Historical Query
William Banaszak wrote:A friend who can't get here asked me my opinion on the possibility of the US battleships at Pearl having been painted on the turret tops in squadron colours.Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
This is a new one to me so I promised to ask about it here.
Was there such a scheme?
Was it carried out to any degree?
Here is the text of Kimmel's order -- it is his first US FLEET letter and is "No. 1 USL-41" dated March 24, 1941.
SUBJECT: Turret Markings for Identification by Own Aircraft
H.E. KIMMEL
- This letter replace U.S. Fleet Letter No. 13L-40, which letter is hereby cancelled, since colored tails for aircraft are being eliminated.
- Battleships and cruisers shall paint the tops of any or all their forward turrets or enclosed mounts with the following colors for identification by their own aircraft. When stripes are involved, they shall be painted parallel to the axis of the guns.
BATTLESHIPS
- Battleship Division ONE - Red (solid)
- Battleship Division TWO - White (solid)
- Battleship Division THREE - Blue (solid)
- Battleship Division FOUR - Black (solid)
- Battleship Division FIVE - Yellow (solid)
CRUISERS
snipped to save space- In addition, battleships and cruisers shall paint the top of their after turret or enclosed mount to correspond with the section their aircraft are in. The colors are red, white, blue, black, green and yellow for first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth sections respectively.
See here for additional information.
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