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Yellow Wings
"As early as May of 1920, the Pacific Fleet Air Detachment at North Island, San Diego, reported on its experiment with Yellow paint or enamel on the top surfaces of aircraft to increase visibility in the case of forced landings. Five years later, BuAer Technical Order No. 101 of 20 May 1925, required the use of Navy Yellow enamel on upper wings and the top surfaces of the stabilizer and elevators."
By the late 20s and early 30s, the yellow top surfaces of the horizontal tail surfaces disappeared as the Navy instituted a system of solid colors or stripes on tail surfaces as unit markings, but that's another story.
Source: Thomas E. Doll, Berkley R. Jackson, and William A. Riley (not Dana Bell), Navy Air Colors: United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Camouflage and Markings, Vol. 1 1911-1945 (Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal, 1983), p. 7.
Don
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