Operation Downfall invasion stripes/markings

[Old Wombat]

I've been searching the interwebnet for any information on planned identification markings for Operation Downfall & have had no luck whatsoever.

The marking side of Downfall hasn't been of much concern to me until recently, when I decided I wanted to build a plane ready for the invasion of Japan.

So, the question is two-fold;

1) Were there rapid identification markings (as per the D-Day stripes for Overlord) planned for Downfall?

2a) If so, what were they?
2b) If not, what's the best guess?


Thanks in advance!

[kitnut617]

There's a thread on the forum from back in 2011 called Operation Downfall Markings started by rickshaw. Quite a discussion went on ---

http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,31458.msg498191.html#msg498191

[Dizzyfugu]

In the Pacific/China theatre of operations, the (unpainted) USAF machines carried wide, black ID stripes on the wings (three) and around the rear fuselage (two) - but these were considerably wider than the D-Day stripes, and there was no white involved. The Mexican P-47 in the linked thread is a typical example.

Here are some P-51Ds from China and the Philippines as alternative:








And here's an adaptation of these markings on a whif of mine:


1:72 Lockheed P-74A, "Charger" (s/n 44-64148) of USAAF 310th FS/58th FG, 5th Air Force; based at Clark Field (Philippines), April 1945 (Whif/kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Doug K]

The pure black makes a lot of sense, I'm slightly surprised there hasn't been anything turned up in the UK records at Kew - or maybe there is an no one has looked

[Old Wombat]

There's a thread on the forum from back in 2011 called Operation Downfall Markings started by rickshaw. Quite a discussion went on ---

http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,31458.msg498191.html#msg498191

Thanks, mate!

Interesting read, especially since the figures the guys were mentioning for the number of Japanese planes & fuel were considerably less than what was surrendered at the end of the war (An Army estimate in May was 3,391 planes; in June, 4,862; in August, 5,911. A Navy estimate, abandoning any distinction between training and combat aircraft, in July was 8,750; in August, 10,290. By the time the war ended, the Japanese actually possessed some 12,700 aircraft in the Home Islands, roughly half of them kamikazes.**) that I found during my searches.


I think I'm leaning towards black/dark-blue & white/NMF/light-grey stripes, maybe chevrons, but it's still open for debate.



** Quoted from the rather well referenced wikipedia article on Operation Downfall.

[NARSES2]

I've not seen anything about specific markings for a planned invasion and I'm not sure any operational plans would have got that detailed by the time the bomb's were dropped.

Any used would have been quick and easy to apply, but there would have been one complication. Given the prevalence of natural metal finished aircraft in USAAF service then black stripes as illustrated by Dizzy would seem to be ideal. However USN and USMC aircraft were predominantly overall blue where black stripes would be far from ideal and white would have been far more suitable in my view anyway.

No idea what would have happened if the invasion had gone ahead, but any British/Commonwealth aircraft allowed to take part would have simply followed suit. There's a possibility that by the time they became involved then ID markings were no longer needed anyway.