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US Navy Aircraft Identification Colors Before World War II

By Michael Benolkin

In the 1930s and into 1940, the US Navy employed a color marking scheme to enable pilots and ground

observers to quickly identify any given aircraft. This involved a combination of colors and letters &

numbers. For a look at the standard airframe colors used prior to WWII, refer to the Quarter Master 3-1

color tables.

Up until 1935, squadrons applied their own colors to the tails of their aircraft as a quick visual reference

of squadron identification for any given ship. In October 1934 for example, the tail colors were as

follows:

USS Lexington

Squadron Sqn ID Color

VF-2B Lemon Yellow

VF-5B True Blue

VS-3B Lemon Yellow

VB-1B Lemon Yellow

USS Saratoga

Squadron Sqn ID Color

VB-2B White

VF-6B White

VS-2B Lemon Yellow

VT-2B Insignia Red

USS Ranger

Squadron Sqn ID Color

VF-3B Willow Green

VS-1B Willow Green

VB-3B Willow Green

VB-5B Willow Green

USS Langley

Squadron Sqn ID Color

VS-14M Insignia Red

VS-15M True Blue

With the growing number of fleet carriers and associated number of squadrons, a directive was issued

in 1935 to standardize tail colors to the aircraft carrier that the aircraft was assigned to:

1935-1937:

Carrier Sqn ID Color

USS Langley Insignia Red

USS Saratoga White

USS Ranger Willow Green

USS Lexington Lemon Yellow

USS Yorktown True Blue

USS Enterprise Black

After 1937:

Carrier Sqn ID Color

USS Yorktown Insignia Red

USS Saratoga White

USS Ranger Willow Green

USS Lexington Lemon Yellow

USS Enterprise True Blue

USS Wasp Black

Each squadron was divided into six sections, each section having three aircraft apiece. Each section

was assigned its own color. That color was in the fuselage band, the cowl colors and the upper wing

chevron. The entire cowl and fuselage bands are in color for the respective section leaders. The top half

of the cowl received the color for the second aircraft in the section, and only the bottom half in color for

the third aircraft. Note that while all three members of the section had the over-wing chevron, only the

section leaders had the fuselage band.

On the side of each aircraft was number-letter-number code which indicated the squadron, type of

squadron, and assignment in that squadron, respectively. For example, 4-F-1 was the squadron

commanders aircraft for Fighting Four (VF-4). A 6-S-4 would indicate the second section leader for

Scouting Six (VS-6).

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Aircraft belonging to the squadron commander or section leaders (aircraft 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16) had a

colored fuselage band. The number-letter-number identifier would be centered on that color stripe.

The types of squadrons that were in service with the US Navy before WW2 included:

VB - Bombing

VF - Fighting

VH - Ambulance

VJ - General Utility

VN - Training

VO - Observation

VP - Patrol

VR - Transport

VS - Scouting

VT - Torpedo

VX - Experimental

Here is a complete squadron breakdown:

Aircraft Number Section Number Section Position Color Cowl Example

1 1 1 Red Entire 4-F-1

2 1 2 Red Top 4-F-2

3 1 3 Red Bottom 4-F-3

4 2 1 White Entire 4-F-4

5 2 2 White Top 4-F-5

6 2 3 White Bottom 4-F-6

7 3 1 Blue Entire 4-F-7

8 3 2 Blue Top 4-F-8

9 3 3 Blue Bottom 4-F-9

10 4 1 Black Entire 4-F-10

11 4 2 Black Top 4-F-11

12 4 3 Black Bottom 4-F-12

13 5 1 Green Entire 4-F-13

14 5 2 Green Top 4-F-14

15 5 3 Green Bottom 4-F-15

16 6 1 Yellow Entire 4-F-16

17 6 2 Yellow Top 4-F-17

18 6 3 Yellow Bottom 4-F-18

In the late 1930s, squadron numbers were changed as squadrons were moved between aircraft

carriers, so you'll need to do some homework as to which unit shield belongs to which squadron at any

given time.

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