Invasion stripes......What was the purpose?

On 18 April 1944, orders were issued to add distinctive markings to the wings and fuselage of all allied aircraft in the ETO to aid ground forces in the recognition of friendly aircraft.

The directive called for five 18-inch wide bands, three white, alternating with two black, to be painted around the fuselage at a point 10 inches ahead of the tail joint, and around the wings at a point 8 inches inboard of the division of the ailerons and the flaps.

The stripes were hastily painted on in the nights preceding the invasion, which was delayed a day, from 5 June 1944 to the 6th, due to weather. The ground crews worked through the nights applying the stripes with brushes.

Due to the success of the invasion, the need for these identification stripes was diminished, and in late June, a directive was issued to remove the stripes from the upper surfaces of the wings and fuselage.

During late-August to early-September 1944, the stripes were removed from the wings altogether, and by December; the stripes were to be removed from the fuselage of the aircraft. Some groups were perhaps a little better than others in removing the invasion stripes as was directed, as it was a low priority in comparison to the normal maintenance required by the planes. This explains why so many photos show the invasion stripes in various stages of wear.

HTH

QUOTE: Originally posted by berny13 Bob Stevens wrote the book, "There I was" and "More, there I was". And "There I Was, Flat on my back..." and "If You Can Read Me... Rock the Tower!" As to the number of German aircraft in the area, I forget who said it, but there were, indeed, very few on June 6th. Many folks know of the famous strafing sortie at 50 feet over Sword Beach by 'Pips' Priller and his wingman Heinz Wodarczyk. (Both of JG 26) But fewer know of the night-time attacks by the Luftwaffe. Here's a recording of a George Hicks report from a ship off the Normandy Coast during the late hours of June 6th. 'Tis interesting listening... Fade to Black... Steve O. Reno Check Out My Photo Sets on Flickr Reply berny13 Member since February 2003 From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley Posted by berny13 on Friday, November 21, 2003 9:16 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by sharkbait Saw a wonderfull cartoon of a USAAF pilot applying stripes to himself in case he had to bail out over France. The book was "There I Was" by ??? Bob Stevens wrote the book, "There I was" and "More, there I was". Berny  Phormer Phantom Phixer On the bench TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.   Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.  Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale.  F-4 Phantom Group Build.    Reply dkmacin Member since January 2003 From: Upper left side of the lower Penninsula of Mich Posted by dkmacin on Friday, November 21, 2003 5:33 AM Okay I shouldn't have said "served no purpose" and gone with "ineffective " instead. A recording of the D-Day landings I got over the internet, has the anti-aircraft boys going nuts blasting all the "jerrys" out of the sky. One time the reporter even says, "There you go boys! Got another one!" As was already posted, there were two German aircraft over the beaches, and both made it home, so who were the navy boys shooting at? Don I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it. Reply inpw1 Member since September 2003 From: u.s.a. Posted by inpw1 on Thursday, November 20, 2003 10:06 PM think the name of the author was bill mauldin???/ or something like that Reply sharkbait Member since October 2003 From: Canada Posted by sharkbait on Thursday, November 20, 2003 2:48 PM Remember that these stripes were sometimes slapped on rather than carefully applied just before the big day so you will find photos of aircraft on D-Day with rather ragged looking stripes. Saw a wonderfull cartoon of a USAAF pilot applying stripes to himself in case he had to bail out over France. The book was "There I Was" by ??? You have never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3! Reply shrikes Member since November 2003 From: Manila, Philippines Posted by shrikes on Thursday, November 20, 2003 11:58 AM I suppose another reason for the Invasion Stripes was that it made the flyboys a bit more comfortable with the idea of flying over triggerhappy troops. Even if it didn't help in recognition, it soothed some nerves, i figure. Blackadder: This plan's as cunning as a fox that used to be Professor of cunning at Oxford University but has now moved on and is working with the U.N at the high commission of cunning planning Reply KJ200 Member since July 2003 From: Bicester, England Posted by KJ200 on Thursday, November 20, 2003 7:58 AM Should have used the German identification process: If it's camouflaged it's RAF. If it's bare metal it's USAAF If it's not there it's Luftwaffe How simple is that! Karl Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF Reply qmiester Member since May 2003 From: Central USA Posted by qmiester on Monday, November 17, 2003 5:39 AM Hey - Its one of Murphys rules of combat -"If it flies, hack it - sort em out on the ground" Quincy Reply berny13 Member since February 2003 From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley Posted by berny13 on Sunday, November 16, 2003 11:42 PM A book I have, "Tactical Air Power In WW ll" explains the invasion stripes. They were painted on so the ground and naval forces would recognize them as friendly. The P-38 was used over the front as it was easy to identify by the ground forces. After several P-47's, P-51's and Spitfires were shot down by friendly forces, they would cross the coast north of the battlefield and turn and fly ahead of the battlefield. There they would attack enemy forces trying to get to the front. They would exit north of the front to prevent being fired on by friendly forces. The stripes were put on to prevent being fired on by friendly forces but wasn't very effective. On June seventh, six allied aircraft were destroyed by friendly navel gun fire. Another two were destroyed by friendly ground forces. Several more were damaged. On the eight of June another four were destroyed by friendly forces. Only the P-38 was able to penentrate the area without being fired on. Berny  Phormer Phantom Phixer On the bench TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.   Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.  Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale.  F-4 Phantom Group Build.    Reply Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 16, 2003 11:10 PM Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that they "served no purpose" The intent was indeed to prevent the loss of aircraft,crews, cargo (including the troops in them) to friendly fire. They did REDUCE the loss of aircraft to friendly fire. You can seldom prevent friendly fire, but you can reduce occurances. Itchy trigger fingers, nerves, confusion, make for lots of rounds going down range .......at the wrong guys. Best Wishes Steve Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 16, 2003 9:38 PM You are correct. As for the enemy, there wasn't much in the area. Idon't know which is scarier, the fact that the Germans only got 2 AC over the beaches on D-day or that they both made it home! Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 16, 2003 6:29 PM So I wasnt to far off base in thinking that they indeed serve the purpose of identifying Allied Aircraft...... Reply Edit dkmacin Member since January 2003 From: Upper left side of the lower Penninsula of Mich Posted by dkmacin on Sunday, November 16, 2003 6:19 PM In all actuality, they served no purpose! Many allied aircraft were shot at on DDay by allied vessels and troops on the ground. If you waited until you could tell if it had stripes, it might be too late. It wasn't until later when we did have air superiority that the aircraft were not shot at by allied troops Don I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it. Reply Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 16, 2003 6:11 PM The purpose was to hel pthe other allies and ourselves know which planes were on our side. Since most of the combat crews did not recognize any of the other countries' planes, the stripes were hastily painted on to keep us from shooting down our allies. demono69 Reply Edit Keyworth Member since January 2003 From: NE Georgia Posted by Keyworth on Sunday, November 16, 2003 5:40 PM Invasion stripes were used for the identification of Allied aircraft for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy. They were placed on the upper and lower surfaces of wings and fuselages of Allied aircraft involved in the invasion (combat, transport, etc.) These stripes were removed from the upper surfaces of most a/c as Allied air superiority was achieved over the Continent. Most units did away with them altogether late in the war. Hope this helps. "There's no problem that can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives" Reply Anonymous Member since November 2005 Invasion stripes......What was the purpose? Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 16, 2003 5:22 PM Ok lets try this again....since it wouldnt let me post it a second ago! Ive done a search on the Forums and it returned no results.....so I am here. Invasion stripes......What was the purpose? Did it serve any real purpose? Ive noticed on almost all the Allied aircraft involved with the invasion has these stripes.... The only thing I could come up with was for identification purposes....but wouldnt it make it easier for the other side to identify your aircraft? This is something I have wondered about for a while....but never found out. So Im sure someone knows..... Thanks Reply Edit JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login Register SEARCH FORUMS FREE NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. FORUMS PRODUCT REVIEWS READER GALLERY HOW TO VIDEOS SHOP ABOUT US FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy