invasion stripes
Invasion stripes were alternating black and white bands painted on the fuselages and wings of World War II Allied aircraft, for the purpose of increased recognition by friendly forces (and thus reduced friendly fire incidents) during D-Day. The bands, consisting of three white and two black bands usually two feet wide, wrapped around the rear of an aircraft fuselage just in front of the empennage and from front to back around both the upper and lower surfaces of the wings.
Stripes were applied to fighters, photo reconnaissance, troop carriers, twin-engined medium and light bombers, and some special duty aircraft, but were not painted on four-engined heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force and Bomber Command. The order affected all aircraft of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, the Air Defence of Great Britain, gliders, and support aircraft such as Coastal Command Air-Sea Rescue aircraft whose duties might entail their overflying Allied antiaircraft defenses. To stop aircraft being compromised when based at forward bases in France, a month after D-Day stripes were ordered removed from the upper surfaces of airplanes, and completely removed by the end of 1944.
The use of recognition stripes was conceived when a study of the effects of thousands of aircraft using IFF on D-Day concluded that they would saturate and break down the existing system. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commanding the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, approved the scheme on May 17, 1944. A small scale test exercise was flown over the Overlord invasion fleet on June 1, to familiarize the ships' crews with the markings, but for security reasons, orders to paint the stripes were not issued to the troop carrier units until June 3 and to the fighter and bomber units until June 4.
Marking description
The stripes were five alternating black and white stripes. On single-engined aircraft each stripe was to be 18 inches wide, placed 6 inches inboard of the roundels on the wings and 18 inches forward of the leading edge of the tailplane on the fuselage. National markings and serial number were not to be obliterated. On twin-engined aircraft the stripes were 24 inches wide, placed 24 inches outboard of the engine nacelles on the wings, and 18 inches forward of the leading edge of the tailplane around the fuselage.
Hawker Typhoon
An earlier use of black and white bands was on the Hawker Typhoon. The aircraft had a similar profile to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and the bands were added to aid identification in combat.
Korea
Invasion stripes were re-introduced on British and Australian Fleet Air Arm aircraft operating during the Korean war in 1950.
Suez
The stripes were used again by British during the Suez operation of 1956. Although the bands were smaller and black and yellow were used. Single-engined aircraft had yellow/black/yellow/black/yellow stripes one foot wide. The pattern was the same on multi-engined aircraft but were two feet wide.
References
- Robertson, Bruce. 'Aircraft Markings of the World 1912-1967'. Harleyford Publications, Letchworth,. England. 1967.
External links
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