North Africa, 1943. Rearming of “Babe”, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning of the USAAF’s 14th Fighter Group. Victor Sierra

“Babe”

James C. "Wabbit" Hare, pilot of the 57th Fighter Group’s 65th Fighter Squadron “Fighting Cocks”, 12th Air Force, standing in front of his P-47 Thunderbolt at Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy, where the 57th was deployed from 25 September 1944 until 28 April 1945. In background a still nothing fused bomb. Clearly visible on the engine cowling the emblem of the “Fighting Cocks”, one of the three Squadrons of the 57th FG (the other were 66th “Exterminators” and 64th “Black Scorpions”). Victor Sierra

“Fighting Cocks” in Italy

USAAF, Mediterranean Operational Theater: two 47th Bomb Group’s Douglas A-20 Havoc flying on top of clouds. The plane tail number 5 has the National Aircraft Insignia adopted on June 28, 1943 which added white rectangles to the left and right sides of the blue circular field to form a horizontal bar with a red border stripe around the entire design, but the aircraft in background, tail number 58 seem have already the insignia adopted after September 14,1943, when the red border stripe was eliminated from the National Aircraft Insignia with use only of insignia blue. Therefore the date of the photo is likely after the last date, when the 47th was based on Southern Italy. The coexistence of two different insignias is normal since it was sometimes weeks or months before the planes in the field were brought into new insignias. Victor Sierra