Here's something I found interesting this morning. We all struggle to interpret phots from the forties. I thought the explanation of the photo was illuminating in the way that some experts look for details to date pictures. It also gives some insights into what we should look for when we are trying to place an aircraft in time and place. There is aslo some good information on color interpretation. Note the castering tail wheel on the Jug. The wheel is cocked at a 90% angle to the direction the plane is pointed yet the rudder is in the neutral position.
An early Republic Thunderbolt, probably a P-47C, somewhere in England. Tell us more! When and where was the picture taken? Who is the pilot? Anything interesting about the paint scheme? Why is the cowling white? Any comments about the B-17 in the background?
Notes by Jeff Harrison:
This plane is painted in the standard camouflage and markings for P-47's in early 1943. P-47's of the 4th, 56th and 78th fighter groups all sported a yellow surround to the fuselage national insignia by the spring of 1943 so it's pretty safe to say that this photograph was taken before then. The camouflage is Olive Drab over Neutral Gray (possibly the US equivalent of Medium Sea Grey after it was decided to simplify the various schemes and start using one color instead of 3 or 4 different yet similar colors for the various camouflage schemes in effect). The white cowl (and if you look closely the white band on the horizontal stabilizer and the white band just visible on the vertical stabilizer) are standard recognition markings applied to P-47's shortly after their introduction to the ETO.
Little can be seen of the B-17 in the background. It is probably an F (the standard model in service at the time this picture was probably taken) and is camouflaged in the standard Olive Drab over Neutral Gray scheme with Medium Green blotches to break up the outline of the fin, wings and stabilizers. The serial number is yellow and aside from that there is little else to be told from this picture.
Steve Collins added:
Also note that the cowling underside gray and the gray under the fuselage do not line up. Apparently, the cowling was removed from the aircraft to be painted, and the same one was not put back on. Additionally, the thin white strip behind the white on the cowling is probably due to overspray past the masking tape put down.
Additions by Chuck Rau:
Type 1 National Insignia (Cocarde) was a blue circle with a white star in the middle of it, then a smaller red circle within the star. This went into effect 01-Jan-1921.
Type 2 Cocarde was issued 15-May-1942 which ordered the red circle removed to avoid confusion with the Japanese meatball.
Type 2a (as I call it) was issued on 01-Oct-1942 when a yellow surround was added to the outside of the blue circle. On British aircraft used by the Americans, the yellow outside ring of RAF insignia was left during overpainting.
The photo shows the P-47's insignia to be of Type 2. It does not appear that squadron markings are present yet, the horizontal stabilizer appears to show a white stripe, as does the space between the pitot tube and the vertical stabilizer, which would go along with the cowling paint job as the early 8th AF fighter theater markings. The first P-47D (serial number 42-22250) rolled off the assembly line from the new Evansville, Indiana plant September of 1942, and it did not replace the -C model on the line at Farmingdale until February 1943, so this fighter must be a P-47C.
The B-17 is definitely not a -G model. You would see part of the chin turret from this angle. Look close at the top turret. It shows that it is the older Bendix electrically-powered turret. This was used on all -Es and early -Fs. The first B-17F (41-24340) flew on May 30, 1942. Studying the photo the
last three digits look like 459. The first B-17 with those last three digits would be a Boeing B-17F-10-BO Fortress (41-24440/24489). I am not sure if this plane would have made England before at least September. The B-17E was first flown to England around July 1942 for the 8th AF
buildup. The serial numbers for the -Es are: 41-2393/2669. The 459 would fit in this group also. Most likely the B-17 is an E model.
With these details, that would put the photo sometime around July of 1942 and in England.
Another thought is that because a fighter and bomber are together could mean they could be at a depot in England, where the P-47 just got his theater markings and is heading out to his squadron, and the B-17 could be an -F model having received its camouflage of medium green added to the Olive Drab. That might put this photo around September of 1942.