PT-22 Paint Schemes

[Speeddemon651]

Are there any references for original PT-22 paint schemes from the Ryan factory ?

I'm also interested in what Schemes were used @ Sequoia Field / Visalia CA ?

Is there any reasoning why some cowlings were painted Red, Yellow and or the same with props ?

I've seen some pitot tubes also painted in candy cane stripes, was that specific to certain training bases ?

 

Thanks ahead of time!, JH

[N441V]

Ken Wilson is a respected historian who has specialized in the Stearman aircraft.  I liked his work so much that I had him do the research on my Ryan.  He has the machine to cut the original stencil for all the labels and dope codes.  He also researched the military history of my aircraft.  It also was based at the Visalia-Dinuba School of Aeronautics at Sequoia Field.

Ken Wilson

idora@wowway.com

1-812-477-7176

 

Ron

[N441V]

Although common knowledge seems to suggest that there were no markings on the Ryan PT-22 other than the official paint scheme and buzz numbers, looking through the issues of "Propwash" from Sequioa Field, they actually applied different colors to the front cowls on some aircraft.  I have a picture of a Sequioa Field PT-22 that has a yellow cowling.  I am assuming my personal aircraft was painted to match this aircraft.  When they removed the red ball in the national insignia in early 1942, it appears that they also painted the rudder yellow or in some cases silver, to remove the red stripes.  Red was not a healthy color to have on your aircraft in those times.  These rudders also had the new dope codes applied.  This appears to possibly be a field modification.  Not sure why Mike did not paint the national insignia on the bottom of his wings.  He might have known that they did something different in the field.  Propeller spinners seem to have remained silver as the props were probably changed out on a regular basis and they would not have taken the time to repaint them.  Hub caps, propeller spinners and air intake scoops were usually left off to facilitate the daily maintenance requirements.  A few later aircraft are all silver with standard star and bar national insignia with no buzz numbers on the aft fuselage.  These are few and far between.  I see no special paint schemes on the pitot masts.  All pictures that I have show them yellow on yellow winged aircraft.  In practice, making the pitot mast stand out might not be a bad idea.  I have not figured out the reasoning behind the buzz number sequence.  Common practice in the AAF was to use the last three numbers of the military serial number, i.e., 550 for 41-15550.  With the Ryan's, it is unusual to see an original picture from Sequoia with a "high" buzz number such as "550", although I have a picture from Eagle field with buzz numbers in the three hundreds.  I would love to hear from someone with additional information.  They might have just started with "1" on the first aircraft assigned to the field and numbered them in sequence.  This would appear to be an unusual military practice, but again, I see few high buzz numbers in the issues of "Propwash" that I have.  Does anyone have class books from another Ryan contract school that might shed light on paint schemes used there?

Regards,

Ron

N15550, ex N441V