Creating a profile for a military aircraft

[red750]

Hi,

I have a number of photos of US military aircraft which were taken in the late 80's and early 90's. One example is an F-15 photographed at Elmendorf AFB in 1999. The tail carries a large AK, small AF over 04 and a medium 002. The only details on the back of the print are the location and date.

What is the correct format for entering this number in the C/N and Line No fields. I have seen some entererd as 04002 and some as 04-002.

[Malcolm Clarke]

Your image is of McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle, Reg 84-0002, cn 0910/C305.

The most complete and reliable reference site for US military aircraft is

http://www.joebaugher.com

and does not list any F-15 manufacture for 2004 (04).

Rather than explain the difference between the aircraft listing and the markings applied to the aircraft, may I suggest you have a look at Joe Baugher's introduction "USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers -1908 to Present , The Display of Serial Numbers on Aircraft", which explains in detail these differences. However, should you have any further queries, we are most happy to advise.

The image was taken at Elmendorf AFB (EDF / PAED), Anchorage, Alaska.

Malcolm.
Admin.

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

For this one, to be consistent with others, the correct military s/n would be 04-0002. Four digits after the FY is the minimum requirement. Tail numbers will not always show the full number, though.

[Malcolm Clarke]

Glenn.

Surely this is an F-15C, identified as 84-0002, and should be listed as others, 84-0001, 84-0003, etc, accordingly in the database.

Am I missing something?

Malcolm.

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

Malcolm,
You're most likely right. I didn't look anything up, rather I went with the data given in the comment, that it was "04" Obviously it must have been "84"

I guess my primary thought was about how many digits followed and didn't look at the photo.