Red or Pink? Twitter Users Wage Battle Over Colour of USAF Bomber's Cabin

The debate began after The Drive contributor Tyler Rogoway shared some unique photos taken aboard a US Air Force B-1B strategic bomber.

The three photos, snapped by Dutch photojournalist Roelof-Jan Gort during the B-1B's deployment in Europe for NATO drills in the Baltic region in 2017, show that the bomber was decked out with a unique custom colour scheme.

"What's unique about the photos is [that] the standard gray cladding that usually encases the interior of the B-1's cockpit aren’t there," Rogoway wrote. "In their place are red ones the likes of which I have never seen before."

According to the journalist, the colour scheme makes the cockpit look "more like a personal transport for a Star Wars villain" than a standard US Air Force plane.

A military source told Rogoway that the custom paintjob appears to have been the initiative of the crew chief, with crews allowed to modify planes with "some unique paint, stickers, slogans, and creative grip tape arrangements" if they don't distract from the planes' functionality.

Just where that line is something that can be difficult to tell. Late last year, ex-69th Bomb Squadron commander Lt. Col. Paul Goossen was fired after a lengthy investigation into multiple phallic-shaped drawings which appeared in the bomber's Combat Network Communication Technology software during deployments.

In any case, as far as the B-1B cockpit was concerned, Rogoway said that the custom detailing "was one heck of an extensive and detailed job," and "a testament to those who spent the time creating and installing it."

However, not everyone agreed about just how describe the cabin's colour. While many English-speaking social media users talked about how cool the plane looked with "a hint of red," Russian-speaking users said it was definitely "pink."

"Pink cockpit of a US Air Force B-1B Lancer. Photos by The Drive."

Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper agreed that the bomber was pink, publishing a piece cheekily titled: "US Gets a Pink Nuclear Bomber."

Other users asked whether the colour-scheme, whatever it was, has any special purpose, like reduced eye strain during long missions. One commentator suggested "almost anything beats" the aquamarine colour used in Russia's Tu-160 bombers.

Over at TheDrive.com, one joker in the comments section suggested that the pink-cabined bomber is probably equipped to carry cutsie pink Hello Kitty bombs.

What do you think? Red or pink?