RAF P-51 Mustang III wing flap marking

[Steve in Ottawa]

I'm down to decaling a 1/48 RCAF 441 Sqn Mustang III and I'm trying to determine if the distinctive red L-shaped 'No Step' marking on the wing flap appeared on both sides of the airplane? The Tamiya kit decals provide markings for both sides, but my sense is that it was only (supposed to be) painted on the left side flap. On the camouflaged aircraft it's hard to see if any marking at all is applied, so I'm tapping into the local brain trust here for ideas.

[Jure Miljevic]

Hi, Steve

Agreed, Mustangs III with NO STEP marking on starboard wing must have been quite rare. Oddly enough, there are photos of Mustangs and P-51s without any of those markings. Still, IIRC Revell's Mustang III and old Airfix Mustang IV in 1/72 both come with port wing only NO STEP decal so applying it in that fashion sounds like a correct decision. Cheers

Jure

[Steve in Ottawa]

Thanks, Jure. That's pretty much my thinking on it, too. However, I'll still leave the port one on there for 'eye candy' and consign the starboard decal to the trash.

[Finn]

Here are some Korean war Mustangs with the marking on the right, left and none(?):

 

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/7cc625804f7b2ae7_large

 

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/0352bc01d58332b1_large

 

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/79fe23bf5a277f0c_large

 

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/42482eaae36e00b9_large

 

Jari

[Admiral Puff]

Consulting the bible on RAAF Mustangs (David Muir's Southern Cross Mustangs) I can say that RAAF Mk IIIs usually only had the marking on the port flap, although it also appeared on the starboard flap on "a small number of aircraft" (SCM, p. 120). Given that RCAF aircraft were probably drawn from the same sources (RAF stocks) it is likely that the same situation would obtain.

[Junchan]

No one can access the cockpit from starboard side of the Mk. III, otherwise it has a Malcolm hood.

 

Jun in Tokyo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums

[Steve in Ottawa]

Ah, good point about the Malcolm hood. I hadn't considered the original canopy setup as being a logical reason to only have the marking on the port side. 

[Randy Lutz]

3 hours ago, Steve in Ottawa said:

Ah, good point about the Malcolm hood. I hadn't considered the original canopy setup as being a logical reason to only have the marking on the port side. 

I don't think the red marking is only for the purposes of identifying the entry point.  It is also to show where not to step, as it is conceivable that ground crew may use the trailing edge of the wing to gain access to the upper surface, and as such you don't want them stepping on the flap. 

 

Cheers

Randy

[SteveBrooking]

Steve

 

The NAA factory drawing shows the "NO STEP" marking on port wing only. However there are one or two examples of RAF Mustang III with the "NO STEP" marking on starboard wing as well.

 

Steve

[BS_w]

NAA blue prints show P-51B/C, 

"NO STEP" in black letters on clear background with two black arrows(this marking was decal 4"x4") and red stripes 4" width on the port wing flap.(red insignia color 45) extended on wing fillet.

On the wing fillet "STEP HERE" was stamped or stencilled in yellow with a black arrow tot the area delimited by the red stripes.

On the drawing the P51B/C was NMF.

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by BS_w