On 13 Nov 2004 14:35:44 GMT, (Pechs1) wrote:

Ed- Those at Red Flag would have been national force aircraft here on NATO
TDY. The Tornados and Phantoms down at Holloman have USAF star-and-bar
on the fuselage and HO tail codes. Originally they had the black
Luftwaffe iron cross on the fuselage side, but that was changed. BRBR

Is that a post 9/11 thing or has that been the way it has always been? I never
noticed.
P. C. Chisholm
CDR, USN(ret.)
Old Phart Phormer Phantom, Turkey, Viper, Scooter and Combat Buckeye Phlyer

I assume you're asking about the Holloman birds, since there has never
been a requirement for allied forces aircraft to be remarked when they
deploy to a host nation (we would have done a lot of repainting over
the years!)

The HO birds were painted USAF within about 18 months after the
Luftwaffe program was established, so that was well before 9/11.

For that matter, the F-104G aircraft that were used for training
German pilots at Luke way back in the '60s, '70s and '80s were USAF
marked even though they were owned by the Germans. They were serviced
by Lockheed contract civilians.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org