You'll have to specify for what time period (years). This actually addedmore two-letter codes on a larger variety of types than existed 1972-1992, as prior to 1992most if not all SAC (bombers and tankers),MAC (airlifters), trainers, and ANG types wore unit markings but not tailcodes as such. This "logical except where it's not" system has to some degree been true even as tailcodes have shuffled units/bases, been deleted, and in some cases been newly created as TAC, SAC, and MAC gave way to ACC and AMC. HO F-4D USAF 8 TFSq, 49 TFWg Takhli TDY from Holloman May thru Oct 72 However, sometimes when sliced open, white rings can appear in the flesh, a disorder known as "internal white tissue." The "wrap-arounds" subsequently morphed to various shades of gray with some aircraft continuing to this day with black tail-codes and others with contrasting gray tail-codes. I thought I had done pretty good, but clearly missing a bunch. Took the words out of my mouth! . A tail code is not the same as the Air Force Serial Number, Navy Bureau Number, aircraft registration number, or Buzz Number. The 32 TFS maintained the CR tail code after AFM66-1. Current and superannuated USAF tail codes indicate the Wing or Group, generally chosen to signify their base, but parts of a Wing discretely based often adopted their own tail codes. CK A-37A/B USAF 604 SOS, 3 TFW Bien Hoa Combat Dragon FACT SHEET - KORAT ROYAL THAI AIRBASE. Later, two of the squadrons were replaced by two F-4E CONUS squadrons, with the remaining F-4D squadron redesignated the 391st TFS . TA A-26A USAF 609 ACS, 56 Acwg NKP Nimrod Certainly at Wildenrath in late 80's a similar story was around 60Sqn never beingallowed back to the UK after abandoning Groundcrew out in the Far East in WW II. Phan Rang Air Base - History - USAF Use During The Vietnam War - 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. Seems they had to reteat/ abandon their airfield near Pyonyang, but else? (AFRES), WC-130H, C-130E, LA, 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB, La. }, Page last modified: (AFSPC), UH-1N, FF , 1st FW, Langley AFB, Va. (ACC), C-21A, F-15C/D, UH-1N, FL, 125th FG, Jacksonville, Fla. (ANG), F-16A/B, FL, 939th RW, Patrick AFB, Fla. (AFRES), HC-130N/P, HH-60G, FM, 482nd FW, Homestead ARB, Fla. (AFRES),, F-16A/B, FS , 188th FG, Fort Smith, Ark. The base/wing historian should be a good source to answer your question about F-4C/D in Alaska. UP F-4D USAF 35 TFSq, 31 TFWg Korat TDY from Kunsan Oct 72 E-Mail:18wg.ho@us.af.mil, An official website of the United States government. Tail code of the USAF 1st Fighter Wing displayed on an F-15 Eagle.. Tail codes are the markings usually on the vertical stabilizer of U.S. military aircraft that help to identify the aircraft's unit and/or base assignment and occasionally other information that is not unique. Schiffer Military Aviation History. To add some more info. Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. HO F-4D USAF 417 TFS, 49 TFW Korat TDY from Holloman '72 A look at the history of the F-100D "Super Sabre" aircraft's service in Vietnam, and the important role it played during the Tet Offensive. It's a fantastic book ! TFW 's F - 111E's were first coded their tail codes were JR. JS and JT ! Will update the list below with your further posts. FY F-4C/D USAF 555 TFSq, 8 TFWg Ubon Tail Code -United States Air Force - Distinctive Unit Aircraft Identification Markings, there was also a USN/USMC book - Hook Code. Air Education and Training Command History and Office, Air Force Space Command History and Heritage, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. CF A-37B USAF 8 AS, 3 TFW Bien Hoa HE F-100D/F USAF 416 TFS, 37 TFW Phu Cat 1964 - 65 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron (31 December 1971 - 15 September 1972) (C-130, C-118) (Tail Code: QW) During the Vietnam War, the wing provided air defense training for Royal Thai Air Force personnel, from Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand from November 1961 - February 1966. WM C-123B/K USAF 310 ACS, 315 ACWg Tan Son Nhut Just brining to the top of the list again in case anyone has any helpfull updates. The base is the home of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing which. There is an F-4C/D in the airpower park on . Presumably only includes aircraft involved in Projects Enhance and Enhance Plus . Maj. Clarke made a number of passes through low cloud to locate the downed F-105 Wild Weasel crew through heavy AA fire and directed a HH-53 to do a . Two large letters identify the unit (wing/group/organization) that the aircraft is assigned to, or the home base of the unit. GA: 35TFW, George AFB ("GA" is the traditional abbreviation for Georgia, but George AFB is in California, on the opposite side of the country! For example, the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB uses "WM" while the 442nd Fighter Wing of the Air Force Reserve at the same base uses "KC.". is equipped with F-4E, F-105, RB-66 and C-130 aircraft. Air Mobility Command planes had no tail codes. Louis E. Azzarelli. CE F-100D/F USAF 510 TFSq, 3 TFWg Bien Hoa 1964 - 69 One thing to noteis that unless there's been a new edition produced, the book only covers up to 1991 so the massive reorganization of the USAF post-Desert Storm isn't covered. I don't own the Tail Code book myself, but browsed it on the shelves of a LHS (sadly now defunct) on more than one occasion and just never had the budget for it. (ANG/ACC), C-130E, MI, 127th FW, Selfridge ANGB, Mich. (ANG/ACC), F-16C/D, MJ, 35th FW, Misawa AB, Japan (PACAF), F-16C/D, MK, 440th AW, General Mitchell IAP/ARS, Wis. (AFRES), C-130H, MM, 341st MW, Malmstrom AFB, Mont. Powered by Invision Community. Making a MiG-Killer Technology and Signals Intelligence for Air-To-Air Combat in Vietnam - From Balloons to Drones. XD F-4C USAF 558 TFSq, 12 TFWg Cam Ranh Bay Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a . LT COL Larry Whitford. The FF code is also used by the co-located, the two-letter state/territorial USPS mailing abbreviation, Full List of U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft Tail Codes, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tail_code&oldid=1028602891, Tail Code - The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings by Patrick Martin, Published 1994, Hook Code - United States Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Tail Code Markings 1963-1994 by Patrick Martin, Published 1994, This page was last edited on 14 June 2021, at 23:20. Reserve units in cases where the Wing operated from more than one base used the old system. The tail code on all the F-4's was FC (we said it stood for F **king C old). ED F-4E USAF 58 TFSq, 33 TFWg Udorn TDY from Elgin Apr thru Oct 72 px Not only have those symbols stood to represent a unit, they have served as markings that give each unit member a sense of belonging and pride. The two-letter codes prominently displayed on the tails of U.S. Air Force aircraft today represent the owning wing. A total of 52 new antennas, associated with the APR-38 radar homing and warning system, were added to the F-4G. . Air Force, Pacific Fleet, on 2 June 1945, prescribed a series of recognition symbols for CVEs. JC EC-130E USAF 7 ACCS, 388 TFW Korat 1971 - 74 is to conduct operations in support of U.S. commitments in Southeast. There have been cases of pilots cramming more than one person in a single seat fighters, but it's not something always feasible. Air National Guard units often use the two-letter state abbreviation (AK, CO, NM, VA, etc) as part of the identification on the tail of an aircraft. Prior to 1992 the 23rd was based at England AFB, Louisiana (EL code), where they flew A-7Ds before the current A-10s. BEWARE! http://www.globemaster.de/html/a_f__tail_codes.html. Expeditionary and provisional units are not listed. I've often wondered actually. The 18th Wing would have received "KA" for Kadena during this renaming, but the abbreviation was already in use by the 457th Tactical Airlift Wing in Vietnam. else USAF tail codes are markings usually consisting of letters or numbers applied to the tails of US military aircraft. 2 Test a/c AA - AZ F-4C/D USAF 389 TFSq. The 18th waited until 1975 to receive their new tail codes. CR Tail Code: USAF 32 TFS Military Airplane Pictures. Aircraft of Marine Helicopter Squadron One . The primary mission of USAF units at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. +++ DISCLAIMER +++ Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. Tail Codes are markings usually on the vertical stabilizer of U.S. military aircraft that help to identify the aircraft's unit and/or base assignment and other information. LC F-4E USAF 421 TFSq, 366 TFWg Da Nang Air Force Reserve tactical units adopted the TAC standard pre AFM661 tail code method: Tail codes maintained through a sometimes very complex changing command structure involving Groups and wings. XC F-4C USAF 391 TFSq, 12 TFWg Cam Ranh Bay This happened with aircraft wearing special or experimental camouflage paint, particularly during the Vietnam War deployments. CG A-37B USAF 90 AS, 3 TFW Bien Hoa From: Skytamer Images. USAFline, an aftermarket company based in the United Kingdom, recently added two decal sheets with "Distinctive Unit Aircraft Markings," in 1/72 scale, 24-inch, black and . I would not call it "occasional" reference though, personally it is one of those books I end up checking quite often. ISBN -7864-0084-6. Code Aircraft Unit Location Command; AC: General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon: 177th FW: Atlantic City, NJ: ANG/ACC: General Dynamics F-16D Fighting Falcon: AF: Various: 34 OG: USAF Academy, CO: ANG/ACC: AK: McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle: 3rd Wing: Elmendorf AFB, AK: PACAF: McDonnell . [2][3], All aircraft assigned to a unit, or in the case of ANG units, the entire state, use a common code. But it's an interesting (and mostly forgotten) bit of legend. It could include the mascot of the squadron, or some other representative symbol. The 48 TFW started with the LK tail code, before switching to LN during F-4D conversion. EO C-47 USAF 5 SOS, 14 SOW Phu Cat 1966 - 71, Physops Another odd example was the A-1 Skyraiders acquired from the Navy for use in Vietnam--they had USAF serial numbers constructed by taking the plane's Navy serial number (Bureau Number) and prefixing in front of it the fiscal year number in which the plane was ordered by the Navy. The design should not have too many details. RM F-105D USAF 354 TFSq, 355 TFWg Takhli U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, 04-079, with Tail Code TY (Tyndall AfB, Florida) Tail markings on USAF F-35 Lightning II, 11-5030, with Tail Code LF (Luke AFB, Arizona) F-16C S/N 84-1258 Tail Code AZ: FB-111A Aardvark 68-0249 380 BMW: A-10 82-659 Tail Code DM: C-130 Hercules 09-707 Tail Code FT: Since 1993, the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard (ANG), except Air Mobility Command (AMC) aircraft, utilize this format in all tail codes: two large letters, followed by two digits printed in a smaller text size, followed by three more digits printed in a larger text size. After the 35th TFW disbanded [number reassigned to the former 432TFW - see WW below] the code has been used intermittently by the Georgia ANG, F-15As at Dobbins AFB and E-8Cs at Robins AFB). LA F-4E USAF 4 TFSq, 366 TFWg Da Nang The Air Force Historical study: Air Force Units in South Vietnam, 1965-1973, was compiled by Colonel John Schlight, Office of Air Force History, 1980. All CVEGs, MCVGs and VCs assigned to ships of the Escort Carrier Force, Pacific, were to carry these designs. EL AC-47D USAF 3 SOS, 14 SOWg Pleiku Spooky If you've enjoyed this thread I'm sure you'd find the book interesting. So actually only the first letter really seems to be significant somehow. In most cases, the first digit represents the last digit of the fiscal year, and the remaining digits identify the four-digit sequence number. 54-0709-Star of Con Air. // -->. As the previous posters have alluded, it's somewhat misleading to say the second letters in the wing codes"stand for" anything specific, although generally the codes adopted show some degree of logic in that most use letters common to the assigned base name, or in a few rare cases have some other historic significance. For example, let's assume this is the 56th Fighter Group, and the 61st Fighter Squadron. Reply to this topic; Start new topic; Recommended Posts. The design should not have too many details. The LK is from Little Rock AFB, Arkansa. . See my link above for the factual story of how the "ZZ" code was assigned. AC - 177 Ftr Wing, Atlantic City Intl AP, NJ AD - - Eglin AFB, FL AF - - USAF Academy, CO 458th: 550-599. Al Brashear's C-123 Experience in SOG. Those who left us after Tuy Hoa: Salvatre"Sam"Abate. In January 1973 several inter wing changes occurred including the 26 TRW and 86 TFW switched bases and tail codes RS and ZR. List of Frequently Seen U.S. Air Force Tail Codes, Tail Code "DM" (Davis-Monthan AFB) on a Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II, In some instances, the letters indicate an historic legacy; for example, tail code "FF" has been used to indicate "1st Fighter Wing". Search and rescue helicopters and light transport aircraft assigned to naval air stations or naval air facilities use a code consisting of a number (seven or eight), followed by a letter unique to each air station/facility. The large digits are the last three digits of the aircraft's serial number. SC F-4E USAF 336 TFSq, 4 TFWg Ubon TDY from Seymore-Johnson Apr 73 thru Sep 73 At some point they just went with one code per base, and maybe they just picked one they already had and was found the most fitting. Since 1993, all Air Force units, including Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, utilize this system. (ANG/ACC), C-130H, RA, 12th FTW, Randolph AFB, Texas (AETC), C-21A, T-1A, T-3A, T-37B, T-38A, AT-38B, T-43A, RG , Warner Robins ALC, Robins AFB, Ga. (AFMC), C-130E/H, RI, 143rd AG, Quonset State Airport, R.I. (ANG/ACC), C-130E, RS, 86th AW, Ramstein AB, Germany (USAFE), T-43, C-9, C-20, C-21, C-130E, SA, 149th FG, Kelly AFB, Texas (ANG/ACC), F-16A/B, SC , 169th FG, McEntire ANGS, S.C. (ANG/ACC), F-16C/D, SD, 114th FG, Sioux Falls, S.D. (ACC), T-37B, EC-135C/E/J, C-135A/B, OC-135B, WC-135B, E-4B,C-21A, TC-135S/W, RC-135S/U/V/W/X, OH, 178th FG, Springfield, Ohio (ANG/ACC), F-16C/D, OH , 180th FG, Toledo, Ohio (ANG/ACC), F-16C/D, OK, 138th FG, Tulsa, Okla. (ANG/ACC), F-16C/D, OK, 552nd ACW, Tinker AFB, Okla. (ACC), T-37, EC-135K, E-3B/C, OR, 142nd FG, Portland, Ore. (ANG/ACC), F-15A/B, OS, 51st FW, Osan AB, South Korea (PACAF), F-16C/D, A/OA-10A, C-12F, OT, USAFAWC, Eglin AFB, Fla. (ACC), F-15A/B/C/D/E, F-16A/C/D, EF-111A, F-111F, OT, 79th TEG, Eglin AFB, Fla. (AFMC), F-15A/B/C/D/E, F-16A/B/C/D, PA, 111th FG, Willow Grove, Pa. (ANG/ACC), A/OA-10A, PA, 193rd SOG, Harrisburg, Pa. (ANG/AFSOC), EC-130E, PD, 939th RW, Portland IAP, Ore. (AFRES), HC-130P, HH-60G, PF, 302nd AW, Peterson AFB, Colo. (AFRES), C-130E/H, PI, 911th AW, Pittsburgh IAP/ARS, Pa. (AFRES), C-130H, PR, 156th FG, San Juan, Puerto Rico (ANG/ACC), F-16A/B, PX, 139th AG, St. Joseph, Mo. Trw and 86 TFW switched bases and tail codes, were added to the F-4G, WC-130H,,... Mig-Killer Technology and Signals Intelligence for Air-To-Air usaf tail codes vietnam in Vietnam - From Balloons to Drones left after. Disclaimer +++ Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story be... - From Balloons to Drones F-4C USAF 558 TFSq, 12 TFWg Cam Ranh Bay Elon Musk: Tesla SpaceX. January 1973 several inter Wing changes occurred including the 26 TRW and 86 TFW switched and. Of how the `` ZZ '' code was assigned for CVEs to topic... 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