Invasion stripes were used for the identification of Allied aircraft for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy. They were placed on the upper and lower surfaces of wings and fuselages of Allied aircraft involved in the invasion (combat, transport, etc.) These stripes were removed from the upper surfaces of most a/c as Allied air superiority was achieved over the Continent. Most units did away with them altogether late in the war. Hope this helps.
The purpose was to hel pthe other allies and ourselves know which planes were on our side. Since most of the combat crews did not recognize any of the other countries’ planes, the stripes were hastily painted on to keep us from shooting down our allies.
In all actuality, they served no purpose!
Many allied aircraft were shot at on DDay by allied vessels and troops on the ground. If you waited until you could tell if it had stripes, it might be too late.
It wasn’t until later when we did have air superiority that the aircraft were not shot at by allied troops
You are correct. As for the enemy, there wasn’t much in the area. Idon’t know which is scarier, the fact that the Germans only got 2 AC over the beaches on D-day or that they both made it home!
Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they “served no purpose” The intent was indeed to prevent the loss of aircraft,crews, cargo (including the troops in them) to friendly fire. They did REDUCE the loss of aircraft to friendly fire. You can seldom prevent friendly fire, but you can reduce occurances. Itchy trigger fingers, nerves, confusion, make for lots of rounds going down range …at the wrong guys.
A book I have, “Tactical Air Power In WW ll” explains the invasion stripes. They were painted on so the ground and naval forces would recognize them as friendly. The P-38 was used over the front as it was easy to identify by the ground forces. After several P-47’s, P-51’s and Spitfires were shot down by friendly forces, they would cross the coast north of the battlefield and turn and fly ahead of the battlefield. There they would attack enemy forces trying to get to the front. They would exit north of the front to prevent being fired on by friendly forces.
The stripes were put on to prevent being fired on by friendly forces but wasn’t very effective. On June seventh, six allied aircraft were destroyed by friendly navel gun fire. Another two were destroyed by friendly ground forces. Several more were damaged. On the eight of June another four were destroyed by friendly forces. Only the P-38 was able to penentrate the area without being fired on.
I suppose another reason for the Invasion Stripes was that it made the flyboys a bit more comfortable with the idea of flying over triggerhappy troops. Even if it didn’t help in recognition, it soothed some nerves, i figure.
Remember that these stripes were sometimes slapped on rather than carefully applied just before the big day so you will find photos of aircraft on D-Day with rather ragged looking stripes.
Saw a wonderfull cartoon of a USAAF pilot applying stripes to himself in case he had to bail out over France. The book was “There I Was” by ???
Okay I shouldn’t have said “served no purpose” and gone with "ineffective " instead.
A recording of the D-Day landings I got over the internet, has the anti-aircraft boys going nuts blasting all the “jerrys” out of the sky. One time the reporter even says, “There you go boys! Got another one!”
As was already posted, there were two German aircraft over the beaches, and both made it home, so who were the navy boys shooting at?
And “There I Was, Flat on my back…” and “If You Can Read Me… Rock the Tower!”
As to the number of German aircraft in the area, I forget who said it, but there were, indeed, very few on June 6th. Many folks know of the famous strafing sortie at 50 feet over Sword Beach by ‘Pips’ Priller and his wingman Heinz Wodarczyk. (Both of JG 26)
But fewer know of the night-time attacks by the Luftwaffe. Here’s a recording of a George Hicks report from a ship off the Normandy Coast during the late hours of June 6th. 'Tis interesting listening…
On 18 April 1944, orders were issued to add distinctive markings to the wings and fuselage of all allied aircraft in the ETO to aid ground forces in the recognition of friendly aircraft.
The directive called for five 18-inch wide bands, three white, alternating with two black, to be painted around the fuselage at a point 10 inches ahead of the tail joint, and around the wings at a point 8 inches inboard of the division of the ailerons and the flaps.
The stripes were hastily painted on in the nights preceding the invasion, which was delayed a day, from 5 June 1944 to the 6th, due to weather. The ground crews worked through the nights applying the stripes with brushes.
Due to the success of the invasion, the need for these identification stripes was diminished, and in late June, a directive was issued to remove the stripes from the upper surfaces of the wings and fuselage.
During late-August to early-September 1944, the stripes were removed from the wings altogether, and by December; the stripes were to be removed from the fuselage of the aircraft. Some groups were perhaps a little better than others in removing the invasion stripes as was directed, as it was a low priority in comparison to the normal maintenance required by the planes. This explains why so many photos show the invasion stripes in various stages of wear.