I was going through sone online pics. the other day and I ran across a wartime photo of the 357th F.G. lining up at the end of the runway for take off. The photo shows P-51s fron the 364th as well as one plane from the 363rd F.S. The one from the 363rd has the codes B6Y on the underside of the left wing. I have seen a lot of pics. but this is the first I seen with the plane codes on the underside of the wings. Was this a common practice or is this a one off?

Might have been used by that squadron for a bit... Looks like another plane in the picture has the same codes, same place.

Not common that I know of. First time I've seen it too.

I believe this practice started soon after VE day and continued all through the post-war occupation.

I know I read about this recently. It may have been in the book ~ To War with The Yoxford Boys, the Complete Story of the 357th Fighter Group ~ by MSGT MERLE C. OLMSTED, USAF (RET)
I'll scan through it again to see what I can find. It'll be a good excuse to re-read a great book

Ken.

DISCLAIMER: I am reproducing a page ( without proper permission ) for the sole purpose of aiding modelers in the quest for historical accuracy.

I hope this information helps.
And if anyone is interested in the history of the 357th Fighter Group, the above mentioned book ( 376 pages ) is an excellent resource material. It also contains over forty color-profiles
of squadron P-51s. Lots to choose from for modeling purposes. Remember too that the 357th was Charles E. 'Chuck' Yeager's and Clarence 'Bud' Anderson's squadron.

Ken.

Thank you! well there ya go..pilots survive the war and tries to have fun during the occupation. SOOoo the AC Code is put on the wings to catch the perp! LOL