Marking standards existed then and now, but paint colours were up to individual Groups and Squadrons.

Olive drab was/is a colour that the human eye has difficulty seeing under certain conditions making it a perfect camouflage colour.

Early 1944, factories stopped shipping aircraft painted with Olive Drab.

By this time, the USAAF was confident about air superiority and radar controlled flak made camouflage redundant.

Weight was also a consideration, and unpainted aircraft were much lighter. Every pound of paint, was a pound of fuel.

Not to mention, assembly time was shortened by eliminating the various painting steps.

Maintaining the paint in the field proved to be a difficult task and colour matching wasn't really a concern.

And most crews wanted individuality and were modifying aircraft in the field anyway.

So, while some aircraft had been stripped of their paint, most were painted green prior to February 1944.

Lil Ham P47D-2-RE serial (4)42-8041 was produced and shipped early 1944