Questions on A6M Zero markings..

[Kweassa]

Question: I've received a question from my friend who's interested in Japanese aircraft.

 He asks "How did Japanese Naval aircraft around the time of Pearl Harbor, mark their leader of the flight?"

 ..
 
 To find the answers I've been through many sources and pages, found out how fuselages were marked for almost all the Naval and Army fighters.. and yet, I couldn't find the answer to the question.

 So.. I have two newbie questions:

1) Did they specially mark the leader of the flight at all?? Like the German markings of +> or something?


2) What does the blue diagonal stripe or double stripes on the early Zeros mean? Maybe this was so basic a knowledge that the sources didn't even bother to say what it meant, but I couldn't find a single source indicating just exactly each of the what the fuselage markings meant

[MiloMorai]

Looking through the Osprey book it has 2 stripes for squadron leaders.

A site you could try is http://www.j-aircraft.com/

[Kweassa]

I've been through many sources including that one, but nothing seems to state it out loud - or at least, place the info where one can easily access them.

 It seems like in the early phases of the War, typically around Pearl Harbor, there were straight vertical stripes in double or single line in the fuselage. I'm guessing those stripes meant  on which carrier the Zero was placed at.

 But in Sakai's Zero, a blue diagonal stripe is apparent, which obviously doesn't seem to mean a carrier. Then, is this blue diagonal stripe only characteristic of the Tainan-ku aircraft?

 What about double blue diagonal stripes? A Zero of the same Tainan-ku but of a higher rank?? Or a different Chutai??

 Were there other Zeros using simular, diagonal stripes of different color?

[brady]

From Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and markings World War II by Donald W. Thorpe:


" With the exception of special markings on Aircraft ssigned to very High ranking officers, most command markings were either striping  on the verticle tail surfaces or types of bands on the fuslage, aft of the cockpit.
  Tail stripes were used to indicate command on shipboard units. These usualy consisted of one stripe for the section or flight  leader, two stripes for the squaron leader, three stripes-groupe leader, Supream comander of special operations ocashionaly wore unushual markings, such as alternating red and yellow stripes on the verticle and horizontal surfaces of the tail of the KATE occupied by Captain Mitsu Fuchida during the pearl Harbor operation.
 Land Based units were more varied in their selections...fighter units espichaly used several different systems at various times during the Pacific War. Land based Zekes operting over China during 1940 to 41 employed a combanation of tail and fusaladge striping, to signify both unit and comand.Slanted and verticle fusladge striping was used by some fighters during 1942 and 1943.
  later in the war, some commanders used a combanation if digonal and verticle stripes on boththe wings and fusladge of their aircraft."

[MiloMorai]

Ok guys this is from the S/S book on the Zero. (not saying is correct)

Carrier Air Group, markings: April '41 - June '42

1st Koku Sentai

AI = Akagi > 1 red band
AII = Kaga > 2 red bands

2cd  Koku Sentai

AI = Soryu > 1 blue band
AII = Hiryu > 2 blue bands

5th  Koku Sentai

EI = Shokaku > 1 white band
EII = Zuiaku > 2 white bands

opps, those are fuselage bands and are wide

another opps, corrected the AI and AII colors(I hate crosshatching;))

[brady]

My Referance ( From Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and markings World War II by Donald W. Thorpe:) is not entierly in agreament with that, it has:

 Mind you tese are all fuslage band's aft of the National marking, before the tail:

Akagi: one red band

Kaga: Two red band's

Soryo: one Blue band

Hiryu: Two Blue Bands

Ryujo: one yellow band

Shoho: two yellow bands

Taiyo: No bands

Shokaku: one white band

Zuikaku: Two White Bands

The CV Divishions were as follow's:

1st-red
2nd-blue
3rd-none
4th-yellow
5th-white

[brady]

Fuslage and tail marking took on the following meanings for land based planes:

In China in the late 30's single fuslage strips aft of the National symbole and before the tail indicated the flight and were collor coded, white 1st, blue 2nd and yellow 3rd(sometimes red was the first flight).
  Tail bands were also used, and were: 1st as a single stripe, second as 2 stripes, and third as three, collors used varied.

Early Pacific makings were typicaly Cheverons instead of stripes and were located aft of the National symbole before the tail, 1st being one cheveron second 2, and third 3.
  Or a forward slanted stripe was used in variours collors to represent the same thing.

[brady]

Example of the Single Cheveron denoting the plane belonging to the first Flight.

[brady]

Squadron Leaders Aircraft land based, denoted by the two stripes on the tail:

[brady]

Section Leader's, land based, plane:

[brady]

Sea Based(doh:)), Tail code, AI- ,denotes the Akagi:

[brady]

E1-tail code denotes the Shokaku, Three stripes on the tail Groupe leaders plane:

[brady]

Special Marking on the Tail; Yellow diginoal marking denoting Radar equiped plane:

[Kweassa]

Thanks , Brady!

 It still is severely confusing..!  

 Would it be safe to say that it should be looked upon case-by-case, rather than saying a consistent form of fuselage marking existed?

[brady]

Man it is confusing, but their is a method to the madness, and realy it depends to a degree on the time frame and wheather or not the plane is sea based or land based. Also their are some charts I can scan tomarow that make it a bit clearer. You can normaly tell from the tail code wheater or not it is land based or sea based. You can tell what time in the war it is by the Paint scheam and by the model of plane your looking at to.