Courtesy of Australian Researcher Michael Claringbould of Aerothentic Grafix comes this fascinating insight to early RAAF P-40E colour schemes together with excusive colour profiles.
A29-88 depicted above was Kittyhawk P-40E-1, British code ET445. A unique marking to RAAF 76 Sqn Kittyhawks in mid-1942 was their shortened fin flashes. CO Sqn Leader Peter Turnbull mostly flew P-40E A29-92 (Abdul the Bull). The prefix 'I' was added to the squadron codes to distinguish them from 75 Sqn Kittyhawks in the same theatre around the July 42 period of this mission. Abdul the Bull is portrayed the day it was lost at Milne Bay on 27 August 1942 and cost Turnbull his life. It is still unclear to this day why he crashed.
Early RAAF 75 Sqn Kitthawks were a mixture of either U.S marked P40Es (finished in Olive drab with Neutral grey underneath), or the P40E-1s. These had been finished initially in the Curtiss applied equivalents of RAF Dark green, Dark earth and Sky or as USAAF P40E aircraft with the US star (with red central disc) applied at the factory and “U.S.Army” under the wings. P40E-1s had the British roundel supplied along with USAAF stars shipped with them in their crates as loose items, pending allocation. This explains the application on delivery of some early RAAF P40E1’s of yellow outlined 1941 RAF Roundels. The P40E-1 "RAF" Dupont colours were slightly different to the MAP colours used in Britain, but nonetheless were in stark contrast to the Olive drab and Neutral Grey of the USAAF P40s.
Following delivery at Townsville all newly assembled P-40E-1s had their yellow roundel surrounds and fin flashes overpainted if they were received that way. They also had their Box Number and British Purchasing Commission Serial removed, as well as any USAAF markings. They also had their upper surface finish of olive drab overpainted with RAAF Dark Earth camouflage to the same pattern as the P-40E-1s but retained Olive Drab in place of Dark Green and Neutral Grey under surfaces. All roundels were of standard RAAF Blue/White/Red pattern and size on fuselage and underwing locations, with standard Red/Blue on the wing upper surface. Initially there were no fin flashes - these appeared just before the Kittyhawks flew to Port Moresby. Single-letter individual squadron codes were allocated. These changes have been confirmed by Australian researchers and ex-ground crew who participated in the work.
Whilst the P40E and P40E-1 had identical top cowlings, the P40E-1 had provision for ring and bead sights for night fighting and backup.
RAAF 75 Sqn Kittyhawks were delivered in one major batch, with the occassional add-on. Initially around early March 1942, most of the first 25 flew with their respective USAAF Box numbers/ET Serial markings and paint schemes (both USAAF OD and RAF Dupont). The A29 serial numbers were not applied until about 14 March 1942 for the surviving 21 P-40Es in Townsville.
From some of the less recorded USAAF wrecks/accidents of the February and March 1942 period, a few repaired P-40Es that made up some of the first RAAF “25” had been previously damaged in early USAAF service. For example s/n 41-5594 was one of seven so far identified P-40E/E-1s supplied from USAAF stocks at Archerfield in the first week of March 1942. This particular aircraft was part of a shipment which had been unloaded from the SS Mormac Sun on 21 January 1942 and used initially by the first five USAAF Provisional Squadrons
Each batch of P-40Es had its Line Number (often quoted as c/n or asn) marked in at least three locations on the airframe, one of which was on fuselage longeron #5. Using information from P-40 crash sites in Australia and PNG as well as some others worldwide, it has been possible to reconstruct the correlation between the Line Number and the AAF serial for this production block. Another number identifier is the Tail Box Number. This number was applied to the tail of each aircraft and their shipping crates when they were readied and crated for shipment from the United States. These were painted either in black or white and therefore should not be confused with post March/April 1942 individual USAAF squadron Buzz numbers of the 49th Pursuit Group.
Several Russian Lend Lease P-40E’s were diverted to Australia at this time. All USAAF Markings, including the USAAF datablock on the left /port side cockpit area had been removed before crating for Russia and USAAF serial identification has again been made through the recorded Line Number. This denuding of USAAF Markings lasted until the United States entry into the war. An example of one of these was P-40E 41-5535. Originally destined for the USSR following its acceptance on December 6 1941 by the USAAF, it was reversed from Defence Aid per contract DAR-42-381 and sent as part of the Project “X” shipments to Australia. Arriving on the USS Hammondsport in Brisbane, it was assembled and accepted in USAFIA service on February 22 1942. From there, it was transferred to RAAF service as A29-48 on March 18 1942. Later it became one of the attrition P-40Es sent to Port Moresby for use with 75 Sqn and was lost on May 2 1942.
The process of standardising paint schemes on RAAF P-40s lagged behind headquarters requirements. Operational demands were so strong at this time that there was simply not enough time to repaint every aircraft, so several P-40Es in squadron service remained in USAAF Dark Olive Drab, eg A29-28.
Image credits: Courtesy of and ©2011 Aerothentic Grafix & Michael Claringbould
0 comments:
Post a Comment