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Diagonal lines on P-47 wings


Disco58

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One of our members brought a P-47 for show and tell last month, and it has four diagonal lines at varying degrees on the wings about mid-point. There was a great deal of speculation as to the purpose of these lines, as they're obviously not decorative. My speculation was for runway alignment so the pilot wouldn't have to do the weave when taking off in groups. I figured each line would correspond with a precalculated runway edge to wheel distance. I may be way off, but but I've flown a couple taildraggers (ya' either love 'em or hate 'em!) , and I've also spent time in the left seat of a big truck, and I've used various visual markers--like hood ornaments and hood corners--for keeping things lined up since you can't see the RF wheel.

 

 

 

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My understanding is that they were there to help alignment when peeling off to bomb a target. Is the P-47 in question a 9thAF or 15thAF bird? You don't see those stripes on P-47's flying escort, but you do see them on some of the ground attack birds based in Europe the last months of the war. More knowledgable folks should be along soon with a more definitive answer. Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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