Air Force Nomenclature

All USAAF Commandos use the aircraft designation system that the air force implemented in 1924. It is very similar to the current tri-service aircraft designation system used today by all US Armed Forces. Here is an explanation of the system, sufficient to understand how Commandos are designated:

Designation	Prefix	Mission	Model	Subtype	Block	Production Facility	Popular Name
ZC-46A-45-CU Commando	Z	C	46	A	45	CU	Commando

 

• Designation: this is a sample Commando designation.
• Prefix: an optional letter that indicates a slight variation or condition in the mission the aircraft was originally intended to fulfil. Commandos have received the following prefixes:
  • E - Exempt from modification orders (loaned to outside organizations)
  • T - Crew trainer
  • X - Experimental (prototype or development aircraft)
  • Z - Obsolete (limits maintenance and repairs)
• Mission: a letter that indicates the main mission the aircraft was designed to fulfil. All Commandos have the following mission:
  • C - Cargo transport
• Model: a number that indicates the model of aircraft, in sequential order for the mission. Thus, the C-46 was the 46^th cargo transport aircraft model to be ordered by the USAAC & USAAF since 1924 when the system was implemented. Some Commando variants were sufficiently different from the original design to justify the assignment of a new model number:
  • C-46 - basic model
  • C-55 - prototype, originally a civilian airliner
  • C-113 - turboprop engine testbed
• Subtype: a letter that indicates the subtype of the model. There has been 12 different Commando subtypes, some of them being converted from existing airframes, others not leaving the drawing board, and a few making it to mass production (for more details about each variant, see the dedicated section):
  • No letter - pre-production A subtype
  • A - basic subtype with strengthened cargo floor, large port cargo door and hydraulic winch
  • B - A subtype with a stepped windscreen and water injection
  • C - redesignated G subtype
  • D - dedicated paratrooper transport subtype with two port doors
  • E - converted D subtype with a large port cargo door and a stepped windscreen
  • F - cargo subtype with a cargo door on each side of the fuselage and square-cut wingtips
  • G - prototype for the stepped windscreen and square-cut wingtips
  • H - F subtype with more powerful engines and a twin tailwheel
  • J - updated E variant
  • K - F subtype converted with more powerful engines
  • L - A subtype converted with more powerful engines
• Block: a number that indicates the variant of a specific subtype. It is usually assigned in steps of five (1, 5, 10, 15, ...), with the gaps being intended to be used for post-production modifications.
• Production facility: two letters that indicate the manufacturer and the plant where the aircraft was produced. Commandos were produced in four different facilities:
  • CK - Curtiss, Louisville, KY
  • CS - Curtiss, Saint Louis, MO
  • CU - Curtiss, Buffalo, NY
  • HI - Higgins Industries, New Orleans, LA (under licence from Curtiss)

Each individual USAAF & USAF aircraft is identified by a unique serial number. The serial number system works as follows:

• The first two digits indicate the year the aircraft was ordered. This usually predates the delivery date by a couple years or so;
• The digits that follow indicate the number in sequence of the aircraft for that year.

For instance, Commando 42-96598 is the 96598^th aircraft to have been ordered by the USAAF in 1942.

The serial number is usually painted on the tail of the aircraft.

Even though the USAAF organization evolved several times during World War II, mainly due to expansion, the overall command structure remained the same. It was made up of Air Forces and Support Commands, two entities which were on the same chain of command echelon and reported directly to the Chief of Staff:

• Air Forces were numbered entities that were assigned a geographical region. As the war started, there were only four Air Forces, all assigned to the continental USA. By 1945, that number had grown to 16, disseminated thoughout the world. All but one of them (the 15^th Air Force) operated Commandos:
  • 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th Air Forces: pre-dated the war, assigned to the continental USA
  • 5^th Air Force: from Australia to the Philippines via the Dutch East Indies
  • 6^th Air Force: Caribbeans
  • 7^th Air Force: Hawaii
  • 8^th Air Force: England
  • 9^th Air Force: Middle East (1942), and later England (1943)
  • 10^th Air Force: India & Burma
  • 11^th Air Force: Alaska
  • 12^th Air Force: North Africa
  • 13^th Air Force: Southwest Pacific
  • 14^th Air Force: China
  • 20^th Air Force: dedicated to the strategic bombing of Japan from 1944

Below: the position of Air Forces operating Commandos outside of the continental USA in early 1943 (only the 20^th Air Force is not displayed).

• Support Commands were entities designed to support and supply the numbered air forces. Their number and names varied throughout the war between 5 and 9, but common missions for Support Commands were training, transport & supply, maintenance, anti-submarine, combat cargo, personnel distribution, etc. Those relevant here are the ones which operated Commandos, namely the:
  • Air Transport Command - dedicated to the ferrying of aircraft and the transport of personnel & supplies
  • I Troop Carrier Command - dedicated to training combat cargo crews
  • Air Materiel Command - dedicated to aircraft maintenance & disposal

Air Forces and Support Commands were further divided into sub-units. The following echelons in descending order existed during World War II, but not all were always applied:

• Operational command: existed only in numbered Air Forces, used to segregate units of a similar function (mainly fighter and bomber);
• Air division: an intermediate and seldom used echelon, adding another layer of command if required between the operational command and the wing;
• Wing: during and immediately after the war, a wing was a large entity composed of several groups that could be based over a large geographical area. These groups usually had the same function (fighter, bomber, troop carrier, etc). From 1948, the system changed and each wing was composed of a single aircraft group (usually having the same number as the wing), an air base group, a maintenance and supply group and a medical group;
• Group: an intermediate echelon between the wing and the squadron, usually containing 3 or 4 squadrons;
• Squadron: the basic unit containing a standard number of aircraft which varied with time and function from approximately 12 to 25.

Base designation in the air force varied through time:

• Bases opened in the old days by the US Army Air Services or Air Corps (until 1941) usually received the suffix "Field";
• Bases opened by the USAAF (1941-1947) usually received the suffix "AAF" (Army Air Field), but pre-existing bases kept their old "Field" suffix;
• Bases opened by the USAF (after 1947) usually received the suffix "AFB" (Air Force Base), and all pre-existing bases were given that suffix circa 1948.

Other, less used suffixes include:

• AAB - Army Air Base
• ARB - Air Reserve Base