TAIL CODES FOR USAF PLANES

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Here is the Tail Codes for all USAF Bases and the planes flown from them at this web site
http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0102/tails.html

2

thanks for the link. much appreciated.

joe

3

Thanks for the link.

This one is also good:
http://www.globemaster.de/tailcodes.html

Mike

4

what does ‘AF’ stand for?

is it “Air Frame” or “Air Force”?

I know how to read them, but can someone help. In the Navy BuNo stands for Bureau Number. Does the Navy/USMC use BuNo only and the Army/USAF only use this AF tag? I only see this AF tag only some USAF a/c like F-16s? Is there any difference btw BuNo & AF?

When I write down Navy plane titles in this notation (eg Grumman F-14A-100-GR BuNo. 160656/NL-200 of Pilot & Co-Pilot Unknown, CAG, VF-111 ‘Sundowers’, CVW-15, USS Carl Vinson CVN-70, 31 March 1985) I use BuNo. But when I write or see Army/USAF plane title notations (eg North American P-51D-15 Serial No.44-14906/PE/‘Cripes A’Mighty’ of Maj. George Preddy) they don’t use AF or BuNo. Am I concerning myself over something minor that is the same?

5

Hey Luke
well the tail codes are for the USAF’s and this style was created back during the Vietnam War but had been slightly changed after 1974, during the Vietnam war all the tail codes where for the squadrons flying in the AOR, and after the war TAC decided to use it for base designations, if you look for Nellis AFB you’d think they’d use NA but that was used for the 474TFW and it was stationed at Nellis but was Inactivated back in 1988 and the 57 FWW stationed there would change from WA to NA but that never came to be as of yet, but the point is that the USAF is trying to give the tail codes to the bases or states they fly from, like the ANG birds tail code are mostly from the state codes like Colorado ANG’s tail codes are CO, and the USAF Reserve unit flying from Colorado tail code is CR, and for your question for AF is for USAF and the numbers under the AF is the year of funding for the airframe run and the tail numbers are the sequence of production of that run, if you look at the F-16A’s 78-001 was #6 produced but #1 for USAF’s inventory the first 5 where FSD ( full scale development ) planes for General Dynamics so they could find flaws during production phase to help manufacture the plane faster