Hi All,
Could any of you kind people explain to me the mystery( to me at least!!) of the USN Squadron marking system employed on their aircraft during WWII.
I have mastered the complexities of the Serial No system with the USAAF and USN using different series etc.and the USAAF using a system similar to the RAF, but as for the actual squadron markings for the USN I am completely baffled, probably me showing my stupidity.
Specifically I am looking at PBY 4’s of VB 103, which were based at NAS Dunkeswell, Devon, England from '43 - 45. I have seen plenty of reference photos but none seem to show any form of Squadron markings, only a letter and number which appears to be identifying the aircraft rather than the squadron, or have I got it completely wrong??!!![%-)]
Please someone put me out of my misery,
There are many books on the subject. The regulations not only changed a few times during the war, they weren’t always adhered to. At one point, when secrecy was of the highest order, the readily visible markings were only the absolute minimum necessary to keep track of an aircraft from a flight line standpoint.
That said, the letter might be important. What was it and where was it relative to the number?
Tailspinturtle- The letter was B , set on the nose below the cockpit set up as B-3 , with a space between, does this help. I have also seen ref shots with the no. B-11, this difference in no. made me think it as the aircraft letter?
Before 1942, the i.d. would have been 103-B-3, for airplane no. 3 of Bombing squadron 103. During '42 and '43, the Navy started started painting out the squadron number. Eventually, they started painting out the letter too, just leaving the plane no. Toward the end of the war, they started using letters agin, to identify carrier groups and bases.
Quick answer (I know stuff about Navy carrier aircraft - not nearly as much about patrol planes): Before the war, a VB-103 aircraft (which I’ve discovered was the PB4Y, not the “PBY 4” - big difference) would have been marked 103-B-X, with X being the aircraft number assigned by the squadron for maintenance and operational management. Around the start of hostilities involving the US, the squadron number was deleted to minimize the order-of-battle information available at the time to the enemy. Eventually, the squadron information was added back in various ways since it was considered more useful than harmful to us…
Interesting addition - I’ve found a picture of a PB4Y marked with a small “B-3” on the forward fuselage but also a very large “C” on the aft fuselage. This could be a marking convention borrowed from the Brits, as in C for Charley, third letter of the alphabet.
One possible reason for this marking is that responsible people sometimes directed the use of a very large letter or number on aircraft to discourage “flat-hatting”. A undoubtedly apocryphal anecdote about this practice was the interview with an English lady who was complaining that a low-flying jet had buzzed her house. When asked if she saw any markings, she said she read “Trestle Here” on the underside of the wing, which of course is a maintenance instruction about one inch high.
Thanks Guys, once again excellent info. I am indebted to you.