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rbp71854
October 13th, 2008, 08:41
I am having a bit of historical conflict of info on the color of the matte finish on the B-24. I am talking about the anti-glare paint forward of the pilot/copilot windshield.

All profiles I have seen of 8th AAF craft are ODF. All the profiles I have seen of 15th AAF craft are flat black, plus I have read a quote that beginning in about '44 the craft came from the factory with NMF with black anti-glare shields.

Hmm, I wonder if when they stripped the paint off the original ODF aircraft rather than repainting the shield black they left that portion of paint on the craft ODF

Anybody have the definative answer? Maybe there isn't one. :)

grizzly50
October 13th, 2008, 10:17
:kilroy:Rbp71854, I know one thing for a fact. They may have come from the factory one way, but it didn't last forever. Whenever battle, weather, or other physical damage was repaired, especially that which covered sizable skin areas, they repainted the aircraft with whatever they had on hand. They didn't usually wait for the "right" stuff to be delivered if they were out of the normally required paint. They had to get the planes back on the line ASAP. I have been told by many veterans of the USAAF that this was true, especially as the war progressed. My dad was one of them. I have also read about this in many different books and other published materials, but for the life of me, I can't remember a single title at the moment.:d