Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

Thought that I would post this here also.

Clare

This airplane is covered in several books and a couple of decal sheets but I seem to get more confused everytime I look at photos.

My first question relates to wing tips. As best I can tell from the photos on page 85 of "Special Missions", it looks like the undersurface of the wing tips are painted. I would expect the color to be Gelb. Also, it looks like the ailerons were not painted Gelb but left Neutral Gray.

The drawings in "Strangers" do not show this nor does the Cutting Edge decal sheet. The Three Guys sheet shows the entire wing tip painted if you get into their fine details.

The other area covers the nose markings. I am inclined to paint the nose ring and the lower and upper cowl panel Gelb. Cutting Edge show the top panel as remaining OD and the book "Strangers..." has these areas painted red.

The final area is the stripes on the tail when the airplane was captured. The photo and drawing in "Special Missions" shows the normal white stripes on the fin and rudder and above and below the horizontal stabilizers and elevators. The book "Strangers" seems to believe that these features were added at a later date when the airplane was repainted for a propaganda film.

Comments please and thank you very much.

Clare

You might want to look here - http://tinyurl.com/6uoy4

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

Did the Germans paint the nose red or yellow? I have a couple of original photos and I can go either way. I have one decal sheet that says red and another that says yellow.

Chuck

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

Hi Peter,

the link you posted in 2004 does not work any longer.

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

Looking at my original pics...

The entire cowl was painted Yellow. 100%

Underside wing tips color was the same as the rest of the wing.

No stripes on tail

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

I was leaning toward yellow and not red. Thanks.

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

At the time of capture, the aircraft would have been marked only with the white IFF marking on nose and empennage. It would not have have had a colored cowl or rudder.

Interestingly, the 355 FG assigned the 358 FS yellow for cowl and rudder. But this was done after march '44 and applied only to the P-51s which the unit received in March of '44.

The cowl does look a different tone than the yellow prop tips, but that may be due to the different yellows.

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

The only yellow specified in Luftwaffe regulations for captured aircraft not employed on operations was on the outer one-third of the undersides of the wings.

Judging by Roger A. Freeman's "The Mighty Eighth" the yellow on the cowling was the USAAF squadron colour.

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

But if that was captured in 1943, it predated the order allowing use of bright colors on the cowling for quick ID. The 56th FG was the first unit granted permission in February 1944 to replace the white band on the cowling with bright colors for in-flight inter-squadron recognition. For the 355th FG, colors were not introduced until March of '44.

Re: Captured P-47 - Beetle
 

Hello,
This Tbolt is well covered on the LEMB forum along with several photos.

One from Bill Marshall and the 355th official site.shown in Harrison's post is showing the nose section.
Note the markings under the cockpit area,"Agnes's" and a small artwork(?), this pic is said by Bill to be taken at Steeple Morden in November.
http://www.luftwaffe-experten.org/fo...pic=322Details are that the inscription under the cockpit was over painted by the Germans, and the white noseband partly over painted in red .
The a/c would not have had the tail band. But star and bar was outlined in red.
Three profiles depicting the different stages of markings is shown on the back cover of "Strangers in a Strange land"vol1.
Alex