Polished Warbirds

**SPOFF** · 08-07-2005, 07:43 PM

I've noticed various photos taken by people at Airshows this summer, and have noticed the same thing at airshows myself over the years. P-51s seem to be on the top of the list. The planes are "Highly" polished.. almost like chrome plating.

Two weeks ago I had a chance to go and see the New "Air And Space Museum" complex at Dulles Intl. just outside Washington. The lead attraction of course (This week anyhow) is the ENOLA GAY. There she is, sitting up on "Pedistals" so the landing wheels are perhaps 5 feet above the museum floor. The problem I have is, the entire plane is "Polished" to a very high luster..like chrome. I asked the "tour guide" if this polished condition was the way the plane was when she went on her fateful mission. He hesitated, (and I thought he really didn't know the answer,) then he answered YES......Perhaps the 30+ people listening had an influence on his answer.

I have trouble believing "polished" airplanes went into combat in WWII. Can anyone help me out here?? I would think the ground crews would have better things to do than "Polish" an entire B-29 during wartime. I saw the ENOLA GAY about 15 years ago Stored, and being Restored, in The "Garber Facility" over in Suitland, MD. and I don't think she was polished then. SPOFF

**ladamson** · 08-07-2005, 10:21 PM

FWIW ---- Aircraft aluminum skins have quite a polished look when new. Not as highly polished as some aircraft you'll see at airshows etc, but still quite reflective.

I have some wings sitting in my garage that look "dull" on top, thanks to dust, etc, but still look shiny new & reflective on the bottom. I skinned these six years ago.

As to the Enola Gay, I suppose we have to consider the "time" since factory new, that we're viewing it. :D

BTW-- This particular B-29 spent the majority of it's early life, just 110 miles from here, at Wendover, UT. It's hangar is still there.

Ladamson

edit: Check out this Enola Gay photo on E-Bay. Looks pretty shiney

http://cgi.ebay.com/Color-photo-of-E...QQcmdZViewItem

**SPOFF** · 08-08-2005, 01:09 PM

Checked out the picture noted in your link to ebay. The plane in the picture sure looks shiney to me as well.

Forty some years ago when I reported aboard ship in the Navy, our particular living space had a bunch of aluminum lockers that the sailors were assigned to keep their personal stuff in. The aluminum lockers were like new, but with a dull finish. After awhile an enterprising young sailor "Discovered" something called "Airplane Polish" that was a kind of cotton wadding that was impregnated with polish and came stuffed in a can with a wide mouth screw top cover.

I think it was called "Never Dull". It could be used over and over again. Well anyhow, this sailor thought he would make extra points if he shined his locker with it. The Division Petty Officer was so impressed with the results, he "suggested" the entire Division shine their lockers to match. The response was predictable. SPOFF

***loki*** · 08-08-2005, 01:41 PM

Polishing the planes probably had a lot to do with keeping the aircraft in good repair. Those operating in the Pacific probably needed even more care as the salty air would have caused a lot of trouble with corrosion etc. Keeping dirt and grime off of the plane would leave fewer places for salt and other things to stick that might then start eating at the metal underneath.

loki

Edit - Also, towards the end of the war, the US starting leaving most of its aircraft unpainted. It saved money and weight (which left more free weight for ammo, fuel and bombs), and as most of their operations were during the day at high altitude, camouflage didn't do anything anyways.

**SPOFF** · 08-08-2005, 07:40 PM

It's interesting, and often very informative, to get a different perspective.

I FIGURED..logically, I had the polishing thing figured out. With all the salt air flying around Tinian, with the airfield only yards from a nice warm ocean mist, the planes would become frosted because of the salt. No way to keep them polished...So why would they spend time "polishing"??? Maybe that logic missed something.

I'm not sure the crew was much interested in corrosion in the short term...the life of an airplane in war is probably short term. However, a "smoother" plane will offer less resistence to the airstream and be more fuel efficient, which was a concern with the 1700 mile trip to Japan. So polishing WAS justified. Near the end of the war a "sparkly" B-29 wouldn't make much difference anyhow because the B-29s were flying above what any Japanese antiaircraft artillary could reach and their fighter defence was non existant by that time. SPOFF

**Foxwolfen** · 08-10-2005, 01:36 AM

>It's interesting, and often very informative, to get a
>different perspective.
>
>I FIGURED..logically, I had the polishing thing figured out.
>With all the salt air flying around Tinian, with the airfield
>only yards from a nice warm ocean mist, the planes would
>become frosted because of the salt. No way to keep them
>polished...So why would they spend time "polishing"??? Maybe
>that logic missed something.
>
>I'm not sure the crew was much interested in corrosion in the
>short term...the life of an airplane in war is probably short
>term. However, a "smoother" plane will offer less resistence
>to the airstream and be more fuel efficient, which was a
>concern with the 1700 mile trip to Japan. So polishing WAS
>justified. Near the end of the war a "sparkly" B-29 wouldn't
>make much difference anyhow because the B-29s were flying
>above what any Japanese antiaircraft artillary could reach and
>their fighter defence was non existant by that time. SPOFF

If I might add, as a person who spent six years as fighter ground crew, a clean and polished surface is important for detecting damage. I don't even want to think about the amount of time I spent cleaning and polishing. Interestingly, AC glass is cleaned not with a rag but with your bare hands, that way you can feel the little pieces of dirt that would otherwise scratch the surface. (It is also why it is so darned important to sweep the windscreen with a static broom when the AC lands! They become 60,000 volt capacitors - not fun to touch when charged, not fun at all ;))

There is also the fact that the military simply likes things shiny. Even when it seems to serve no purpose. Like boots. ;) That should give you an idea about how obsessive the airforce is about its planes - even in times of war.

Shad

(edit) - for those who are raising an eyebrow at the glass becoming a capacitor, let me add the following: The airplane that zapped me (I was actually doing a post flight arming safety check - not cleaning the glass) was the Northrop F5 (more specifically the CF5A). Lovely plane. Anyway, it, like many fighter types, has a laminated plastic coated glass that has a micro-thin layer of gold sandwiched in the middle which helps reflect the sun out of the pilot's eyes.

This combination of plastic/glass/gold/glass/plastic is perfect for storing a static charge. This charge is gained simply through the action of flying through the air. The air molecules slide across the screen surface and a charge is built up. If its not swept with a grounded static broom, it will discharge all at once into the first person/thing to touch it.

That would be me. It felt like I had been slammed on the elbow with a bat (it also threw me off the ladder). I was not happy with the ground crew person who parked that plane let me tell you.

**Foxwolfen** · 08-10-2005, 01:57 AM

Mmm, and I just thought of somethign else, in a dog fight a shiney plane can obscure its details making it hard to determine its trajectory. It is one of the reasons we paint false windscreens on the bottom of intercepters. Fool the opponent - security through obscurity.

Shad

(edit) - Also, no plane in the airforce is allowed to become encrusted or corrode, ever. Not in any amount (well that's the goal anyway). Corrosion kills pilots. Pilots are expensive. (even a thin layer of frost on a wing can reduce lift (due to premature disruption of the boundry layer) by over 25%... imagine a layer of salt?) :)

**desertflyer** · 08-10-2005, 09:03 PM

Natural Aluminum airplanes are difficult to tell exactly what attitude they are flying in. The Army Airforce planes which were painted OD Green were done so to camoflage them when sitting on the ground, not in the air.

The P51s you see in the natural aluminum scheme were actually painted that way to keep corrosion down. Besides, a plane that big, by the time you put zinc chromate, primer and a couple layers of pain, it adds up in weight and maintenance to keep the paintjob from getting ratty and increasing drag.

**FITZY** · 08-11-2005, 10:38 AM

I have read that when the new, unpainted B-17s started arriving in the 8th Air Force groups, there was speculation among the crews about whether they drew more fighters than the painted models.