the factory production number...
Nowadays USAF nomenclature adheres to different canons and I don't think the year number is used anymore... just the last 4 or so digits below AF

Thank you for the info, Gaucho!

As you correctly pointed out, the registration shown above is for a civilian aircraft.

Confederate Air Force back in the 1960's started placing civil registration numbers under their restored warbirds tailplanes. Following their lead since then, restored warbirds are "de rigueur" repainted depicting a real life counterpart which flew during WWII. The only place where civil registration could be displayed in compliance with the rules, without interferring too much with the rest of the restored livery, is under the tailplane.

However, this doesn't reflect WWII situation, more specifically Tuskegee Airmen's redtailed aircrafts, where military registrations were not moved under the tailplane.

They were not the only ones. The 318th F.S., 325th F.G., 306th F.W., 15th U.S.A.A.F., better known as the "Checkertail Clan", comes readily to my mind. They were another Med theatre famous U.S.A.A.F. squadron flying Mustangs as well, and they overpainted their aircraft registrations entirely with their distinctive, black-yellow, slanted pattern checkers.
Also, Med-operating 15th U.S.A.A.F., 31st F.G. painted red stripes over their Mustang tails, but the registration could still be seen in between the stripes.

Both shown below, courtesy of Wings Palette.

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

 

[kelticheart]

Found some more...

....with no vertical fin reg #! From all fronts: ETO, MTO and PTO.

Again, courtesy of Wings Palette.

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

 

[gaucho_59]

Just in the vein of 100%.... hahahaha

Thank you for the info, Gaucho!

As you correctly pointed out, the registration shown above is for a civilian aircraft.

Confederate Air Force back in the 1960's started placing civil registration numbers under their restored warbirds tailplanes. Following their lead since then, restored warbirds are "de rigueur" repainted depicting a real life counterpart which flew during WWII. The only place where civil registration could be displayed in compliance with the rules, without interferring too much with the rest of the restored livery, is under the tailplane.

However, this doesn't reflect WWII situation, more specifically Tuskegee Airmen's redtailed aircrafts, where military registrations were not moved under the tailplane.

They were not the only ones. The 318th F.S., 325th F.G., 306th F.W., 15th U.S.A.A.F., better known as the "Checkertail Clan", comes readily to my mind. They were another Med theatre famous U.S.A.A.F. squadron flying Mustangs as well, and they overpainted their aircraft registrations entirely with their distinctive, black-yellow, slanted pattern checkers.
Also, Med-operating 15th U.S.A.A.F., 31st F.G. painted red stripes over their Mustang tails, but the registration could still be seen in between the stripes.

Both shown below, courtesy of Wings Palette.

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

Your English is really very good Keltie... Notwithstanding this [and just to help you get to that near 100% command of the language] the idiomatic expression is not "comes to my mind" but, rather, comes to mind
and grammatically... it should be entirely overpainted their etc. rather than "overpainted their etc. entirely"...
Italian syntax is different... probably more cumbersome and convoluted... in English, usage determines brevity and logic... i.e.: Never "la macchina con dentro cinque uomini si diede alla fuga"... rather... "the five men fled the scene by car...etc"
In other words... the car cannot flee... the men did...
Hope the correction is taken in the same spirit as I take yours... a help rather than a hinder!

se vedemo... (or should I say... ci vediamo...hahahaha)

 

[kelticheart]

I love it!

Your English is really very good Keltie... Notwithstanding this [and just to help you get to that near 100% command of the language] the idiomatic expression is not "comes to my mind" but, rather, comes to mind
and grammatically... it should be entirely overpainted their etc. rather than "overpainted their etc. entirely"...
Italian syntax is different... probably more cumbersome and convoluted... in English, usage determines brevity and logic... i.e.: Never "la macchina con dentro cinque uomini si diede alla fuga"... rather... "the five men fled the scene by car...etc"
In other words... the car cannot flee... the men did...
Hope the correction is taken in the same spirit as I take yours... a help rather than a hinder!

se vedemo... (or should I say... ci vediamo...hahahaha)

Thanks, Gaucho!

I truly appreciate it. There's no limit to perfecting one's language knowledge. It only bugs me that I did not place that silly "entirely" adverb exactly where you placed it, because somehow it sounded too Italian-influenced to me.......
In the years I spent in the US I always heard adverbs placed at the end of a sentence, or, at least, I seem to remember it as such.

Back to the topic: did the fine arts muse strike you with some inspiration for new repaints from the profiles I found? See ya, dude!......

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

 

[gaucho_59]

Indeed...

Thanks, Gaucho!

I truly appreciate it. There's no limit to perfecting one's language knowledge. It only bugs me that I did not place that silly "entirely" adverb exactly where you placed it, because somehow it sounded too Italian-influenced to me.......
In the years I spent in the US I always heard adverbs placed at the end of a sentence, or, at least, I seem to remember it as such.

Back to the topic: did the fine arts muse strike you with some inspiration for new repaints from the profiles I found? See ya, dude!......

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

I am working on both some profiles and their skin versions... mostly D models... always Red Tails...

 

[gaucho_59]

I forgot...

I am working on both some profiles and their skin versions... mostly D models... always Red Tails...

The syntax of both adverbs and adjectives... is pretty much the same... as their function is that of modifiers... they should be placed as close
as possible to the object or action they modify... so as to avoid confusion.... Italian is far more permissive in a way...
Furthermore, SAE (Standard American English) prefers, for example, the use of short concatenated sentences rather than "paragraph-length"
sentences... basically... a subject-verb-object structure... with modifiers close to each.... adverbs close to verbs.. adjectives close to subjects
or objects... the idea being that the longer the distance... the more possibilities for subject-verb agreement errors, etc.
Very often... folks list a number of things... and make the verb agree with the last item.... (singular) when it should be plural.. and so on...
I taught Effective Army Writing and English as a Second Language.. for the Army after I retired as I also had a Master's Degree in Education... (Got away from Medicine) It was a lot of fun...
Went all over.. Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Germany and all over Veneto at NATO bases... (and MFO - Multinational Force & Observers in the Sinai
Desert) There, I had the fortune of working with the Italian Navy minesweepers that patrolled the Strait at Sharm-El-Sheik... lots of fun, and
"mangiate di pesce al mollo" with lots of wine and Parmigiano Reggiano... Some of the best days in my life...