Was the US cheap during WWII?

good question, it was just paint.

We were probably looking for a way to further distinguish US aircraft specifically from other Allies - round is just round when, as they say, "you're operating on brain-stem only"...

...I could think of another reason, too. Like that typically people tend not to scan to their right side first (at least people that grow up driving on the right hand side of the road have this generalized habit...). So if you're sneaking up on someone from behind you'd tactically prefer to do it from their right side.

Not having an ID mark on the upper right hand wing might force an opponent to have to get closer to make the ID in order to take a shot - giving the defender more time to scan that part of the sky and be able to defend/avoid.

Actually willshak pretty much answered his own question, although "conserving" was probably not exactly the right word.

It's little-known fact that from early 1942 right through to the end of 1944 there was an unbelieveable shortage of stars in the U.S.A., hence putting said stars on only the one wing.

Contributing mightily to that shortage was someone's ill-advised requirement that stars (within a circle) be placed on all wheeled or tracked vehicles. It became somewhat alleviated when the requirement for the circle around the star was dropped - although the stars themselves were still in extremely short supply.

In looking at old black & white photos and films of the WW II era, one can immediately notice that all U.S. flags were only allocated forty- eight stars - again an indication of the shortage of stars. Post-war research indicated that putting only forty-eight stars on each flag allowed for an additional 48,715 flags to be deployed.

And now back to my extensive research library.....

Andy

and don't forget all the stars who were working for the war effort and were unable to make movies or do appearances. some flew, some were in the navy and some sold bonds. they certainly couldn't be on airplanes.

No. This was just to make the space on the opposite wing available to other kinds of formation or identity markings.

Stephen "FPilot" Bierce/IPMS #35922

"Stephen Bierce" wrote

For example: U.S. ARMY

KL

Ah Andy, in WWII there were only 48 states, hence 48 stars on the flag. Hawaii and Alaska were not states until 1959......

Andy's humour passes 30,000 ft overhead.

Cheers,

Nigel

i got it.

I thought it was based on having the marks asymetrical and therefore more difficult to target the center of the aircraft.

You get a star!

planes with stars on the top got gas on Tuesday, those on the bottom Wednesday. Always remember to ask "Is this trip necessary?"

Craig

Or other sponsorship messages...

eyeball wrote: : : You get a star! : Aren't we short of them? How about a triangle?

Bruce

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Bruce

urden =A0 =A0Austin, TX.

I'm told we could get red stars cheap.

OK, so I didn't catch it. Notice the post time, I was tired!

Didn't work, the US Navy shot at them anyway.

From Pearl Harbor to Bari Italy. probably other instances.

"fog of war" sadly the problem goes on.

"Chris Hughes" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@bt.com:

Yep, I can just see them selling advertising space. "This 'plane brought to you by Bud"

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.