The Little World

Or so it says on the internet.

At the same time there are plenty of pictures of this type in the air forces of secondary nations. I’ll bet it turns up in Africa and South America for decades – rocketing and gunning down rebellious tribesmen or junta colonels.

I am delighted with the colour scheme for continental air defence but I wonder a little at some of the marking details.

Most air forces have marked areas on their aircraft where things should be attached or opened. Also where people should not push, lean, or stand. It was much more dangerous when control surfaces were made of framework covered in doped linen.

The USAF and USN have been jeered at for marking their aircraft with a blizzard of stencils, but this French plane is no better. There are Ne Pas Monter signs all over. More interestingly, in the version of the fighter supposedly in the service of the United Arab Emirates, the warning signs are in English. On a French aircraft?

Are the erks all British? Shouldn’t the instructions be in Arabic? Is there no agreed-upon symbol for keeping off? I do remember a Bristol Bombay that delineated the wing walk spar area with little black feet…