Army & Navy: Broad Noses, Round Bodies

Over Europe's battlefield, gunners in U.S. bombers have a new problem of aircraft recognition. On many raids their new fighter escorts are Republic Thunderbolts (P-47s) which have just entered the battle of Europe. And in the swirling confusion of a battle with pursuit planes, the broadnosed, round-bodied P47 can easily be mistaken for the Germans' best fighter: Focke-Wulf's famed 190.

To make recognition easier, the Eighth Air Force announced that it was painting white rims on engine cowlings of the P-47, a step the Germans may well nullify by painting their own fighters the...