6th Bomb Group Squadron Name Charts

PHOTO:  ©Bill Webster. All Rights Reserved.

AIRCRAFT MARKINGS: Rudder and General Markings

FEBRUARY – MARCH 1945

•  Most crews gave their aircraft nicknames, which were painted on the side of the aircraft.
• When the 6th Bomb Group aircraft first entered service in February, they did not have a lot of decoration.
• A name might be stenciled on the side and the rudder might have the old rudder markings.
• By the end of the war, all of the aircraft had the “Circle R” on the rudder. Lead aircraft had vertical stripes on the rudder.

APRIL – AUGUST 1945

• The aircraft group number appears on the front bottom and the sides of rear fuselage.
• The aircraft serial number is sometimes shown on the tail.
• Later in the war, the aircraft were painted red on the tip of the tail and on the engine cowlings. This was presumably done to help the groups form up after takeoff. Aircraft used to drop supplies to POWs after the war had POW SUPPLIES written on the bottom of the wings.

The letter and circle were arbitrary tail designations, with each Wing of the 20th Air Force assigned a different outline (circle, square, triangle….) and each bomb group assigned a different letter within that outer shape.

—58th Bomb Wing (triangle outline symbol):
40th BG – S, 444th BG – N, 462nd BG – U, 468th BG – I

—73rd Bomb Wing (square outline symbol, 10.5-foot letters):
497th BG – A, 498th BG – T, 499th BG – V, 500th BG – Z

—313th Bomb Wing (circle outline symbol):
6th BG – R, 9th BG – X, 504th BG – E, 505th BG (January to March) – K, (April to September) – W

—314th Bomb Wing (solid black square):
19 BG – M | 29th BG – O | 39th BG – P | 330th BG K

—315th Bomb Wing (diamond outline):
16th BG – B, 331st BG – L, 501st BG – Y, 502nd BG – H

THE 6TH BOMB GROUP FLEW B-29s, INCLUDING B-29As AND B-29Bs. Almost all crews gave nicknames to their airplanes. Initially, the nicknames were just painted on the side. Later, the crews began to also decorate their aircraft with artwork, often of scantily-clad women. In response to complaints from the home front, many Group commanders censored the pictures. The 6th Bomb Group avoided the problem by issuing an order requiring that all aircraft bear the pirate insignia. The decoration around the pirate insignia evolved over time. Some early examples are plain. Others show a black circle behind the insignia. Later aircraft show a white circle behind the insignia. Initially, the aircraft nickname was simply painted to the rear of the insignia. Other planes inserted the insignia in trailing red and white flames. The final version of the insignia was fairly standardized. However, the script used to write the names could vary. Artwork was improved as time permitted. The older paint jobs were not always updated immediately. Some crews did not get around to painting the names on the aircraft. On any given mission, the planes could have different styles of markings.

24th SQUADRON

39th Squadron

40th Squadron

Squadron Unknown

Planes Used in Stateside Training