F-104c color questions

Well, click on the picture and look at the middle aircraft's lower fuselage just under the stars and bars. That looks like a very reflective metal finish showing the tarmac surface.

I hear you Mike. I was asking more in the line of weather the planes were polished at the Factory or only at sqn?

Theuns

Who wants to be flying a highly polished mirror in a combat zone? ;)

Mike

That info is correct.

The alclad sheets that come from the mills have a thin layer of pure alluminium on the outside that does not corrode.

pollishishing it will remove it letting the alloy corrode.

That is why you need to keep on pollishing it when you start

I worked at a place that had a pollished Beech 18 , it was a never ending task to keep it shiny.  LOL

Theuns

About the only USAF aircraft that were "polished" were VIP birds.  Polishing an airplane damages the alclad coating on the aluminium if the polish is the least bit abrasive and allows corrosion to start.

I got this information from my Father who was a retired USAF Chief Master Sergeant with 30 years experience in aircraft maintenance and and aircrew.  During the Korean War, he was flying as the Flight Engineer/Crew Chief for the Commanding General of the 20th Air Force in a highly polished B-17G...

Here is a question, when I built my F-100, I read that the planed were painted with the national markings and stencling. The colorful bands and sqn insignea were put on at the sqn's.

Would this have held true for for 104's at the factory before delivery to sqn's?

If so would they have been highly pollished yet?

Theuns

Cool feedback, thanx mate :-)

That one closest to the camera looks quite battered....

Theuns

This is how F-104s looked in Vietnam in NMF during their first deployment there. The NMF was weathered. No squadron badges on the tail, instead it was the standard TAC shiled w/lightning bolt of that era. Aircraft Gray is a gloss color FS 16473, not sure of the Humbrol code.

http://www.916-starfighter.de/Large/Contrails/contSEADaNang1.htm

As you can see the upper wings are indeed white in the NMF scheme.