RCAF 5 digits
Canadian Military Aircraft
Serial Numbers
RCAF 10000 and up
Mid WW II to the end of the RCAF
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After the RCAF reached the end
of the 4 digit serial numbers,
large scale
procurement continued, to support the BCATP and the home defense
squadrons. Five digit serial numbers were introduced, starting
with Bolingbroke Mk. IVT 10000, taken on strength on 19 October
1942.
The highest World War II
serial was Cornell 16650. This was part of a huge block that was
mostly canceled at
the war’s end, before being built.
When World War 2 ended, the
RCAF reduced considerably in size, but
continued to be well organized and reasonably well funded. Procurement
was soon switched from the historical preference for UK
aircraft, to a preference for North American aircraft. This
resulted
directly from the early World War 2 problems with trans-Atlantic supply
in a war time situation. The use of 5 digit serial numbers
continued,
from where war time procurement left off. As with the 4 digit
series,
there were a few unused war time blocks below 16650 that would be used
post war. In the table below, these postwar acquisitions are
shown in italics. This included blocks for the CF-116 and CH-118,
that
were re-assigned Canadian Armed Forces
serials before the aircraft flew.
The Royal Canadian Navy air
arm, started in the closing days of the war with ex Fleet Air Arm
aircraft, used a mix of
second-hand US and UK aircraft in the early postwar period. These
aircraft were operated with their
original US or UK serials, but began to receive
unique RCN pennant numbers
shortly after the
war. Later, aircraft built new to RCN order would receive unique
RCN serial numbers. The RCN also received several ex-RCAF
training aircraft, starting with Tiger Moths and Ansons, and later
Harvards, Expeditors, and T-Birds. These retained their 4
and 5 digit RCAF serial numbers, and what information I have on these
aircraft is/will be included in the RCAF detailed lists .
Some of the overseas RCAF
aircraft returned to Canada, notably Canadian
built Lancasters and a few Dakotas, and continued to carry their RAF
serial numbers in postwar RCAF service. Relatively small
quantities of
second hand US and UK
operational aircraft were acquired, to start an Auxiliary Air
Force.
All these new aircraft received RCAF serial numbers. A
small Canadian Army air operation, relying on Air Force
procurement and carrying RCAF serial numbers, was started in
1947. The
BCATP aircraft were disposed of
or scrapped in large numbers, although a few continued in use and in
storage. Some wartime Lancasters, Dakotas, Norsemen and Cansos
were
converted for photo survey and survey support. This allowed the
RCAF to
finally finish the only civil assignment left it when it split from the
Air Board in 1927: a complete photo
survey
of Canada. This huge task, started with Avro 504s in 1920, was
finally finished in
1958. Most of the post war photography was done by Canadian built
Lancasters,
still carrying RAF serial numbers.
The start of the Korean War,
the Cold War, and Canada’s commitment to
NATO led to increasing procurement in the early 1950s. The new
aircraft
came
mostly from Canadian and American factories, and UK procurement was
minimal. RCAF squadrons returned to Europe, this time with
NATO and displaying RCAF serial numbers. By the late 1950s the
RCAF
would be operating
around the world in support of UN operations. These aircraft
usually,
but not always, continued to display their RCAF serial numbers.
The Canadian Armed Forces continues this
type of operation to the
present day. Canadian production of aircraft for NATO partners
began,
and some of
these aircraft were assigned RCAF serial numbers for book keeping, or
for testing in Canada. They were finally delivered with the
serial
numbers of the end customer.
The RCAF continued to use serial
number blocks
assigned by aircraft type after the war ended. Each aircraft type
was its own
block, with all
aircraft of the type being issued consecutive serial numbers,
even when procurement was spread over several years. For example,
the
CF-100 was assigned serials from 18101 to 18792, without gaps.
These were built from
1950 to 1958, and other aircraft procured in those years were numbered
in other blocks. Gaps were left
between subsequent blocks, to allow for future procurement. As a
result, the RCAF 5
digit numbers reached 26,190 by integration
in February 1968, but there were less RCAF numbered aircraft in total
than suggested by this high number. (My
database
currently contains 17,900+ RCAF serial numbers, not counting numbers
re-used in the post war period, although it is not complete.)
This use of blocks resulted in
some earlier 4 and 5 digit serials being
re-used. The original aircraft had all been sold or scrapped, so there
was no resulting confusion within the RCAF at that time. Also, a few
VIP transports acquired in the early 1960s were first issued previously
used 5 digit serials, before being renumbered in the new block system.
To minimize my
confusion today, I have recorded these numbers in separate lists of postwar RCAF serials.
The table below will connect you
to two types of listings of these
aircraft. The “Brief lists” present a minimum amount of information
about as many aircraft as I can fit on a reasonably sized page.
Use these lists to
identify individual aircraft, or to quickly scan a large range of
serials. The “Detailed lists” contain all the information currently in
my database, and are broken into many more pages to keep the data
manageable.
Brief
lists
Detailed
lists
Typical
Aircraft
World
War II procurement (mostly)
10000
to 16650
4,658 records
updated 31 October 2004
10000
to 10049
50 records
updated 21 February 2007
10050
to 10099
50 records
updated 20 March 2007
10100
to 10149
50 records
updated 24 May 2007
10150 to
10199
50 records
updated 24 August 2007
Bolingbroke
10200
to 10257
57 records
updated 23 November 2007
10261
to 10287
27 records
updated 9 April 2011
Bolingbroke
and Anson, Hiller
10301
to 10328, plus 10401 to 10418
46 records
updated 30 June 2006
Hercules, Labrador, Voyaguer
10497
to 10549
53 records
updated 23 February 2008
10550
to 10599
50 records
updated 29 February 2008
10600
to 10649
50 records
updated 10 April 2008
10650 to
10699
50 records
updated 9 July 2008
Anson,
Cornell
10700
to 10749
50 records
updated 14 December 2008
10750
to 10799
50 records
updated 21 December 2008
10800
to 10849
50 records
updated 19 February 2009
10850 to
10907
58 records
updated 5 March 2009
Cornell
10910
to 10918
9 records
updated 23 December 2006
11001
to 11050
50 records
updated 5 November 2006
11051 to
11100
50 records
updated 29 November 2006
Dakota, Canso
11101
to 111135, plus 11151 to 11163
37 records
updated 12 April 2009
11181
to 11249
68 records
updated 12 April 2009
11250 to
11300
51 records
updated 18 December 2009
Liberator
plus Cosmopolitan, Anson
11301
to 11350
50 records
updated 31 December 2009
11351
to 11400
50 records
updated 6 June 2010
11401
to 11450
50 records
updated 12 September 2010
11451 to
11500
50 records
updated 14 February 2011
Anson
Mk. II
11501
to
11550
50 records
updated 15 May 2011
11551
to 11600
50 records
updated 16 July 2011
11601
to 11650
50 records
updated 20 January 2012
11651 to
11700
50 records
updated 24 February 2012
Anson
Mk. II, V
11701
to
11750
50 records
updated 3 July 2012
11751
to 11800
11801
to 11850
11851 to 11900
Anson
Mk. V
11901
to
11950
11951
to 12000
12001
to 12050
12051 to 12100
Anson
12101
to 12150
12151
to 12200
12201
to 12250
12251 to 12300
Anson
12301
to 12350
12351
to 12400
12401
to 12450
12451 to 12500
Anson
12501
to 12550
12551
to 12600
12601
to 12628
12631 to 12676
46 records
updated 14 September 2010
Anson,
two seat Starfighters
12700
to 12750
51 records
updated 24 March 2012
12751
to 12800
50 records
updated 8 July 2012
12801
to 12850
50 records
updated 11 November 2012
12851 to
12900
50 records
updated 13 April 2013
single seat Starfighters
13231, 13881, 14001 to 14010, 14381 to
14399
14400
to 14450
14451 to 14500
Anson
plus Iroquois plus Cornell,
Cornell
14501
to 14550
14551
to 14600
14601
to 14670
14675 to 14695
Cornell,
Silver Star
14701 to 14745
14746 to 14789
14801 to 14846
two seaters
CF-5 (all renumbered before
flight, these links will take you to the CAF serial numbers)
14995,
plus15001
to 15065
15066
to 15140
(not taken on strength by RCAF)
15141
to 15165
15166 to 15190
(not taken on strength by RCAF)
Dakota
plus Cornells (see notes below about cancelled Cornells, and
Cornells with RCAF style serial numbers but not taken on RCAF strength)
15191
to 15215, plus 15241 to 15265
15291
to 15315, plus 15341 to 15365
16601 to 16650
Cornells
that were taken on strength by the RCAF
15216 to 15240, 15266 to 15290, 15316
to 15340, 15366 to 16600
Cornells
believed to have been transferred to Rhodesian Air Training Group, or
cancelled before completion, without ever being on RCAF books
Post-war procurement
16651
to end
3,861 records
updated 20 July 2004
16651
to 16692
42records
updated 30 September 2006
16701
to 16735
35 records
updated 12 February 2008
Auster,
L-19 plus L-182 / L-19L
17001
to 17087
86 records
updated 19 March 2006
17391
to 17483
66 records
updated 28 May 2007
17501 to 17525
25 records
updated 2 September 2007
Vampire,
Voodoo, North
Star
18001
to 18079
79 records
updated 27 January 2006
18101 to 18150
50 records
updated 31 August 2005
18151 to 18200
50 records
updated 31 August 2005
18201 to
18250
50 records
updated 4 September 2005
Chipmunk,
Canuck
18251 to 18300
50 records
updated 4 September 2005
18301 to 18350
50 records
updated 10 September 2005
18351 to 18400
50 records
updated 10 September 2005
18401 to
18450
50 records
updated 23 September 2005
Canuck
18451 to 18500
50 records
updated 23 September 2005
18501 to 18550
50 records
updated 30 September 2005
18551 to 18600
50 records
updated 30 September 2005
18601 to
18650
50 records
updated 20 October 2005
Canuck
18651 to 18700
50 records
updated 4 November 2005
18701 to 18750
50 records
updated 4 November 2005
18751
to 18792
42 records
updated 4 November 2005
Canuck
19101
to 19150
50 records
updated 16 July 2009
19151
to 19200
50 records
updated 19 July 2009
19201
to 19250
50 records
updated 6 January 2010
19251 to
19300
50 records
updated 15 June 2010
Sabre
1, 2 and 3
19301
to 19350
50 records
updated 18 September 2010
19351
to 19400
50 records
updated 26 September 2010
19401
to 19450
50 records
updated 6 August 2011
19451 to
19500
50 records
updated 30 March 2012
Sabre
2 and 4
19501
to 19550
50 records
updated 25 April 2013
19551
to 19600
50 records
updated 2 August 2013
19601
to 19650
50 records
updated 5 November 2013
19651 to 19700
Sabre
4
19701
to 19750
19751
to 19800
19801
to 19850
19851 to 19890,
20100 to 20109
Sabre
4, Radioplane OQ-19A
20200
to 20249
20250
to 20299
20300
to 20349
20350 to 20399
Harvard
20400
to 20449
20450
to 20479
20501
to 20507
20710 to
20742
33 records
updated 7 July 2010
Harvard,
Falcon, Argus
21001
to 21050
21051
to 21100
21101
to 21150
21151 to 21200
Silver
Star
21201
to 21250
21251
to 21300
21301
to 21350
21351 to 21400
Silver
Star
21401
to 21450
21451
to 21500
21501
to 21550
21551 to 21600
Silver
Star
21601
to 21656
22101
to 22135
23001
to 23050
23051 to 23100
Silver
Star, Flying Boxcar, Sabre 5
23101
to 23150
23151
to 23200
23201
to 23250
23251 to 23300
Sabre
5
23301
to 23350
23351
to 23400
23401
to 23450
23451 to 23500
Sabre
5 and 6
23501
to 23550
23551
to 23600
23601
to 23650
23651 to 23700
Sabre
6
23701
to 23760
24101
to 24125
24201
to 24225
25201 to 25237
Sabre
6, Neptune,
Mentor, Arrow
26001
to 26050
26051
to 26100
26101
to 26150
26151 to 26190
Tutor
This data has come
from a variety of sources, and may contain all sorts of errors. In the
future, I will add a complete list of references. For now, some recent
Internet references can be found at the links below. I would
welcome any corrections or additions you may have. Contact me using the
link below.
To
main page
to
top of this page
contact me
Canadian
Military Aircraft
links
Serial
Number
Links
About
the Author
The
Project
© 2004-2013 by R. W. R.
Walker
All
rights
reserved under the copyright laws.
This is an amateur site – please don’t rely on any of this data for
anything important!
Created 27 April 2004. Updated 5 November 2013.