Numeral colors on the 94th Aero's SPAD wings.

[FlyXwire]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone had good info on the number color(s) painted onto the US 94th Aero Squadron SPAD 13's upper and lower wings.

Photos seem to show (and besides Rickenbackers ole Number 1) dark numbers on the port wing top/bottom, and the stripe on the opposite side. The Chief of Air Service memorandum specified black at first (as an official recommendation), which we know wasn't strictly observed. Later, red or black, and often outlined in white was applied to other US Pursuit Squadron SPADs.

Anyway, does anyone have any documentation or a series of good photographs to confirm the number colors for the wings, and if they were outlined in another for the 94th Aero's Spads?

[StephenLawson]

Red and yellow.

[FlyXwire]

Red and yellow for both the fuselage and wing numbers Stephen?

Page 134 of Woolley's The Hat in the Ring Gang book shows a darker interior number outlined by a lighter color on the top wing apparently, like the Squadron's red/white wing stripe.

So the wing numerals were red outlined in yellow, or vice versa?

[Cliff]

FlyXwire

Woolley's 'The Hat in the Ring Gang' is probably the best source for 94th Aero SPAD pics, but very few show the top wing numbers.
Most of the pics of the 94th show a dark number with a darker highlight, which is yellow with red highlight. Not sure where I found this pic of the original fabric from A/C #22.
94th-22.jpg

There seem to be a few anomalies in markings;
Rickenbacker's SPAD had white numbers with a red outline on fuselage and wing.
The pic on p.134 seems to show a dark number with white border or highlight??

The only other shots I could find of a top wing number are:
SPAD no. '6' on p.203 which shows a dark number - yellow with dark border - red on fus. and wing.
A clearer version of no. '16' on p.130 is in C & C (US) V.3 #1 - it shows a dark number on the top left wing.
SPAD no. '9' on p.194 shows a dark number on the top left wing.

Cliff

[FlyXwire]

Cliff

Thanks for uploading the pic of Coolidge's fuselage numbers.

Here's another photo and a not too aggressive photoshop enhancement I've included of one of the 94th's SPADs from the Gorrell reports, which seems to show the dark colored wing number on the left top wing.

Take a look if you could, and tell me what you would surmize the color(s) might be (yellow surrounded red as accepted as the fuselage convention for the Squadron's majority of aircraft, or yellow, or red, or black)?