As usual, I’m confused! ‘Buzz Codes’ were issued after WW II accoding to the Aircraft Data Base. Am I confusing the wording because almost all WW II Allied aircraft had them. Help me out; I’m standing by the door![banghead][banghead]
Help is here:http://www.aerofiles.com/buzz-tails.html
[:I]That’s where I got the info the first time. Only says 'after WW II codes were issued." I’m trying to find out what those codes on the sides of WW II a/c were if not 'buzz codes.[oops]
Try this then
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/usafserials.html
Thanks again, but what were the codes on the WW II Allied fighters/bombers, if not ‘buzz’ codes?[banghead][banghead]
didfaI,
what you are thinking is the Group & Squadron codes on the planes in the European Theater, if you look at the US planes flown in the Pacific they didn’t have them, it was more closer to around 1946-7 time frame when the USAAF started to put Buzz Codes on the planes and if you noticed the Buzz Codes where only to the Type of Aircraft, look at all F-86’s the letters are all the same as with the F-80’s & F-84’s and so on but ( the Bombers really didn’t have Buzz Codes until after SAC & TAC combined back in 1992 to make ACC ), this changed during the Vietnam War when the unit where issued Buzz Codes to gain better intel on which plane hit which target at which time, now the AF has the Unit Call Codes
It’s like cuda says. All the a/c got them after the war. Whe you put that long decal on the side of your Air Force planes, it’s F for fighter, B for bomber, then a letter for the specific a/c, such as Mustang, Thunderjet or whatever. Last was the last 3 numbers of the serial. If you were low enough for someone to get that number, you were probably in trouble.
72cuda: Now you’ve peeked my interest: how come no squadron, etc. codes for Pacific a/c?[%-)]
Well the Codes where started by the 8th AF to differanciate which units planes in formation and position for the mission, in the Pacific the raids where not as elabrate as the European the raids consisted of maybe 20 to 30 planes compaired to Thousands, and most of the Pacific planes had numbers kind of like the Navy’s style of designation but it’s more likely to place which plane where on the ramps/revetments
Number systems (if you can call them that) varied in the Pacific. In my Dad’s group (318th FG) each squadron was different - the 333rd FS carried 2-digit numbers ahead of the fuselage insignia, the 19th FS carried a single letter, and the 73rd had numbers higher than the 333rd’s. In addition to the sqdn colors on the nose and tail, of course. I’ve seen pics of at least 3 different planes in the 19th with the same letter, which can be accounted for by replacements, I guess. However, after they got P-47Ns the 19th went to numbers too. Confusing, unless you were the group quartermaster :).
It was all just so they could tell each other apart in the sky during combat.