[obdl3945]

Hi, Thomas...

I have read that some believe these markings to denote a particular group etc, but I'm not entirely sure about that. Examples of all of the three major bomber types during the Battle of Britain - He111, Ju88 and Do17 - carrying these markings are well documented:

He111, A1+DA, Geschwaderstab KG53, three horizontal bars on upper right wing, and three vertical bars either side of the rudder.

Ju88, 3Z+HN, 5./KG77, one horizontal bar upper left wing, and one vertical bar on left side of the rudder only.

Do17Z, F1+FS, 8./KG76, one vertical bar on upper left wing, and one horizontal bar across both fins and rudders aligned with the top of the fin.

Clearly these do not equate to Gruppe markings as the He111 was a Geschwaderstab (not Gruppenstab) machine, the Ju88 belonged to II.Gruppe (5.Staffel) and the Do17Z belonged to III.Gruppe (8.Staffel). In my opinion, they were more likely to have been formation markings used to help the unit 'form up' in the air. I also doubt they would have remained visible for night operations as they would have been too obvious. If they existed into the later half of 1940/early 1941 for nocturnal missions, they almost certainly would have been overpainted to help conceal the machine. I have only ever seen them used during the Battle of Britain.

I have seen images of aircraft carring bars on both wings, but again, I imagine this is simply to better aid visibility.

Hope this is useful to you.

Kindest regards,

Paul