Painted warbirds will celebrate 100 years of naval aviation

[+Fates]

 

"The S-3 parked recently in a hangar at Jacksonville Naval Air Station looked like it just returned from the 1942 Battle of Midway. Very odd, given that the Viking is a two-engine jet that served as a sub hunter, tanker and much more during its 33-year career beginning in 1975. But the plane's newly applied retro paint job was actually meant to evoke the epic sea battle that turned the World War II Pacific campaign in America's favor.

 

"We were going for a Midway effect," said Don Lockwood, a Navy employee helping return three S-3Bs, including the newly painted one, to operational status. While the aircraft will serve a West Coast test squadron, its paint scheme will serve another purpose: to celebrate the 100th anniversary of U.S. naval aviation in 2011."

 

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[Hawk2495]

Too cool... I always liked that paintjob, it made the aircraft look like they belonged at sea. The modern grey seems to look out of place over a blue ocean.