365thFG / 388thFS P-47D-25

[lyric1]

Originally posted by oboe
This is my favorite of your Jugs, Jeep.



Did this a/c really have the Star & Bar on both upper wing surfaces?



 

[The Fugitive]

I think maybe if the line between the cowl flaps were "v"ed a bit to give them the illusion of being open a tad the shadow around the body would look better, more like in the picture. But a detail that small is only going to be seen in a screen shot up close.

 I can take or leave it either way, I think the skins very nice. The wear and tear on this really gives it the battle worn look of a well used plane.

Great Job!

[JeepinAZ]

Originally posted by oboe




Did this a/c really have the Star & Bar on both upper wing surfaces?

If you look closely at that pic of the actual aircraft, it's got a rondel on the underside of the port wing, which normally wouldn't be there. The Jug being the only radial engine A/C the US had, they wanted to make sure they weren't mistaken for Luftwaffe aircraft, which is why a lot carried two sets of rondels.

As for the other suggestions, I noticed the nose artwork being a tad too big too, it'll get trimmed down accordingly.

for the kind words.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by JeepinAZ
If you look closely at that pic of the actual aircraft, it's got a rondel on the underside of the port wing, which normally wouldn't be there. The Jug being the only radial engine A/C the US had, they wanted to make sure they weren't mistaken for Luftwaffe aircraft, which is why a lot carried two sets of rondels.

As for the other suggestions, I noticed the nose artwork being a tad too big too, it'll get trimmed down accordingly.

for the kind words.

The practice of having two national insignias was strictly a Britain based thing. The 8th AF abandoned the practice in the late summer or early fall of 1944. Also, no one put two on the upper surfaces.

The only case where the 9th would have two insignias on the lower wing of a  D-25 or later Jug is if the fighter was a hand-me-down from the 8th AF (transitioning to P-51s).
 
So, for your skin, delete the extra national insignia on the top and double check the second on the bottom. If you don't have a photo showing two, you might want to delete it also.

My regards,

Widewing

[JeepinAZ]

Do people read my posts? If you look at the side by side, you'll notice there is a rondel on the bottom of the port wing, as I stated. So the one on my skin will stay. I know I've seen pics of Jugs with rondels on upper both upper surfaces, I'll have to dig through my books to find them. My question is this, why would there be two on the lower surfaces & not on the upper? If I can find a pic of the upper starboard wing w/o the rondel or another plane with the rondel on both lowers but not the upper then I'll get rid of the starboard upper....

[Krusty]

One thing I didn't notice til now: Wrong font on the fuse codes.

It's solid font, not scencilized (with gaps). Compare to real photo and color profile above.


P.S. Looks better without the brown layers!

[JeepinAZ]

I know this is a bad example as it's a model & not the real thing, but it's all I can find right now. I would swear I've seen rondels on the upper surface of both wings on Jugs before, but I could be wrong. I personally think it looks stupid & would rather it not be there, so if I can't find any pics backing it up, I'll get rid of the upper starboard rondel.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by JeepinAZ
Do people read my posts? If you look at the side by side, you'll notice there is a rondel on the bottom of the port wing, as I stated. So the one on my skin will stay. I know I've seen pics of Jugs with rondels on upper both upper surfaces, I'll have to dig through my books to find them. My question is this, why would there be two on the lower surfaces & not on the upper? If I can find a pic of the upper starboard wing w/o the rondel or another plane with the rondel on both lowers but not the upper then I'll get rid of the starboard upper....

I have 753 photos of P-47s in my collection.. Not one has a second set of national insignia on the upper surfaces (where the upper wing is visible). I'm rather certain that yours didn't. None of the other 365th Jugs I have photos of did. It's non-standard.

To answer your question, the 8th AF added a second (larger) insignia to the bottom because the under side was what people on the ground in Britain would see. They didn't want to get triple-A shooting at them, and it was also the side of the aircraft bomber crews generally saw.

This practice wasn't done in any other theater, and it was eventually dropped by the 8th AF. You don't see it on P-51s or P-38s. Only the P-47 was so adorned, and only those flying out of Britain. Most 9th AF Jugs had only one insignia on the underside. Those they obtained from the 8th (as squadrons transitioned to the P-51) would have two.

Eight 8th AF groups turned in P-47s for Mustangs. Those Jugs went into the replacement pool, with most low-time P-47s being issued to the 9th AF. So, you'll find double insignias on some 9th AF Jugs, but only on the bottom of the wing.

My regards,

Widewing

[Guppy35]

The larger bottom star and bar on both sides was for ground recognition.  It was never on the upper wings.

Trust Widewing on this one.

[JeepinAZ]

Good, because I hate the way it looks & considering I've only got about 2 pics (slight exaggeration) of Jugs in my photo collection, I'll go with you guys. Now, the pic of this exact aircraft does have the rondel under the port wing (you can barely see it from the front shot I used in the side by side, which is how I noticed it) so it'll stay. I've been meaning to do some research & see if it was an 8th AF transfer to the 9th but I haven't had much time lately.

Thanks for the input WW & Guppy, research is key to a good skin (hopefully I'll start making some soon  )

[JeepinAZ]

Finished product... finally.

[Fencer51]

Very nice Jeepin.