111th Fighter Squadron
Pre-World War 2
The photos in this section are taken from a book written by the staff of the 111th FIS in 1973. The original negatives would provide much greater detail. Each thumbnail is linked to a larger image.111th Fighter Squadron
Pre-World War 2
(1) The first insignia for the
111th OS when the unit was part of the 36th Division Texas
National Guard. The current "Ace in the Hole" insignia
came along sometime in the 1930s.
(2) A Curtiss JN-6 being
refueled sometime in the early 1920s. The aircraft in
this time period were painted in a contemporary version of
Olive Drab. This color is most closely compared to
FS595A 30118.
(3) A PT-1 (26-320) "some
where over Texas". These two a/c are in the then
standard OD and Chrome Yellow paint scheme.
4
5
6
(4) A line up of O2H and O-38
aircraft. The first O-2 appears much lighter than the
rest. This is too early for the USAAC change to blue
fuselages, it must be another color and looks like maybe a
light gray or white. I will leave it to other enthusiast
to speculate. The first three O-2Hs in order are 29-389,
29-428 and 28-352. The first three O-38s look like O-38
31-377, O-38 31-407 and O-38 31-376.
(5) O-38s in flight circa
1932. By now the aircraft in the 11th are sporting
ship numbers. "5" is O-38 31-407.
(6) A mixture of
types. The first is a PT-3 serial 29-148, the second is
an O-2H, then two O-38Es and finally a civil aircraft.
The two O-38s are again a light color. Silver dope
maybe?
7
8
(7) A new aircraft and a new color
scheme. The fuselage of O-43A 33-283 ("Battle number" 3)
is USAAC blue. What looks like a national emblem on the
fuselage is in fact the 111th "Ace in the Hole" insignia.
(8) The 111th's hangar at
what is now Houston Hobby Airport. The hangar is still
there and still in use. The O-43As in the picture
are: "3" 33-283, "5" 33-285, "9" 33-289, "6"
33-286 and "10" 33-290. During this time frame numbers
"1" and "2" were carried by O-38Es and the O-43s were "3" to
"10", with consecutive serial numbers.
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10
11
(9) O-47s arrived in 1938 and were
delivered in natural metal finish. In months prior to
WWII those still in service with the 111th were repainted in
OD over Neutral Gray. "2" is an O-47B, serial
39-119. Since all air guard unit numbers were in the 101
to 199 range, the first "1" was dropped. Therefore the
"11" on the fin stands for "111". Another later
designator that looked like a "0" with two horizontal dots
inside was used to designate guard units. When
this came into use the full squadron number was displayed in
front of the symbol. This is shown to some effect on the BC-1
below.
(10) O-47A 38-294 carried
the "battle number" "14" on the tail.
(11) O-47B 39-119 and
another O-47 together in flight. Again, the "Ace in the
Hole" looks like the U.S. star. "119" also has the
"N.G." under the left wing for "National Guard".
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13
(12) A BC-1A on the wash
rack. This aircraft has the later style National Guard
designator.
(13) BC-1A 39-811 in an
awkward pose.
Vietnam era and after. 1965-Present
Clifford
Bossie
Page Created
01-07-02
Page Modified 04-07-15