US WWII Aircraft Markings - What Do They Mean? | Eighth Air Force

Journey into the cold blue skies over Europe & learn how to decipher the tactical markings that helped keep the Mighty Eighth Air Force in fighting shape during WWII!

In this video, we'll learn all about the tactical markings used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force during World War II. The "Mighty Eighth" was the main Heavy Bomber & Fighter force employed by the United States during the air war over occupied Europe during the Second World War, and as such flew hundreds and hundreds of missions in thousands of fighter & bomber aircraft from 1942 through to the war's end in 1945.

To help keep the air & ground crews organized, the US Army Air Forces developed a system of alphanumeric, geometric & color codes to help US airmen identify friendly aircraft in the cold blue skies over Europe. Today, we're going to learn what each of those unique marks mean & how to identify these aircraft… so the next time you build a scale model B-17 or P-51 Mustang, watch a WW2 documentary, or look through some old WWII historical photos, you'll have a better idea what you're looking at!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:31 Aircraft Types
01:18 Unit Organization
02:58 Basic Marking Overview
04:15 Air Divisions
05:00 Bombardment Groups
06:46 Fighter Wings
07:51 Air Divisions - In Depth
08:26 Squadron Codes
09:39 Evolution of Markings
11:44 Group Colors
11:59 USAAF Roundels

Want to learn more? Check out my video explaining how the German Luftwaffe identified their aircraft!    • WWII German Luftwaffe Fighter Marking...  

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