P-51D code WD-A of the 335th FS, 4th Fighter Group Pilot Lt Berry, Color photo
4th Fighter Group “The Eagles”
Aircraft Markings and Color Schemes
P-51B/C/D/K Mustangs (February 1944 – September 1945)
- Initial Complement:
- Colors: Standard Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray camouflage with white type identity bands and spinner.
- Squadron Code Letters: 24-inch high in white block capitals.
- March 1944 Updates:
- White spinner and noseband were overpainted with bright red as a Group marking.
- White identity bands across fin and rudder were deleted in late March 1944.
- First bare metal-finish P-51B replacements arrived with black type identity markings.
- ‘D-Day stripes’ were applied on 5 June 1944, not obscuring fuselage code letters.
- P-51D Introduction:
- Arrived in June 1944 with similar markings to earlier models.
- Barred letters were sometimes placed aft of the individual letter when more than 25 aircraft were assigned to a squadron.
- At the end of hostilities, double letters were sometimes used for individual identification.
- Late 1944 Updates:
- 334th FS CO’s aircraft received olive green camouflage on upper surfaces.
- Squadron rudder colors introduced:
- 334th FS: Red
- 335th FS: White (with thin red outline)
- 336th FS: Blue (shades varied from medium sky blue to a darker diluted Insignia Blue)
- Black type identity stripe removed from the fin and horizontal tail surfaces.
- Final Months of War:
- Additional red was added to the nose band in December 1944 to distinguish 4th Group P-51s from 9th and 15th Air Force units.
- The red nose marking was swept back to a point ahead of the wing root in early January 1945, with some variations.
- 334th FS began outlining identification letters in red, a decoration that was present on many aircraft from summer 1944.
- 336th FS added red edging to one side of its letters during the final months of the war.
- Some P-51D/Ks had the cockpit canopy frames painted in Group or squadron colors as personal decorations.
- Operational Training Unit (OTU) Markings: Established within the 4th Group in October 1944.
- Numerals used for individual aircraft identities on War Weary P-51s.
- Rudder colors partitioned horizontally with red, white, and blue (red uppermost).
- Two-seat conversions of P-51Bs used for training were painted overall in Deep Sky Blue and red.