The designation given to a particular aircraft can be broken down to provide information about that specific aircraft. A hypothetical example shows a typical designation, and what each section is. Tables below indicate possible codes used for each section, what their meanings were, and the time period in which they were used – not all codes were in use at the same time, and some codes, such as P for pursuit were changed to F for fighter for a given aircraft while they were in service, so that the Lockheed P-80 was redesignated as the Lockheed F-80. The portion of the designation after the subtype may be omitted in normal use. The hyphen before the block number may be replaced with the word "block", and in some cases the block number may be omitted. This information, along with the name of the service (USAAC, USAAF, USAF), the base (if permanently assigned) and the serial number was painted on the forward fuselage side under the cockpit.
Status
Mission-Modifier
Mission-
Model
Subtype
-Block Number
-Production Facility Code
X
W
B-
29
A
-10 or Block 10
-BO
Status Prefixedit
(generally applied only to specific aircraft)
Code
Meaning
Period
E
Exempt from modification orders (loaned to outside organizations)
1946–1955
G
Grounded permanently (for groundcrew instruction)
1924–1962
J
Temporarily modified for Special Tests (e.g. NACA)
1956–1962
N
Permanently modified for Special Tests (e.g. NACA)
1956–1962
R
Restricted (e.g. no aerobatics, no passengers or similar)
1943–1947
X
Experimental pre-production development aircraft
1925–1962
Y
Service test pending production orders
1928–1962
Y1
Funding from outside normal fiscal year procurement
1931–1936
Z
Obsolete - limits maintenance and repairs
1928–1962
Mission Modifier prefixedit
Used when an aircraft has been modified for a different role from originally designed.
In theory each new design in a specific Mission category is numbered in sequence starting at 1, so that succeeding designs are numbered 2,3,4 etc. however numbers were occasionally skipped.
Sub-typeedit
Minor modifications to a basic design are usually given a sequentially assigned letter denoting the particular subtype, starting with A and continuing with B, C, D, etc. In general, no additional meaning can be deduced from the sub-type letter.
Block Numberedit
Analogous to the order number, these help not just to identify when an airframe was built, but in some types distinguish changes that occurred during production not identified by the sub-type letter, as between the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt razorback variant and the bubble canopy variant. Block numbers are unique to each type of aircraft.
Production facility codeedit
Each factory producing aircraft for the USAAF was assigned a two letter code to distinguish between the product of one facility from another. This was important because parts were not always interchangeable between different plants, and the aircraft may have required different modifications during service.[1]
Aircraft ordered by foreign governments but taken over by the US Government often used the manufacturer's internal designations rather than the designation used for similar aircraft ordered by the US Government, so that the Consolidated LB-30 was a B-24 ordered by the British but not delivered, and the Vultee V.77 was similarly an AT-19.
^"Current Designations of U.S. Military Aircraft". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
Bibliographyedit
Websitesedit
Andrew Chorney (2007). "U.S. Systems of Aircraft Designation". Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Derek Bridges (2005). . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Andreas Parsch (2023). "Current Designations of U.S. Military Aircraft". Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Randy Wilson (1997). "U. S. Army Aircraft Designations 1939-1945". Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Booksedit
Fahey, James C. (1946). U.S. Army Aircraft (Heavier-Than-Air) 1908-1946. New York, N.Y., Ships and Aircraft.
Swanborough, Gordon; Bowers, Peter M. United States Military Aircraft Since 1909. Putnam.
January 01, 1970
1924, united, states, army, service, aircraft, designation, system, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, december, . This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message In 1924 problems with the previous designation system led to a general revamping of the designation system used by the United States Army Air Service This system was to remain in effect with the U S Army Air Corps the U S Army Air Forces and the independent U S Air Force as well as those aircraft remaining in the U S Army after 1947 With some minor changes it became the basis of the 1962 United States Tri Service aircraft designation system Contents 1 1924 1962 Designation System 1 1 Status Prefix 1 2 Mission Modifier prefix 1 3 Mission Letter 1 4 Model Number 1 5 Sub type 1 6 Block Number 1 7 Production facility code 1 8 Exceptions 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 Bibliography 5 1 Websites 5 2 Books1924 1962 Designation System editThe designation given to a particular aircraft can be broken down to provide information about that specific aircraft A hypothetical example shows a typical designation and what each section is Tables below indicate possible codes used for each section what their meanings were and the time period in which they were used not all codes were in use at the same time and some codes such as P for pursuit were changed to F for fighter for a given aircraft while they were in service so that the Lockheed P 80 was redesignated as the Lockheed F 80 The portion of the designation after the subtype may be omitted in normal use The hyphen before the block number may be replaced with the word block and in some cases the block number may be omitted This information along with the name of the service USAAC USAAF USAF the base if permanently assigned and the serial number was painted on the forward fuselage side under the cockpit Status Mission Modifier Mission Model Subtype Block Number Production Facility Code X W B 29 A 10 or Block 10 BO Status Prefix edit generally applied only to specific aircraft Code Meaning Period E Exempt from modification orders loaned to outside organizations 1946 1955 G Grounded permanently for groundcrew instruction 1924 1962 J Temporarily modified for Special Tests e g NACA 1956 1962 N Permanently modified for Special Tests e g NACA 1956 1962 R Restricted e g no aerobatics no passengers or similar 1943 1947 X Experimental pre production development aircraft 1925 1962 Y Service test pending production orders 1928 1962 Y1 Funding from outside normal fiscal year procurement 1931 1936 Z Obsolete limits maintenance and repairs 1928 1962 Mission Modifier prefix edit Used when an aircraft has been modified for a different role from originally designed Code Meaning Period C Cargo Transport 1943 1962 D Director Drone Controller 1948 1962 F Photographic 1945 1947 G Carrier parasite aircraft mothership 1948 K Ferret electronic intelligence 1944 1947 K Tanker 1949 1962 M Medical 1951 1952 P Passenger Transport Only 1948 1962 Q Radio Controlled Drone 1948 1962 R Reconnaissance Photographic 1948 1962 S Search and Rescue 1948 1962 T Trainer 1943 1962 U Utility light transport 1943 1962 V VIP Transport 1945 1962 W Weather 1948 1962 Mission Letter edit Code Meaning Period A Aerial Target 1940 1941 A Amphibian 1948 1962 A Attack 1924 1947 AG Assault Glider 1942 1944 AT Advanced Trainer 1925 1947 B Bomber 1925 1962 BC Basic Combat 1936 1940 BG Bomb Glider 1942 1944 BLR Bomber Long Range 1935 1936 BQ Bomb Controllable glide bombs amp cruise missiles 1942 1945 BT Basic Trainer 1930 1947 C Cargo 1925 1962 CG Cargo Glider 1941 1947 CQ Target Control 1942 1947 F Fighter 1948 1962 F Photographic 1930 1947 FG Fuel Glider 1930 1947 FM Fighter Multiplace 1936 1941 G Glider 1948 1962 G Gyroplane 1935 1939 GB Glide Bomb 1942 1947 GT Glide Torpedo 1942 1947 H Helicopter 1948 1962 HB Heavy Bomber 1925 1927 JB Jet Propelled Bomb 1943 1947 L Liaison 1942 1962 LB Light Bomber 1924 1932 O Observation 1924 1942 OA Observation Amphibian 1925 1947 OQ Aerial Target Model Airplane 1942 1947 P Pursuit 1925 1947 PB Pursuit Biplace 1935 1941 PG Powered Glider 1943 1947 PQ Aerial Target Man Carrying 1942 1947 PT Primary Trainer 1925 1947 Q Aerial Target 1948 1962 R Reconnaissance 1948 1962 R Rotary Wing 1941 1947 S Supersonic Special Test 1946 1947 T Trainer 1948 1962 TG Training Glider 1941 1947 U Utility 1952 1962 V VTOL or STOL 1954 1962 X Special Research 1941 1947 Model Number edit In theory each new design in a specific Mission category is numbered in sequence starting at 1 so that succeeding designs are numbered 2 3 4 etc however numbers were occasionally skipped Sub type edit Minor modifications to a basic design are usually given a sequentially assigned letter denoting the particular subtype starting with A and continuing with B C D etc In general no additional meaning can be deduced from the sub type letter Block Number edit Analogous to the order number these help not just to identify when an airframe was built but in some types distinguish changes that occurred during production not identified by the sub type letter as between the Republic P 47 Thunderbolt razorback variant and the bubble canopy variant Block numbers are unique to each type of aircraft Production facility code edit Each factory producing aircraft for the USAAF was assigned a two letter code to distinguish between the product of one facility from another This was important because parts were not always interchangeable between different plants and the aircraft may have required different modifications during service 1 Code Manufacturer Location AD Aero Design amp Engineering Co Bethany OK AE Aeronca Middletown OH AG Air Glider Akron OH AH American Helicopter Manhattan Beach CA AV Avro Canada Montreal QC Canada BA Bell Atlanta GA BB Babcock Aircraft DeLand FL BC Bell Aerosystems Buffalo NY BE Bell Buffalo NT BF Bell Fort Worth TX BH Beech Wichita KS BL Bellanca New Castle DE BN Boeing Renton WA BO Boeing Seattle WA BR Briegleb Sailplane Beverley Hills CA BS Bowlus San Francisco CA BU Budd Philadelphia PA BV Boeing Vertol Morton PA BW Boeing Wichita KS CA Chase Aircraft West Trenton NJ CC Canadian Commercial Corp Toronto ON Canada CE Cessna Wichita KS CF Convair Consolidated Vultee Fort Worth TX CH Christopher Aircraft St Louis MO CK Curtiss Wright Louisville KY CL Culver Wichita KS CM Commonwealth Aircraft Kansas City MO CN Chase Aircraft Willow Run MI CO Convair Consolidated Vultee San Diego CA CR Cornelius Dayton OH CS Curtiss Wright St Louis MO CU Curtiss Wright Buffalo NY CV Chance Vought Vought Dallas TX DA Doak Aircraft Torrance CA DC Douglas Chicago IL DE Douglas El Segundo CA DH De Havilland Canada Toronto ON Canada DJ SNCA Sud Ouest Marignane France DK Douglas Oklahoma City OK DL Douglas Long Beach CA DM Doman Helicopter Danbury CT DO Douglas Santa Monica CA DT Douglas Tulsa OK FA Fairchild Hagerstown MD FB Fairchild Burlington NC FE Fleet Fort Erie ON Canada FL Fleetwings Bristol PA FO Ford Willow Run MI FR Frankfort Joliet IL FS Firestone Los Angeles CA FT Fletcher Aviation Pasadena CA GA G amp A Aircraft Willow Grove PA GC General Motors Fisher Cleveland OH GE General Aircraft Astoria Long Island NY GF Globe Fort Worth TX GK General Motors Kansas City KS GM General Motors Fisher Detroit MI GN Gibson Refrigerator Greenville MI GO Goodyear Aircraft Akron OH GR Grumman Bethpage Long Island NY GT Grand Central Aircraft Eng Tucson AZ GY Gyrodyne Co of America St James Long Island NY HE Helio Norwood MA HI Higgins Aircraft New Orleans LA HI Hiller Palo Alto CA HO Howard Aircraft Chicago IL HP Handey Page Radlett Herts UK HS Hawker Siddeley Aviation Kingston Surrey UK HU Hughes Aircraft Culver City amp San Diego CA IN Interstate A amp Eng El Segundo CA KA Kaman Windsor Locks CT KE Kellet Philadelphia PA KM Kaiser Manufacturing Willow Run MI LK Laister Kauffman St Louis MO LM Lockheed Aircraft Marietta GA LO Lockheed Aircraft Burbank CA MA Martin Baltimore MD MC McDonnell St Louis MO MD Martin Denver CO 2 MF Martin Orlando FL MH McCulloch Motors Los Angeles CA MM McDonnell Memphis TN MO Martin Omaha NE NA North American Inglewood CA NC North American Kansas City KS ND Noorduyn Aviation Montreal QC Canada NF North American Fresno CA NH North American Columbus OH NI North American Downey CA NK Nash Kelvinator Detroit MI NO Northrop Hawthorne CA NT North American Dallas TX NW Northwestern Aeronautical Co St Paul MN OM On Mark Engineering Van Nuys CA PA Piper Lock Haven PA PH Piasecki Morton PA PI Piper Lockhaven PA PI Piasecki Philadelphia PA PL Platt LePage Eddystone PA PR Pratt Read amp Co Deep River CT RA Republic Evansville IN RD Read York Kenosha WI RE Republic Farmingdale Long Island NY RI Ridgefield Mfg Ridgeville NJ RO Robertson Aircraft St Louis MO RP The Radioplane Co Van Nuys CA RY Ryan Aeronautical San Diego CA SA Stroukoff West Trenton NJ SE Seibel Helicopter Wichita KS SI Sikorsky Aircraft Stratford CT SL St Louis Aircraft St Louis MO SP Spartan Tulsa OK SW Schweizer Elmira NY TA Taylorcraft Alliance OH TE Temco Dallas TX TG Texas Engineering amp Manufacturing Greenville TX TI Timm Van Nuys CA TP Texas Engineering amp Manufacturing Grand Prairie TX UH United Helicopter Palto Alto CA UN Universal Molded Products Bristol VA VE Vega Aircraft Corp Burbank CA VI Canadian Vickers Montreal Canada VL Vertol Aircraft Morton PA VN Vultee Nashville TN VO Chance Vought Dallas TX VU Vultee Downey CA VW Vultee Wayne MI WA Ward Furniture Co Fort Smith AR WI Wichita Engineering Wichita Falls TX WO Waco Troy OH Exceptions edit Aircraft ordered by foreign governments but taken over by the US Government often used the manufacturer s internal designations rather than the designation used for similar aircraft ordered by the US Government so that the Consolidated LB 30 was a B 24 ordered by the British but not delivered and the Vultee V 77 was similarly an AT 19 See also editLists of military aircraft of the United States List of United States Air Force aircraft designations 1919 1962 Notes editReferences edit U S Army Aircraft Designations 1939 45 Current Designations of U S Military Aircraft designation systems net Retrieved 2023 08 19 Bibliography editWebsites edit Andrew Chorney 2007 U S Systems of Aircraft Designation Retrieved 24 May 2012 Derek Bridges 2005 U S Military Aircraft Designation Systems Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 24 May 2012 Andreas Parsch 2023 Current Designations of U S Military Aircraft Retrieved 24 May 2012 Randy Wilson 1997 U S Army Aircraft Designations 1939 1945 Retrieved 24 May 2012 Books edit Fahey James C 1946 U S Army Aircraft Heavier Than Air 1908 1946 New York N Y Ships and Aircraft Swanborough Gordon Bowers Peter M United States Military Aircraft Since 1909 Putnam Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1924 United States Army Air Service aircraft designation system amp oldid 1220093405, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
