Ever see spots in front of your eyes?

[NutmegCT]

WW2 "assembly" paint schemes. There was no way to miss these guys, as they lead formations toward the hot zones.

 

[mikephillips]

They didn't really lead them towards hots zones. Generally they were what was considered "war weary" and were used over England as formation assembly ships. They'd circle, the squadrons would form on them and then they'd go on to the combat airspace and the formation ships would return to their English bases.

 

[NutmegCT]

Thanks Mike. My mistake - I meant to say that, and that the a/c wouldn't actually be *in* the hot zones, as they'd be obvious targets. Crews were often thankful for being assigned to the assembly planes, as they'd soon return to base. As they'd leave the formation before the fighting began, the assembly planes were sometimes called "Judas Goats".

More info:

www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/colorful-assembly-bombers.html

 

[Silverghost]

The first and second ones could have been called the "Wonder Bread" planes

 

[mikephillips]

I've been a history buff since I was a kid, the number of books covering the European air war and Pacific campaigns I have round the house would amaze most people, particularly in this day and age of online. Not to mention just general history covering the rise of civilization. I particularly prize those books written by those who actually experienced the events. I "blame" my dad for all this as he was a voracious reader of history too. It's given me the desire to know everything I can about how mankind reached to point where it is at.