WWII - what they would do if you landed your plane on the wrong carrier...

it was tradition to graffitti it before sending it back of course!

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That is not a WW2 photo as the plane is a jet

Good catch. This is actually an F2H-2P Banshee aircraft of VC-62 from the USS Coral Sea (CVB-43) which landed aboard USS Wasp (CVA-18) in 1953.

The tradition goes back before WWII to some time in 1928. It started with the operational launch of the identical carriers USS Lexington(CV-2) and USS Saratoga and the various issues they had with telling them apart. They finally just painted the carriers name on top of the flight deck to help tell them apart.

[URL]http://www.carrierbuilders.net/element/element.php?id=842[/URL]

Here is an F8F Bearcat, with propeller that started flying in 44 that received the same treatment.

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