Nathan and Chris seem to have raised at least some doubt about later war birds not being painted at the direction of the War Department. The source that Nathan cited only goes up to 1942, whereas he suggests that post-1943 birds did not have any paint.
I did not raise some doubt ... I can say unequivocally that the exterior surfaces of
most warbirds were no longer painted in camouflage at the factory beginning from January 1944 ... many army aircraft were being stripped of paint at their local bases in mid-1943. Nowhere did I suggest that post-1943 birds did not have any paint ... in fact many did, including
all Navy tactical and strategic aircraft, as well as many Army aircraft that either retained their earlier paint schemes or chose to adopt new paint schemes as a matter of local preference. The photographic evidence is 100% supportive of this ... you will find:
a) Post-1943 photos of Army bombers and fighters from the same squadrons on missions in Europe, some painted and some unpainted.
b) No photos of Navy tactical or strategic aircraft without paint at any time during the wartime period in active theaters of combat. The Navy painted all such aircraft, period. Many Navy transport aircraft, mainly R4D (naval designation for C-47 Skytrain), were unpainted particularly as the war progressed and air superiority was achieved in both theaters.
Nathan –The book you cited only deals with Army Air Force planes and only until 1942, could you please provide a source(s) about Navy planes always having been painted. If you could cite the 1943 War Department announcement that would be much appreciated as well.
Certainly:
Navy Air Colors: United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, Vol. 1, 1911-1945. Doll, Jackson, Riley, Greer.
U.S. Naval Aviation. Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Goodspeed.
Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, 1907-1954. Robertson.
I do not have the time or inclination to dig through my materials to find original source documents on the USAF Materiel Department, Joint Aircraft Committee, or War Department's orders on paint schemes during the war ... I am knowledgeable of this through years of research. But a quick google search yielded these, hope they help you:
http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-u-s-army-air-forces-strips-its-planes-of-paint/The below link is interesting, a copy of the original CBI Roundup, the U.S. Army's newspaper to those serving in the China-Burma-India theater, from December 23, 1943. Scroll to headline "UNPAINTED SHIPS FLOWN OVERSEAS":
http://home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-5/roundup/roundup122343.html