"JDupre5762" wrote in message
...

When did the US adopt the Star with a dot insignia? I know that they used
a
roundel style similar to the French style in WW1 while in Europe. Did US
aircraft based stateside use the same insignia as the European combat
aircraft
or did they use the star?

In early 1917 the US adopted its first national markings which included a
white five pointed star on a blue disk, the star having a red circular
center.
Very early the next year the allies talked us into the red-blue-white
roundel to conform with allied styles.
In August of 1919 we reverted back to 1917 national marking of red circle on
white star on blue disk.
In June of '42 the red "meat ball" was removed as being excessively similar
to the Japanese emblem.
For July of '43 the new fashion was the white bars added to the star on
circle, with a red border around the whole works. The red border was traded
in for a blue one fairly quickly as even that much red was though enough to
screw up combat recognition.
It wasn't until '47 that the red bar across the middle of the white bars was
added.
Come the 70s various low visibility adaptations turned the insignia various
shades of gray.

The above neglects the tail markings (various vertical & horizontal striping
combinations) that were part of the national marking scheme into '42.

While the official scheme was pretty much the same the world over, changing
the paint for the national markings was seldom a high priority item,
especially in areas where combat recognition wasn't an issue. I've seen
photos showing planes that displayed the 1917, 1918 and 1919 schemes on
different aircraft of the same unit. In WWII there were state side trainers
that made it through to the end of the war still sporting the pre-'42
markings.