Falcon50EX Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 i was looking thru my pictures of F6Fs and F4U-1Ds aboard USS WASP during the late 1944-late 1945 time frame. Planes in this era are marked with a white "X" that extends up to the upper edge of the F6F fin, and its repeated on the upper right hand wing. i know in 1945 Air groups reverted to alphabetical characters (e.g., "RR" for USS YORKTOWN), but i'm trying to determine if the "X" is an Alpha Numeric character, or a "G" symbol; i know during an earlier cruise WASP aircraft had a white tail band with highly stylized 3-digit modexes on the tail. david Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WymanV Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 This would make no sense under any other context, but the X is a G. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 the X might have been a G (for Geometric) before the letters were assigned,,,,,,,but, Wasp's assigned letter was X in July 1945 when the Carriers got letters before they were moved to the Air Group The Air Group assigned to Wasp was one of the Groups disestablished during the time of the mothballing of Carriers and the assignment of Group Letters,,,,,so, X didn't come back up until a decade later, assigned to an ATG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmk0210 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) According my my references, the Wasp's (CV-18) 'G' code was a horizontal stripe across the tail and at the wingtip. There was no 'X' G code that I see. Edited February 12, 2012 by dmk0210 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 there was one other X marking used before the G markings, during the time that Hornet used the Dot (that included Jume 1944),,,,,,,,,,,it was CVL-30 San Jacinto with CVG-51,,,,this is the same set of markings from when Yorktown had the angled slash there is a photo of a Hellcat on Wasp with X above 105, and a "grayscale profile" of a Corsair with X above 156,,,,,both in Thomas E Doll's "US Navy Markings, WW II Pacific Theater",,,,but, it would be hard to find, it is copyright 1967 those X, slash, and dot years would be covered in Elliot's books, just before the G codes and letter codes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon50EX Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Rex the exact dates for my photos may be slightly off; The Corsair picture is October 1945, but the shot of Hal Bunting's F6F i think was listed as late 1944/early 1945. The broad white band with the stylized numbers is more distinctive but remarkably few photos of those aircraft seem extant. I think both types of markings are cool, but if the "X" doesn't count as a "G" symbol, it doesn't make the cut. david the X might have been a G (for Geometric) before the letters were assigned,,,,,,,but, Wasp's assigned letter was X in July 1945 when the Carriers got letters before they were moved to the Air Group The Air Group assigned to Wasp was one of the Groups disestablished during the time of the mothballing of Carriers and the assignment of Group Letters,,,,,so, X didn't come back up until a decade later, assigned to an ATG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon50EX Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Thanks for posting this. One Stop Shopping!! i agree that the broad white band seems to be the official "G' Symbol. Finding those stylized numerals is the tough part. The timing of the photos taken of planes with the "X" leaves open to question if it was an Alpha Numeric identifier, but due to its location it smacks of a "G" symbol. A Hellcat in USS LANGLEY Markings would look uber-cool!! david quote name='dmk0210' timestamp='1329061098' post='2332810'] According my my references, the Wasp's (CV-18) 'G' code was a horizontal stripe across the tail and at the wingtip. There was no 'X' G code that I see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon50EX Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 OK, i figured out the answer. Rex is correct. Letter "X" was assigned to USS WASP per the directive passed down from TF 38 on 28 July 1945. Info can be found here, Per Rich Leonard: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/need-information-cag-86-vf-86-hellcat-markings-10167.html d-bot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 credit where it is due that X/105 ref photo is not mine, or the guy in that thread,,,,,,that pic, and the grayscale chart and the list of letter codes, all belong to Thomas E Doll's research and book published back in 1967,,,,,only difference is that I referenced it, and that guy in that thread scanned and posted it the letter chart has been around a lot since it first appeared,,,,it appears without even getting the font changed each time it is published I'll dig it out allll day for people,,,,,but, I won't ever take credit from the authors that I dig it out from,,,,,,,,I only take credit if I compiled it myself from Navy records Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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