Squadron code

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A squadron code is a marking used on a military aircraft to visually identify the squadron that it is assigned to.

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Squadron codes of the World War II era, notably for Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft operating in Europe, typically consisted of two characters (commonly two letters; sometimes a letter and a number) to denote the squadron, plus a third character to identify a specific aircraft and serve as its call sign. [1] [2] In general, when an aircraft was lost or withdrawn from use, its call sign was applied to its replacement or another aircraft. [3]

Spitfire - Season Premiere Airshow 2018 (cropped).jpg
A Supermarine Spitfire with squadron code ZD, designating No. 222 Squadron RAF [4]
Barksdale Global Power Museum September 2015 08 (Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress).jpg
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with squadron code PU, designating the 360th Bombardment Squadron of the 303rd Bombardment Group [2]
Consolidated B-24H Liberators of the 576th BS in flight over the English Channel, in 1944 (342-FH-3A15676-71048AC).jpg
A Consolidated B-24 Liberators with squadron code CI, designating the 576th Bombardment Squadron of the 392nd Bombardment Group [2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RAF Squadron Reference Section 1939-1945". air-war.org.uk. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "USAAF squadron codes". worldwarphotos.info. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  3. ↑ Lake, Alan (1999). Flying units of the RAF (1st ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. pp. 294–303. ISBN   1-84037-086-6.
  4. ↑ "RAF Squadron Reference Section 1939-1945 | z to Misc". air-war.org.uk. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
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