In the pre-war years (1930-41) the U.S. military had some of the most colorful aircraft ever flown. This period, known as "the golden age" was also a transitional period for military aircraft, evolving from bi-planes to monoplanes. These brightly colored aircraft, though not very practical from a modern military perspective, reflected the times and the invulnerability the U.S. thought it had during this period. Pearl Harbor changed all that.

The high visibility orange-yellow paint of the upper wing surface of these aircraft (used as a recovery tool in search and rescue) along with painted tail sections, fuselages, wing chevrons and belly bands added to the color of these planes. During the decade of the 30's these brightly colored aircraft, known as "YELLOW-WINGS", filled the skies.