Invader Paint and Markings

World War II

All of the first 5 Invaders to come out of the factory (A-26B-1-DL) were painted in all-over Olive Drab Green. To my knowledge, none of these Invaders were assigned to combat theaters. They appear to have been assigned to stateside training units. Subsequent to that, Invaders were painted differently based on theater of operations, squadron, and mission.

European Invaders

Fuselage Codes

Invaders in Europe were stationed in England and France. Because of their close proximity to RAF aircraft, the squadrons adopted the fuselage squadron code system similar to the British. A 2-digit alpha-numeric code indicates the Squadron, while the third symbol (usually on the other side of the US roundel) indicates the specific plane within that unit.

Tail Patterns

Tail Patterns were painted based on the Bomb Group the squadron was assigned to. Typically, a bomb group contained 4 squadrons.

Colors

At the start of their service life in Europe all invaders were unpainted silver aluminum with black serial numbers and group markings. The group colors were applied to the tails. All of the Invaders had their inboard engine cowlings and the top of their nose painted in either OD green or flat black at the factory to serve as anti-glare surfaces to keep the sun from shining the crew's eyes.

A handful of Invaders assigned to the 47th Bomb Group based in Italy painted their Invaders flat black with White unit numbers and red serial numbers. These invaders were specifically assigned to night time raids and the black served as better camouflage. A very small number assigned to the OSS for Carpet Bagger missions were also painted in flat black.

Details by Unit

344th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a white triangle with black trim on the tail. Squadron codes were:

• 494th - K9
• 495th - Y5
• 496th - N3
• 497th - 7I

386th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a thick yellow band horizontally across the tail with black trim. Squadron codes were:

• 552nd - RG
• 553rd - AN
• 554th - RU
• 555th - YA

391st Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a yellow triangle with black trim on the tail. Squadron codes were:

• 572nd - P2
• 573rd - T6
• 574th - 4L
• 575th - 08

397th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a diagonal yellow stripe with black trim on the tail. Squadron codes were:

• 596th - U2
• 597th - 9F
• 598th - X2
• 599th - 6B

409th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a vertical yellow stripe on the back half of the rudder. Squadron codes were:

• 640th - W5
• 641st - 7G
• 642nd - D6
• 643rd - 5I

410th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a vertical stripe that alternated 3 white and 3 black squares on the back half of the rudder. Squadron codes were:

• 644th - 5D
• 645th - 7X
• 646th - 8U
• 647th - 6Q

416th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a vertical solid black stripe on the back half of the rudder. Squadron codes were:

• 668th - 5H
• 669th - 2A
• 670th - F6
• 671st - 5C

69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had a thick red horizontal band across the tail with large black numbers in it. They did not use squadron codes as far as I know.

47th Bomb Group

These planes were unpainted aluminum. They had no color symbol on the tails. Big black two digit codes were painted on the tail. A handful of these planes assigned to night missions had a flat black finish with large white numbers on the tail. Serial numbers and USAF on these planes were in red. They did not use Squadron codes as the 2-digit number would identify the squadron.

Pacific Invaders

3rd Bomb Group

The bombers assigned to the 3rd Bomb Group during WW2 were painted uniquely compared to any other invader. For one thing, some of them were unfinished aluminum and the rest were OD green with a neutral grey belly. Some people believe that this was not the case, but there is photographic evidence that this actually occurred. Serial numbers were painted in yellow. Plane identifiers (typically letters, but not always) where painted white on the forward part of the tail. The tips of the tails, and the wing tips were painted different colors based on squadrons.

• 8th - Yellow
• 13th - Red
• 89th - Green
• 90th - White

Note that this color scheme is only applicable to WW2 era Invaders between 1943 and 1947. After WW2 the Invaders in the Pacific began to morph into a different color scheme. See the notes in the Korean War section below.

319th Bomb Group

In theory, these planes were unfinished aluminum. The tails were painted blue, with large white group numbers on them. Serial numbers were in white. However, in practice, photographic evidence shows that this was not uniformly done. These Invaders were acquired quickly and rushed into combat. Some photos depict only the rudder painted blue with the front part of the tail grey. Other photos depict no tail markings (except the serial number) whatsoever.

Korean War

At the outbreak of the Korean War the Invaders wore a hodgepodge of different paint schemes left over from WW2. Some of the planes were painted in an all-over olive drab with a light grey underside while other planes were unfinished aluminum. This is especially prominent in the Interwar years between 1946-1949. During the opening year of the Korean War the Invaders were all converted to unfinished aluminum with colored trim to denote squadron. By the middle of the war some of the planes were assigned night interdiction missions or photo recon missions and were painted in flat black.

Vietnam War

The B-26K Counter Invader that served in Vietnam was painted with a "woodland camo" pattern of greens and browns. Only 40 of these planes were produced and they were all painted with this color scheme.