Cool pix!

We’re doing so many that I forget if this one was up. And, I do love the F4U Corsair. So, here we have VF-84 F4U-1D launched from the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) February 1945. White arrow on wing and tail, yellow cowling as to identify it from Japanese planes as they returned to the carrier. The Wolf Gang Squadron, and also later some Jolly Rogers.

 

I wanted the cigar lighter Adol had in his plane but his family "only" was able to sell his dagger.....the only fighter pilot with a cigar light in his plane.... .

 

Dietl....





Kenraali Eduard Dietlin hautapaikka München

A man loved by his men and Finnish soldiers. And Mannerheim.

 

Mannerheim and the dictator...







Mannerheim kuuli Hitlerin saapuvan syntymäpäiväjuhliin: – ”Vad i helvete gör han här?”

Mannerheim heard Hitler was coming to his birthday What the hell is he thinking he is doing here? said Mannerheim)

 

Mannerheim was a Russian officer for Zar in the beginning. Notice the boots who has better ones....

 

After the war Mannerheim was asked what were the biggest battles during his life? With Polish women, was the answer......

A polish princess said that Mannerheim told him "Good night!". The other Princess said "Oh, he said goood morning to me"....

 

Not really cool at all but............

 

Nice shots. The yellow (and in some air groups, white) cowl was a temporary identifier used in the first raids on the Japanese home islands in February 1945. Supposedly were to provide last second identification in head-on encounters, they were perceived as largely worthless and discontinued . . . "by the time you could make them out you should already be shooting," according to one fighter pilot of my long ago acquaintance.

The arrow on the wing and tail were to identify the plane as belonging to a Bunker Hill squadron. Air groups did not have distinctive identifiers, aircraft carriers did, so one can find the same markings on aircraft from different air groups if assigned to a particular aircraft carrier.

There were three types of marking applied to the fleet carriers (CVs and CVLs) starting in 1943. By the end of 1943, there was an unofficial system of markings consisting of geometric figures (triangle, circle, upside down triangle, etc.), lines, diagonal lines, and even one that looked like horn of a bull, applied to the vertical tail surfaces. On 7 October 1944, an official system was established, and most carriers were carrying the markings by January 1945. Again, these were geometric figures, lines, etc. applied to the vertical tail surfaces and wings. These markings were assigned to the aircraft carrier, not the carrier air group.

On 27 Jul 1945, an official system of one or two alpha characters was assigned to each carrier (not air groups) The lettering system was promulgated by the ops staff for Com2dFastCarFor (TF-38) to eliminate complaints of confusion created in trying to describe the earlier geometric design system and the system was ordered by ComAirPac. The letter codes were applied to both sides of the vertical tail surfaces and the upper right and lower left wing tips of the aircraft assigned to the carrier in 24 inch block letters. CVEs adopted a stripes and panel system to identify aircraft from a given carrier.

The gent who actually drew up theTF-38 list and assigned the letters to carriers (as he wryly noted, “. . . not exactly rocket science, just be a little random . . .”) told me that the thinking on the staff was to include ALL the CVs, CVLs and CVBs, even if not operational because of damage, routine yard work or status of construction completion, because at the time, mid July 1945, they presumed they would be seeing them on station off the coast of Japan sooner or later. So, that was how the list read, TF-38 assigned carriers, unassigned carriers in the Pacific, and, yes, even carriers on the east coast of the US.

These codes remained in effect until 7 Nov 46 when a whole new set of letter code markings were adopted that were applicable to all active USMC and USN squadrons, carrier‑ and shore‑based. This remained in effect for but a month; on 12 Dec 1946, the rules for carrier‑based aircraft were changed such that the code was assigned to the carrier air group, not to the carrier.

 

Thanks, and in the photo it does appear that this Corsair’s cowling is white.