Original Documents
During my research on U.S. military aviation nomenclature I have acquired copies of a number of historical military documents relevant to the subject. I have scanned a subset of these into PDF files, and provide them here for download. While the sources of the documents vary (the U.S. military services, national and private archives, private individuals), all of them are unclassified U.S. government files and therefore in the public domain.
The files are provided "as is", and no assumptions about their accuracy should be made. While such "official" documents often have more relevance than second-hand sources, they are not free of errors.
Model Designation of Army Aircraft, 11th ed., January 1945
Page 1 – 21Page 22 – 42
Page 43 – 64
Model Designations of Army Aircraft, 12th ed., 1 June 1946
Page 1 – 25Page 26 – 50 (w/o p.32)
Page 51 – 75
Page 76 – 97
Page 32
Supplement No. 1, December 1947
Model Designation of Naval Aircraft, October 1947
Page 1 – 28Model Designation of Naval Aircraft, April 1950
Model Designation of Naval Aircraft Classified as Confidential, October 1950
Page 1 – 25 & Page 1 – 5Model Designation of Naval Aircraft, 17 May 1961 (+ supplements through September 1962)
Page 1 – 6 & Encl.(1), Page 1 – 20Encl.(1), Page 21 – 33 & Supplements 1 – 2
Supplements 3 – 12
Supplements 13 – 18 & 1962 Redesignation Table
Designating, Redesignating and Naming Military Aircraft, 18 September 1962
Page 1 – 19Model Designation of Military Aircraft, 15 February 1963
Page I – VI, 1 – 19Page 20 – 47
(Part of) Model Designation of Military Aircraft, Rockets and Guided Missiles, September 1963
Page I – V (rocket and missile designation system)Model Designation of Military Aircraft, Rockets and Guided Missiles, 15 April 1974
Page 1-1 – 2-2, A-1 – A-20Page A-21 – A-40
Page A-41 – A-60
Page A-61 – A-77
Page A-78
Page A-79 – A-88
Designating and Naming Defense Military Aerospace Vehicles
AFJI 16-401, 1 September 1997AFI 16-401(I), 14 April 2005
AFI 16-401, 16 May 2014
AFI 16-401, 3 November 2020
Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles (DOD 4120.15-L)
October 1998May 2004
Index of AF Serial Numbers Assigned to Aircraft 1958 and Prior, Part 1: Numerical Listing
Page 1 – 40Page 41 – 80
Page 81 – 120
Page 121 – 134
USAF/DOD Designation Allocation Records & Nomenclature Forms
(Nomenclature forms used by USAF and DOD from post-WW2 to early 2000s)
Allocation Records: Q-6, Q-7, Q-8, Q-9, Q-11Allocation Records: H-36, H-38, H-44, H-45
Allocation Records: F-109
Nomenclature Forms: B-61 to B-70, C-137 to C-143, F-100 to F-111
Nomenclature Forms: H-1 to H-6, U-1 to U-16
Report No. CD-356, Supplement No. 1, 15 May 1951
(CD-356 was Air Material Command's project listing (MX etc.))
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Last Updated: 9 December 2023