Looking for intel on Vietnam era US Navy Carrier tow bars for A1 Skyraiders

[alaninaustria]

Does anybody know what color the tow bars were painted on Vietnam era US Navy Carrier decks? I have found one photo online and the color seems to be white, but it could also be yellow - as chocks tended to be also yellow. Any intel appreciated. Thanks. 

Regards, 

Alan

[Bill Cross]

Yellow with red tips:

 

https://nara.getarchive.net/media/a-flight-deck-crewmen-attaches-an-aircraft-tow-bar-to-an-md-3-tow-tractor-on-7ae20b

[Oldbaldguy]

Yep.  Yellow.  Hence the Navy term: yellow gear.  Pretty much all the flight deck equipment and support gear was yellow for a very long time.  The changeover to white came later.

[easixpedro]

As OBJ states, it was yellow.  It was actually lead-based paint, hence the change to white which began in the mid-late 90s.  Of course it's still referred to as 'yellow gear' even though it hasn't been yellow in 30 years. We used to joke that the navy was built on 200 plus years of tradition, unimpeded by progress...

 

A side note however.  Equipment such as boarding ladders and bomb racks etc. could be painted in squadron specific colors. Keeps the Chippies (VA-195=green) from stealing racks from the Golden Dragons (VA-192=yellow), or the Black Lions (VF-213=red) from pilfering from the Aardvarks (VF-114=orange).  There's a saying "Gear adrift, must be a gift." 

[Oldbaldguy]

1 hour ago, easixpedro said:

As OBJ states, it was yellow.  It was actually lead-based paint, hence the change to white which began in the mid-late 90s.  Of course it's still referred to as 'yellow gear' even though it hasn't been yellow in 30 years. We used to joke that the navy was built on 200 plus years of tradition, unimpeded by progress...

 

A side note however.  Equipment such as boarding ladders and bomb racks etc. could be painted in squadron specific colors. Keeps the Chippies (VA-195=green) from stealing racks from the Golden Dragons (VA-192=yellow), or the Black Lions (VF-213=red) from pilfering from the Aardvarks (VF-114=orange).  There's a saying "Gear adrift, must be a gift." 

My dad was a Chief.  He had “finding things” down to a fine art.

[alaninaustria]

Thanks guys! Would the tips still have been red as Bill pointed out during the Vietnam War era? Or, were the towbars full yellow?

Cheers

Alan

[easixpedro]

1 hour ago, Oldbaldguy said:

My dad was a Chief.  He had “finding things” down to a fine art.

Nautical word of the day is "Cumshaw."  Urban Dictionary calls it "a seagoing term for petty graft" 

 

Was watching a documentary called "Scramble the Seawolves" about HAL-3 in Vietnam.  (for those not familiar, a USN helo squadron flying hand-me-down UH-1Bs in the Mekong.) There's a scene where the former commanding officer says his Sailors were cumshaw artists.  Would steal anything laying about to keep their Hueys flying. Included using old beer cans to craft patches and rivet them in place.  Classic navair...

[Finn]

Here is one, not as yellow as the life vests but still yellow:

 

 

Jari

[Oldbaldguy]

1 hour ago, alaninaustria said:

Thanks guys! Would the tips still have been red as Bill pointed out during the Vietnam War era? Or, were the towbars full yellow?

Cheers

Alan

Don’t overthink this.  This is the US Navy we’re talking about here.  The only constant in Naval Aviation is that there are no constants.  I just went through my dad’s 1964-1965 cruise book from the Ranger (CV-61).  That was a WESTPAC (Vietnam) cruise.  Photos show some of the long universal tow bars with red tips where it hooks up to the wheel(s) and some without.  There is even a photo with tow bars that appear to have ZC primered tips - maybe they were out of red or were just too busy to finish painting them.  Who knows?  Bottom line is that you will be historically correct whether you paint the thing red and yellow or just plain yellow.  Pretty much up to you.