Going Retro with an Air Force F-16

10 December 2007

Going Retro with an Air Force F-16

Look! Up in the sky! It's a very unusual US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon, painted up in a style that immediately reminded us of this Fortune magazine cover from August 1941, which we happen to have on display in our office:

Ah, those were the days -- when a magazine was a magazine. But that's not what you were thinking. You were thinking: "What's up with the wild paint job on that F-16?" Ah yes. The official US Air Force website explains:

11/23/2007 - AUSTIN, Texas (AFPN) -- An F-16C Fighting Falcon from the Texas Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Squadron is flying with a special paint job in honor of the squadron's 90th anniversary. All the colors and markings have specific meanings, reflecting the unit's nine-decade history.

The rudder is painted like a JN-4 Jenny, which the squadron flew in the 1920s. The schemes for the wings and flaps recall the paint schemes of the pre-World War II era.

The blue fuselage represents the Korean War, in which the squadron earned credit for two air victories. The gray underside represents the jet age.

The "N5 A" was the insignia the squadron's P-51 Mustangs sported during World War II, in which the squadron claimed 44 air victories. Also representing World War II is the star on the fuselage, while the star on the wing represents the pre-World War II era.

"Ace in the Hole" and the star on the tail replicate the markings of the squadron's F-84s during the Korean War.

(Tip of the flight helmet to Hawk914)

LINK:
Colorful F-16 represents 90 years of history

(Photo by John Dibbs)

Posted by Telstar Logistics at 08:06 AM in Air, Design, History, Military/Defense, Photography | Permalink