WW2

America Goes to War...Again!!!

When the U.S. Naval Fleet was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States was sorely unprepared for war. The aerial forces, whether it was the AAC or the Navy, was far less prepared, flying mostly obsolete, outdated aircraft.

At the start of the war, U.S. aircraft colors remained pretty much as they were during 1940. However, during the early stages, it became quite obvious that the nationality markings needed to be changed. With the red circle in the middle of the star, gunners were often mistaking the American aircraft for their Japanese aggressors (Japan's nationality insignia was a large red disc, known as the "Rising Sun"). The red circle was immediately removed from the nationality insignia, and, on naval aircraft, the red and white tail stripes were removed.

AAC aircraft maintained the overall olive drab topsides with light gray undersides, and received the new nationality markings as well. As AAC units began to relocate to different regions and theaters, aircraft began to receive colors that would allow them to blend into their surroundings; aircraft assigned to desert theaters were painted a combination of yellows and browns, with light blue undersides, to an overall color known as Desert Pink (actually not a pink, but a sand color that weathered to a pink color); AAC aircraft assigned to temperate regions remained in either overall olive drab topsides with light gray undersurfaces, or a combination of different shades of greens. AAC bombers were overall olive drab or green combo topsides with light gray undersides. Later in the war, as the AAC began achieving air superiority over German and Japanese air units, AAC units went to overall bare metal, with brightly colored unit markings (the exception to this was AAC night fighter units, which painted their aircraft gloss black for night operations). The nationality insignia changed as the war progressed, with two white bars extending from either side of the blue disc. This was also applied to naval aircraft as well.

Naval aircraft varied, depending on the theater. Carrier air wings (CAWs) assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations were painted in two-tone blue topsides, with white undersides. CAWs assigned to the Atlantic Theater of Operations were painted two-tone gray topsides, with lighter gray undersides; as time went on, Atlantic-based naval aircraft took on the blue camouflage of their Pacific units. Navy land-based patrol and anti-submarine units were painted a medium shade of blue. As the war progressed more and more in our favor, aircraft colors adopted various shades of blue, and by war's end, all naval shipboard aircraft were painted overall dark sea blue, with various geometric patterns for individual units. The naval nationality insignia also changed during this period, finally settling on just a white star with white bars to the left and right of the star.