111th Fighter Squadron
World War 2
111th Fighter Squadron
World War 2
(1) An unidentified O-52A at Laredo,
Texas, in November 1941. This is during some sort of "war games"
and a colored cross is painted over the fuselage cocarde. The
aircraft
is OD over gray.
(2) A P-43A (40-2918) at Daniel Field,
Augusta, Georgia in early 1942. The P-43s were used to provide
training
on higher powered aircraft than the 111th had used in the past.
The
P-43s came from the 55th Pursuit Group, which had transitioned to
P-38s.
The 55th's markings are still carried. OD over gray.
3
4
5
6
(3) A-20B 41-3016 with nose art, most
likely stateside prior to shipping out for North Africa.
(4) Artwork on another unidentified
A-20B. It is possible that this is the same aircraft as above.
(5) A-20B 41-3241 with a dusting of
snow at Oujda, French Morocco. At this time the squadron was
mainly
engaged in anti sub patrol.
(6) Nose art on another unidentified
A-20.
7
8
9
10
(7) An F-6A in Italy sporting a large
number of "eye ball" recon mission markings. The fuselage
roundel
has had the yellow surround used in North Africa painted over, the
fresh
paint showing up as darker. The "Snoopers" insignia is on the
nose.
(8) The "Snoopers" emblem.
(9) F-6C 42-103018 "CK" from "C" flight
of the 111th TRS. The different flights were designated
"A",
"B", "C", etc. with the first letter designating the flight and the
second
letter being the individual aircraft within the flight. Colors
were
also used, with "C" flight having red spinners. The camera port
on
this F-6C, and the following ones, is visible forward and below the
letter
"C".
(10) The return of natural metal! F-6C
42-103217 Dijon, France.
11
12
13
(11) When the 111th TRS moved from
the
12th Air Force to the 9th AF, a couple of changes in markings came
about.
Squadrons now had two place designators, in this case "N5" for the
111th
and a letter for the individual aircraft. N5 Y is F-6C 42-103196.
The second change is the adoption of red tail stripes.
(12) F-6C 42-103207 "The Beast".
(13) F-6C 42-103003 over the French
countryside. Note that this aircraft and 196 above are both
fitted
with the RAF developed "Malcom" canopy.
14
15
16
17
(14) Combat units usually had a few
"hacks"
for various miscellaneous duties and the 111th was no different.
A-20B 41-3417 was aquired from the 47th BG. What appears to be a
colored band behind the number 69 is most likely fresh OD painted over
previous markings.
(15) B-25C 41-12870. This is one
of those photos that arouses one's curiosity without satisfying
it.
What did the rest of the sircraft look like? The paint scheme
appears
to be OD and Sand over gray, but the darker color could just be fresher
paint.
(16) A very poor photo of C-47B
43-49213.
The name "Super Snooper" in white, or yellow, is barely visible
on
upper fuselage.
(17) The only other markings appear
to be the yellow serial number on the tail.
The 111th TRS also operated
F-6Ds
and F-6Ks, but I have not found photos. I have also not been able
to find photos of the P-39Ls flown bt the Texas unit.
Prewar and early period. 1923-1940
Vietnam era and after. 1965-Present
