Stencil or roundel

[fingers]

I'm just finishing an Eduard Tempest and have noticed that some of the stencils overlap the roundels etc, the question is which has primacy (who's on top, ooh er matron)?

Was there a convention to say one supersedes another or did it just depend on who had the brush?

[gingerbob]

I'm sure (in the self-confident sense, not because I have documentary evidence) that the roundel, as a national marking, would be sacred in the minds and instructions of the Air Ministry/RAF. That does not mean that you wouldn't find a case where someone overlapped one with a stencil, but I would not expect it to be typical to have graffiti on them.

bob

[mhaselden]

The purpose of stencil markings, typically, is to identify something of significance to the groundcrew (eg "Lift Here" markings). If such markings had to be applied in the same physical location as the national markings, then I'd guess the stencil would have priority and would be place ontop of the roundel. That said, in WW2 the use of stencil markings seems to have been rather patchy (eg the varying amount to which airframes were, or were not, plastered with "W/T") so I'm guessing--and it's nothing more than a guess--there were relatively few occasions when stencils had to be applied over national markings.

[Edgar]

The "national markings" were always supposed to be inviolate; when the orders, for the D-day Stripes, was issued, it specifically said that they were not to encroach on the markings (didn't stop it happening, though.) It seems that the underside markings did encroach, at times (the Spitfire's "trestle" markings are an example,) but that might be due to them being underneath; top side walkway lines and stencils were definitely not to encroach.

[ben_m]

Starkey stripes, on the other hand, completely obscured upper and lower wing roundels.