Just before D-Day all allied aircraft were painted with "invasion stripes" like the B-26 above. I couldn't find anything on the internet about who had the idea to do this or gave the order. The purpose was to help allied soldiers identify friendly aircraft:
Air Force history records show how all Allied aircraft were painted with"invasion stripes" of alternating black and white bands completely aroundfuselages and wings. Pedone said the stripes on his C-47 and other aircraftwould easily identify them as friendly to ships and troops below.
The hope was the stripes would prevent trigger-happy AAA gunners from shooting down the good guys. Although, the flyboys made their share of blunders:
The relationship between the IX TAC [Tactical Air Command] and the First Army was exceptional. The IX TAC used a microwave radar, the MEW 10, for flight following and kept accountability of their high-altitude flights. Because of this, the last-minute decision to paint invasion stripes on allied aircraft, and the opportunity to see both friendly and enemy aircraft fratricide was dramatically reduced in the European Theater of Operations. Unfortunately, the Army Air Force continued to attack friendlies, despite the standardization of recognition symbols, such as yellow smoke. The situation got so bad that, shortly after D-Day, the commander of the 30th Division ordered his AW battalion commander to fire at "all" airplanes, especially friendlies.
Some squadrons went for the natural look, but still had the stripes.
I remember reading somewhere that some British pilots told the American P-51 drivers that the metal finish was a bad idea because the Germans would be able to spot them from hundreds of miles away. The Americans answered "good." They were flying the baddest buggy around and they wanted the Luftwaffe to come up for a scrap.
Crossposted at The Dougout.
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