Sky dancer

Hi folks, Unfortunately work commitments have kept me away from the site for quite a while, but a week off has let me get re-acquainted. I was interested in the P-38 Pathfinder thread re-opening, and used an internet search engine to look for more Droopsnoots. I apologise if you have already seen this, but it is new to me... The now well known picture of this aircraft has been round for a few years now, it has been widely written that it was PRU blue before being stripped back to NMF, but I never saw any photos of it in the blue scheme until now. Here is the link to the website, the photo is at post 10 :- https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/lightning-used-as-pathfinder-aircraft-in-british-service.55051/ A few things I was not expecting: 1. AEAF stripes on the wings (these appear to me to be without the black portion, but it might just be the lighting. The port radiator housing also appears to have part of the AEAF stripes painted on it too) 2. "B" Type roundels on the boom 3. It looks to me that the nose glazing has also been painted over in PRU blue, but again this could be just the lighting... I welcome all your thoughts and input! SD

Hi! I haven't seen any photos of him with the 75th Fighter Squadron, both the photos you have linked to your post show him with a P-51C and a P-51D of the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron - it was the Black Lightning Squadron, the 75th FS were the Tiger Sharks. A lovely gent named Bob Bourlier sent me a list of 118th TRS airframe with serial numbers tied to codes a few years ago, but I may have lost it in a computer crash. I'm not sure if Bob was able to tie down all of the pilots to a particular airframe. I'll check and get back to you- it may take a while! It may be worth contacting Chris at 118TRS.com, he has researched the 118th TRS for decades, this is a link to his website: https://www.118trs.com/landing-page Sorry I can't be more help.

Depends on theatre, but in recent times IRT = Incident Response Team HTH

Hi Scotthldr, Yes, you are absolutely correct - apologies. Had the chance to contact WG341's current owner/pilot on Faceache, he confirms that the stripes are black/yellow/blue. It was mentioned by another poster on Faceache that the original UGSAS design, the square box version, was black & gold. Apologies again!

Re. Photo/query No.2, Universities of Glasgow & Strathclyde Air Squadron markings appear to be green/yellow/blue. WG431 is currently flying in this scheme, which I haven't seen before, but at least the squadron motif appears to be genuine:- http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/Airframe/Gallery/0/46/0000046696.jpg http://warbirds-eaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/N431WG-1.jpg http://warbirds-eaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/003-4.jpg However this shot of WG431 from 1972 has a different design of marking, and the colours appear to be reversed with uppermost being blue/yellow/green. https://www.airphotographicinternational.com/products/wg431-b-de-havilland-dhc-1-raf-1969 HTH.

Re. Photo/query No.3, the BBMF Chipmunk WK518 was repainted into University of London Air Squadron markings late last year. Photos:- https://www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/photos/3276820829039574 https://www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/photos/3591431200911867 Bars are definitely black and red.

Hi Colin, Apologies, I should have made my reply clearer - I was referring specifically to the P-38 variants operating in the RCM role in support of 100 Group, not generic 7th RG F5's. As stated, they were attached to the 7th RG - one of them may have worn their unit markings:- The second aircraft in the lineup appears to have the insignia blue spinners and red horizontal stripe on the nacelles that the 7th RG F5's wore, but it is clearly a Droop Snoot. Now to the Pathfinder:- Reason I'm posting the photos is that the Pathfinder is NMF/Gloss jet black. I suspect that "Miss Ann" (apologies for my error! Was thinking of "Barbara" - a different Droop Snoot...) is in the same scheme - but I cannot prove it. The first Pathfinder photo does show similar tonal shades to the upper surfaces of "Miss Ann" but it's a black & white photo and everything that entails... "Miss Ann" may have PRU blue upper surfaces, they may be medium grey, they may be NMF. Notably it doesn't have an anti-glare panel, which is unusual... Does this support the theory that it has been repainted? I really don't know. One thing I am certain of - it is your model, and you are free to paint it as you wish and I don't think there is anybody that can prove you wrong. As an aside, the RAF's 5 Group did experiment with a P-38 for target marking purposes, eventually obtain their own Droop Snoot for this. Flown by Guy Gibson, surviving the war, only to be scrapped in the 60's (I think!) SD

I would urge caution, I strongly suspect that the 7th RG Lightnings you are referring to are not F5's, nor were they painted in PRU blue. While nominally designated P-38J's, the 7th RG aircraft were in fact Droop Snoots engaged in Radio Counter-Measures ( RCM) missions, not intruder ops. All of them were in overall NMF finish, not any form of camouflage. IIRC these airframes were only attached to the 7th RG, think their main unit was the 36th BG. Away from references at the minute, but will send links to photos later. For what it's worth, there was a P-38J Pathfinder in NMF with a gloss black underside, which definitely was used on intruder missions - so the possibly of Barbara Ann being in the same scheme is possible. Also, the booms of the P-38 are similar to the wings of the P-51 - they are a combination of NMF and silver paint and not a uniform colour. Will send links later... HTH.

Hi, A good source of info re. paint schemes is the Professional Pilots Rumour Network (PPRuNe). You shouldn't have to register to view the threads, but you'll have to if you wish to post. If you type "Chipmunk" into the search box in the top right corner, you'll find a myriad of threads. The Chipmunk was much-loved by many military pilots who later went on to fly much larger/faster aircraft. Many Chipmunks are being restored back to their original military markings and when their owners request info or photo's on the forum there is usually a good response from these pilots with photo's of a particular airframe over the decades. Just a suggestion...

Re. the VH-92, there is also this to consider:- https://verticalmag.com/news/presidential-helicopter-still-burns-up-white-house-lawn/ Not as bad as the MV/CV-22; there was video footage out there of a CV-22 setting fire to a grass field on engine start-up and having to do an expedited lift before the flames spread...

At least up to the late 1980's the helmet worn was the U.S. Navy HGU-33/P. There are photo's that appear to show that at that stage British G-suits were worn, but the life preserver appears to be U.S., harness has the Koch fittings for the U.S. standard MB Mk. H-7 seat.

IIRC 186 Squadron was part of 3 Group, so the markings should be two yellow bands. Here is a useful resource:- http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_gh_3 gp.htm Sadly, I think the gentleman who ran this website stopped updating it a few years ago - 186 Sqn is not listed. The situation with Lancaster tail markings is not as simple as it appears; some were not G-H markings, but leader markings for daylight raids. This resource, from the same source, shows the vast majority and is unlikely to be bettered:- http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_gh-tail_markings.htm Very occasionally some photos of Lancaster crash sites appear on eBay or Facebook which show markings not previously illustrated... HTH!

Hi Neil5208, The undersides of both Option 1 & Option 3 are black, the blue shade that appears to be shown in the instructions that Treker_ed looks to be whatever printing process is going on there. As Treker_ed states, the rest of the airframe is NMF. I can't see any mention of the sources that Print Scale used for the instructions, but the profiles look very familiar - I think they may have used Osprey's B-24 Liberator Units of the CBI (Osprey Combat Aircraft No.87) as their source. Unfortunately I can't find my copy at present, so I can't double check. Option 1 - Quick trawl of photos of "Stripped for Action" of the 425th BS show that the undersides of this aircraft are definitely gloss black. Option 3 - Same quick trawl for "Taylor Maid" of the 375th BS, photos not as conclusive - strongly suspect they are gloss black, but can't be certain - could be matt black. HTH.

Noelh, Are you a Ryanair pilot???

Correct! Which is why some runway headings, as marked on the runway threshold and any/all navigation publications, have to be altered occasionally if the magnetic heading changes sufficiently. Airfield at which I flew most used Runway04/22. Changed to Runway 05/23 for a while, now back to Runway04/22..

Hi, It shows the runway in use. The number always refers to the magnetic heading of the runway. In the Airfix example, Runway 23 is on the heading 230°. The runway heading is given to the nearest 10°, the last digit is always dropped. Each runway has two magnetic headings, in the Airfix example Runway 23 and Runway 05 - they are the same bit of real estate, just approached from different directions dependent on wind direction. HTH.

Hi Troy, If you can get access to the superb "Spitfires in the Sun" by Vikram Singh there are a few photos, not of the highest quality, of PRXIX's in this scheme - HS702 and HS961, there is also a photo of an unidentified one. There is also a profile of HS701 in the scheme (for what it's worth) All are in PRU blue, with white wingtips and fuselage band, and the tri-colour type roundels. Spinners all appear to be PRU blue and not black. If you can't get hold or sight of the book, let me know. All the best, SD

I don't want to detract away from the Spit's and end up going off-thread. Ewen - I hear what you are saying, but these Mossies are PRXVI's, not PR34's. If they were PR34's the camera bay would have been visible. The demarcation line in the photo is in the lower position, coinciding with the strake on the starboard side; the PR34's demarcation line was higher up. The roundel is also non-standard for any other PR Mosquito, being the small (16"?) size, what can be seen of the fin flash also suggests that it is the smaller size. While the sky is cloudy, there is still sufficient sunlight to create shadows - in those circumstances I would have expected any silver dope finish to be brighter/reflecting more. Just my thoughts...

In the SEAC context, it boils down to the issue of trying to determine what is perhaps badly faded PRU blue and what is MSG from a B&W photo. I agree with Graham, but post-war this Mossie was photographed at Saigon (in December 1945) - source is the IWM. Again, this photo is open to interpretation - but in my eyes this Mossie is in the "high altitude" scheme. Doesn't answer the PRX question mind you...

Hi, The item protruding from the filler cap is an M-14 or M-15 ignitor - afraid I can't recall the difference. Sorry! HTH!

A very, very trivial point Steve, but since this thread appears to be the one and only reference source to the P3 Puma's, some of the P3 crew wore this patch rather than the standard tigers head (just in case you want to model the crew) Exceedingly rare patch, not mine unfortunately...

Hi Steve, My memory may be playing tricks, but I thought P3 was the special one? Have never, ever seen anything in any detail about it and definitely no photographs of the interior. Any time that "I didn't see it" in use, it never used Night-sun - but that doesn't mean that it wasn't fitted. I think the two-tone green scheme came in around 1993/4 or so, but I'm not certain of that. Many knowledgeable people over on this forum, you might get an answer :- https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/399005-shfni-stories.html HTH!

Not sure if there were any other Blackhawk variants there, other than the special ones. They were supported by MH-47's, the mission commander/flight lead of which has just retired from 160th SOAR and has disclosed some info of their role.... but he is still not giving anything away about the MH-60's.

Hi, This link should take you to what is allegedly the original proposal for the "Stealth"-Hawk:- https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a058906.pdf Dating from 1978, the graphics are pretty dire, but give you an idea of three proposals being considered in the "real world" at that stage. This may, or may not, coincide with the description that 11Bravo provides - wish I had some photos of that EH-60!! Hope that helps!

Hi, This page suggests that while they have fabricated some items on "Turf and Sport Special" the para-packs are original items:- http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/243923-more-work-on-the-air-mobility-command-combat-vet-c-47/ More info on what can be carried in the U.S. version:- http://www.questmasters.us/M18_Paracaisson.html