American Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb code MD-L of the 4th Fighter Group, 336th Fighter Squadron. Fighter in standard RAF camouflage of dark green and ocean gray over medium sea gray, with sky spinner and band around the fuselage.
When the USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) received Spitfires from the British Air Ministry during World War II, several adjustments were made to their markings to align them with American standards while still reflecting their British origin. Here’s a breakdown of how these markings were applied:
National Insignia
- Upper Left Wing: Unlike other locations, the Spitfires operated by the USAAF did not typically feature a yellow outline around the national insignia (the white star in a blue circle with bars on either side) on the upper left wing. This insignia was typically kept simple and straightforward.
- Lower Right Wing: In contrast, the national insignia on the lower right wing sometimes included a yellow outline. This outline was added to increase visibility and identification from below. When present, the yellow outline brought the diameter of the emblem to 36 inches.
Size of the Insignia
- The national insignia applied to the USAAF Spitfire Mk.Vs were generally larger than those typically seen on US-built aircraft of similar size. This size discrepancy was primarily due to the expedient process of overpainting the existing RAF roundel (the Royal Air Force’s identification mark) on the Spitfires received from the British. Rather than removing the RAF roundel, it was simply overpainted with the USAAF insignia, resulting in a larger-than-normal marking.
Other Markings
- All other markings on these Spitfire Mk.Vs remained consistent with those on an RAF Mk.V. This meant that apart from the national insignia and any modifications to it, the aircraft retained the same camouflage patterns, squadron codes, and other identifiers that they had while serving with the RAF.