Airframe decal - logos "high spirits"

[x213a]

Heard a dit the other day about a US cab spending a couple of days on a UK frigate due to being U/S for some reason. When said cab landed back on it's mother it's underside had a painted on ensign and ship's mascot. In this case a fighting snorker.
I dunno how true this is though. Anyone able to offer similar stories?

[Gainesy]

a fighting snorker

Well Cumberland is out on Op Deny Pugwash and so are the Spams, so entirely possible. Have we got an HMS Lincolnshire? Or Pork & Herb?

[x213a]

I was on the Cumberland in '96. Ex Purple star etc etc. Never heard the dit then though - must have happened later.

I'm sure i've read here something about an RAF roundel being painted on a yank airframe of some sort...??

[Matt Skrossa]

Late 70's 819 Sqn Seaking on a big exercise lands on another Royal Fleet Auxillary ship for refuel. This RFA had 820 Sqn Seakings embarked for the same exercise.
Whilst on deck 820 maintainers decide to zap the 819 cab near the tailwheel with '820 Ringbolts'. Much amusement all round, until the zapped cab has a bad landing back on its own ship and leaves the tailwheel hanging over the edge of the flightdeck. Subsequent photos of damage all have '820 Ringbolts' on them, thereby diverting the flak from 819!

[Double Zero]

Maybe not as good as a nuts & bolts zap or those ' brass plaques ' applied to Shackletons, but;

One of our ( Dunsfold ) development Sea Harriers - XZ450, first to fly in August 1978 by John Farley, and first aircraft shot down by Argentinian AAA ( with the loss of Lt. Nick Taylor ) was nominally with 899 Squadron with their rather good 'fighting gauntlet' tail insignia.

When it came back from Boscombe after a trial, it bore the usual indestructible dayglo orange zap on the tail, a perfect recreation of the 899 gauntlet, but with middle finger raised !

Whoever is / was responsible for the Boscombe zaps, I salute you; if a photographic record was kept, there's a book waiting to be published I should think.

One other 'zap' episode which is I think worth mentioning - after the Falklands, Kingston produced a sticker with a B&W image from the war of a Sea Harrier recovering to a carrier deck, launcher rails empty, with the caption " Actions Prove Louder Than Words ".

By a strange coincidence at the next Farnborough show the Mirage and Sea Harrier were facing each other when parked, giving tabloid photographers a field day.

Our then Chief Test Pilot Heinz Frick always had a mischievous streak, and couldn't resist it; ( of course it may not have been him ) when the Mirage taxied out to do his display and selected take-off flap, a long row of these Sea Harrier zaps appeared.

To say the French had a ballistic sense of humour failure is putting it mildly, I did hear they had an armed guard for the rest of the show.

[Double Zero]

Mod's, isn't there a common theme here with ' Geriatric stickers, ' maybe a point to combining the 2 ?

DZ

[Senior Pilot]

There is another a thread with some excellent photos, Frightning 'Zaps' (http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/322604-frightning-zaps.html) :ok:

[billynospares]

I do know the fella who created the middle finger zap thats was quite a few years ago now. Not sure if there is any photo evidence:ok:

[collbar]

I always wondered how BAE allowed their black typoon to be zapped with a 43 Sqn Fighting Cock and why they didnt remove it, It was there for years.

Top job by the lads if i was zapped, a full size tail cock!!