Johan Willaert Posted August 22, 2008 Share #1 Posted August 22, 2008 Hi all, I'm trying to find out when the 5-Pointed star was introduced as National Symbol and marked as such on US Army vehicles. The earliest Army Regulations as such which I have in my library are AR850-5, dated Auguts 5th, 1942, which state Section III §10 a. (1) A white five-pointed star will be the national symbol of all motor vehicles assigned to tactical units. Administrative motor vehicles operating in an active theater of operations will be similarly marked when directed by the theater commander. Especially I would like to find out if the star was already being applied in the late 1940-early 1941 period. Thanks, Johan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted August 22, 2008 Share #2 Posted August 22, 2008 I think it was the white star with a red ball in the middle at that time (and with a blue background). Need to check this (am currently at work, so can't). Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted August 22, 2008 I think it was the white star with a red ball in the middle at that time (and with a blue background). Yes, that comes to mind, but I cannot locate any wartime pictures showing this, nor do I find it in AR. All I have on this kind of marking is the Lee Tank in Spielberg's 1941 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted August 22, 2008 Share #4 Posted August 22, 2008 LOL, yeah a really good movie. Well, I'll check that book I mentioned in a previous post tonight and scan photos if there are any in them. Pm me if I forget (got too much on my mind at the moment). Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted August 23, 2008 Share #5 Posted August 23, 2008 Johan, here is what I found in the book "Marquages et Organisation - US Army (ETO 1944 - 1945)" by Emile Becker and Jean Milmeister (translated as it is in French and German): 1940 -1941 Big Maneuvers; a tri-colored star consisting of a blue round background with white star and red ball in that star OR a red round background with white star and blue ball in that star. In fact the symbol used by the USAAF but also to be found on tanks and certain vehicles. A photo of an example on a Scout Car M3A1 (restored vehicle) is next to it. End of 1941 - beginning of 1942; White star on a red or blue round background. This marking was common on tanks and certain vehicles in the North African Campaign. There is a photo of this type of star on a Dodge Command Car. After Pearl Harbor, they got rid of the red round background as it looked too much like the Imperial Japanese marking. January 28, 1942; For all vehicles and tanks a yellow star. August 5, 1942; Introduced by the War Department; the white star. In case of camouflage, white painted fenders or US Navy vehicles, this star could also be in black. 1943; White star in white circle. By order of the Allied Expedtionary Force for all troops in the North African Campaign to make recognition from the sky easier. July 1943; White star on yellow circle. But not such a common sight. In 1943; Gas-detecting paint (Paint Liquid Vesicant Detector M5) in the area between the white star and circle. This paint was in greenish or brownish color and went reddish when in contact with gas. 1943 - 1945; Standardization ETO. White stars on the flanks and white stars with circle on the tops of vehicles (still to make recognition from the air easier). I hope this helps. Btw, I can scan the photos for you. Just let me know. Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted August 23, 2008 Thanks Erwin, I have the book (and Emile Becker is a personal friend) but he just gives examples and doesn't show period picture of the said star. Also the first AR he refers to are the August 1942 AR850-5, which I described above. I'm just curious to find out if there are AR which proceed those? Johan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted August 23, 2008 Forgot to add, while that book has some great information, it has its flaws and inacuracies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted August 23, 2008 Share #8 Posted August 23, 2008 No problem, Johan. It makes good reference for others here. I knew Jean Milmeister. I agree, the book has it flaws, especially with the assignments of units. But it is still a nice reference book. Just to make it complete, here are the photos (sorry, had to use digital camera as my scanner is acting up .... again ). Example of a tri-colored marking on a Dodge WC24 Recon car (Command Car). Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #9 Posted August 23, 2008 This is from LIFE Magazine dated July 20, 1942. There is no way to determine when the photo was taken but probably at least 2 or 3 months earlier. This was from an article on the Jeep and no other vehicle in the article had the star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #10 Posted August 23, 2008 This is from a LIFE article on vehicle names and was published DEC 14, 1942. Now there are many vehicles with stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #11 Posted August 23, 2008 There was a LIFE article on military vehicles published DEC 15, 1941. This article showed most of the vehicles in use including construction equipment. None of these had stars. Also the LIFE article on the Louisiana Maneuvers showed no vehicles with stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #12 Posted August 23, 2008 This is from a LIFE article on US war planes published FEB 2, 1942. I have only included the color pics. There are many other BW pics also with stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #13 Posted August 23, 2008 LIFE AUG 22, 1941 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #14 Posted August 23, 2008 LIFE AUG 15, 1941 Curtiss - Wright factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #15 Posted August 23, 2008 LIFE July 7, 1941 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #16 Posted August 23, 2008 LIFE NOV 30, 1942 article on Patton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #17 Posted August 23, 2008 LIFE September 23, 1940 article on field hospital. Good vehicle markings but no star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wailuna Posted August 23, 2008 Share #18 Posted August 23, 2008 Here's one early WWII vehicle (ca. 1940) without star or other visible markings exept the Air Corps insignia and number "63" on door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share #19 Posted August 23, 2008 Thanks all! I still think vehicles from the late 1940 period had no stars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted August 23, 2008 Share #20 Posted August 23, 2008 Johan, I looked at many pics in the course of finding the few I posted. I agree that stars didn't start showing up until early 1941 (maybe MAR or APR). The only vehicles that were well marked were the USAAF. The ground force did little in the way of marking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpguy80/08 Posted August 25, 2008 Share #21 Posted August 25, 2008 I have also seen some use of coloring the arms of the star. Keep in mind the WWII division was based on a multiple of five, so coloring one arm of the star was a way to mark the brigade within a division. There are also instances of using red stripes on a given arm of the star. I've seen the photos over the years, but cant recall where. Yellow stars were used mostly in North africa in early 1942, and the white "Star and Bar" came out around this period as well. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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