Spitfire Invasion Stripes question
07-02-2008, 05:46 AM
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Spitfire Invasion Stripes question
Hello,
I am not sure about invasion stripes on radiators (MK XIV)
From the side(s) it appears to be the standard gray (see pic) but were there stripes on the "bottom" on the radiators or just plain grey?
Couldn't find any pic from that angle[
]
Thanks for any help,
Vasek
I am not sure about invasion stripes on radiators (MK XIV)
From the side(s) it appears to be the standard gray (see pic) but were there stripes on the "bottom" on the radiators or just plain grey?
Couldn't find any pic from that angle[
]Thanks for any help,
Vasek
07-03-2008, 01:43 PM
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RE: Spitfire Invasion Stripes question
That's a great photo, and it demonstrates something I've said to lots of scale builders who fret about those markings being "just right". If you read the directive again in TLH's post, it states ".....5 June", the DAY BEFORE the invasion. Imagine the ground crews' thoughts, when the order reached them to start painting stripes on planes. Those guys were slapping paint as hard as they could go, along with all the other preparations. You think they took time to mask off straight lines, or measure exactly 18" from the tail or national marking (on the wing)? I'm sure they just used a forearm length for 18 inches, or something similar,a rivet line in the right place, maybe, and "eyeballed" the straight line. The whole purpose was easy IFF from the ground, who'd notice, or care, that the lines weren't perfectly straight? This isn't to say that they looked like they were done by a drunk 7 year old with no artistic talent. The dimensions noted in the directive actually varied according to the aircraft type. Larger aircraft, like the C-47's and bombers, got stripes a bit wider than the fighters. A test of the stripes was performed on 3 June to familiarize the ships' crews, but the order to paint the majority of aircraft did not go out until 5 June, for security reasons.
As a further note on the stripes themselves, they were ordered removed from the upper surfaces of aircraft within a month of the invasion, and totally removed by the end of 1944. This was to prevent them from being easily targeted at forward bases by what was then left of the Luftwaffe. The stripes were painted on light and medium twin engine bombers, but not on heavy 4-engine bombers, of either USAAF or RAF planes.
TLH, thanks for posting that directive. I had it on my old hard drive that got nuked by lightning a while back, and have been unable to find it again.
As a further note on the stripes themselves, they were ordered removed from the upper surfaces of aircraft within a month of the invasion, and totally removed by the end of 1944. This was to prevent them from being easily targeted at forward bases by what was then left of the Luftwaffe. The stripes were painted on light and medium twin engine bombers, but not on heavy 4-engine bombers, of either USAAF or RAF planes.
TLH, thanks for posting that directive. I had it on my old hard drive that got nuked by lightning a while back, and have been unable to find it again.
07-04-2008, 05:05 AM
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RE: Spitfire Invasion Stripes question
just found this posting, probably long sorted by now, but I went through the same process.
In short, the stripes started half way along the radiators under the wing. As the photos show, they ran: white- black- white- black -white, with the first white stripe literally starting down the middle of the radiator on the outer half.
cheers
602sqdn
In short, the stripes started half way along the radiators under the wing. As the photos show, they ran: white- black- white- black -white, with the first white stripe literally starting down the middle of the radiator on the outer half.
cheers
602sqdn
