U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft tail codes

Tail codes on the U.S. Navy aircraft are the markings that help to identify the aircraft's unit and/or base assignment. These codes comprise one or two letters or digits painted on both sides of the vertical stabilizer, on the top right and on the bottom left wings near the tip. Although located both on the vertical stabilizer and the wings from their inception in July 1945, these identification markings are commonly referred as tail codes. Tail codes are meant to identify units and assignments, not individual aircraft. For all aircraft of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps unique identification is provided by bureau numbers.

History The U.S. Navy introduced the identification system of tail and wing letter codes for its aircraft in July 1945. This system was intended to replace the set of geometrical symbols employed for the similar purpose since January 1945. When introduced, tail codes were only given to aircraft carriers. New directives issued in 1946 and in 1948 assigned tail codes to individual Navy and Marine Corps squadrons as well as for carrier air groups. And although the association between particular tail codes and units undergoes changes from time to time, the system as a whole is still in use to present day.

Basic principles

When introduced in June 1945, tail codes were assigned to individual aircraft carriers. Thus all aircraft based on a particular ship were supposed to carry the ship's code. As of August 1948, tail codes were no longer assigned to aircraft carriers but rather to carrier air groups, which in December 1963 were re-designated as carrier air wings. U.S. Navy carrier-based squadrons that deploy as whole units, like fighter and attack squadrons, use their parent carrier air wing tail codes; these types of squadrons are normally not issued individual tail codes. Other types of the Navy's carrier-based squadrons that normally send detachments to several carriers, like photo reconnaissance, early warning or electronic attack, have frequently received individual tail codes. When deployed, such squadrons usually adopted the tail code of the parent carrier air wing. However, in recent years the practice of assigning individual tail codes to any of the carrier-capable squadrons seems to have been discontinued. Land-based squadrons of the U.S. Navy – e.g., patrol, transport, observation and other support squadrons – are assigned individual tail codes. The same has been applicable in the past to Naval Air Stations. Each U.S. Marine Corps squadron, regardless of its mission, is assigned its own tail code. When a carrier-capable Marine squadron deploys on an aircraft carrier as a part of the U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing, it typically adopts the tail code of this Air Wing for the period of deployment. A circular letter issued by the CNO in November 1946 specified that code letters on USMC planes were to be underscored. The underscoring of codes was a short-lived practice abandoned by 1949. Throughout the history of tail codes there have been a number of duplicates where the same code was used at the same time by more than one unit. This happened frequently during the first post-war decade when the Navy made several revamps of its tail code assignments within a short time frame. Most typically, duplicates resulted when the same letter was assigned to a regular Air Group and to a reserve facility: for example, in the early 1950s the tail code "A" was valid both for Carrier Air Group 15 aircraft and for all Naval Air Reserve units home-based at NAS Anacostia. In certain cases Navy or Marine aircraft do not carry tail codes. This happened with aircraft wearing special or experimental camouflage paint, particularly during the Vietnam War deployments. Aircraft of Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) employed for VIP transport are another example. The U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps do not seem to have any specific procedure for removing a tail code from use. If a unit that owned a particular tail code is disestablished, the respective tail code becomes extinct. Later, this code may be assigned to a different unit, or it may remain unused.

List of navy and marine aircraft tail codes A Assigned to Assigned onNotes July 1945 8 January 1946, U.S. Navy Letter FF12-5 Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air Wing 1 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 CVG-19, Carrier Air Group 19 12 December 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 165-46 Navy Air Reserve units at NAS Anacostia November 1946 Code changed to "6A" in 1956. CVG-14, Carrier Air Group 14 July 1953 Code changed to "NK" in 1956. TW-1, Training Air Wing 1 August 1971 Comprise VT-7, VT-9.

AA Assigned to Assigned onNotesJuly 1945 8 January 1946, U.S. Navy Letter FF12-5 VMO-37 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46VP-MS-117 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Tail code changed to "MA" in August 1948. CVW-17, Carrier Air Wing 17 Activated in November 1966 Code changed to "NA" in 2012.

AB Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMO-6 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Tail code changed to "WB" in 1948. VP-HL-8 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 VMF-452 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48 Disestablished in December 1949. CVG-1, Carrier Air Group 1 Re-designated CVW-1, Carrier Air Wing 1 November 1956

AC Assigned to Assigned onNotesVP-ML-1 Re-designated VP-1November 1946 VMR-153 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48 CVG-3, Carrier Air Group 3 Re-designated CVW-3, Carrier Air Wing 3 1957

AD Assigned to Assigned onNotes HEDRON-1, Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air Group 1 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46VMR-253Circa 1946Tail code changed to "QD" in 1958. VMF-322 Re-designated VMA-322 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48 Disestablished in November 1949.RCVG-4 Replacement Carrier Air Group 4 Re-designated RCVW-4, Readiness Carrier Air Wing 4 April 1958 Disestablished in July 1970. AD tail code retained by VAW-120, VFA-106, VA-42, VA-43, VA-45, VA-174, VF-101, VS-27.

AE Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMF-115 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 CVW-6, Carrier Air Wing 6 December 1963 Disestablished in April 1993.

AF Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMF-211 Re-designated VMA-211 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46Fighter units of Navy Air Reserve at NAS AnacostiaNovember 1946A very short-lived assignment.CVG-6, Carrier Air Group 6 November 1956 Re-designated Carrier Air Wing 6 in 1963 and received a new tail code "AE". CVWR-20, Reserve Carrier Air Wing 20 April 1970 Renamed Tactical Support Wing (TSW) in April 2007. The "AF" tail code is retained by squadrons assigned to TSW.

AG Assigned to Assigned onNotes CVG-7, Carrier Air Group 7 Re-designated CVW-7, Carrier Air Wing 7 November 1956

AH Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMF-218 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Disestablished on 31 December 1949. CVG-16, Carrier Air Group 16 Re-designated CVW-16, Carrier Air Wing 16 September 1960 Disestablished.

AI Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMF(N)-533 Re-designated VMF-533 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46

AJ Assigned to Assigned onNotes CVG-8, Carrier Air Group 8 Re-designated CVW-8, Carrier Air Wing 8 November 1956

AK Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMA-121 29 July 1950, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 43-50 CVG-10, Carrier Air Group 10 November 1956 CVG-13, Carrier Air Group 13 August 1961 Inactivated in October 1962. CVW-13, Carrier Air Wing 13 March 1984 Inactivated in January 1991.

AL Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMA-251 29 July 1950, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 43-50 CVG-17, Carrier Air Group 17 Circa 1957 Disestablished in September 1958.

AM Assigned to Assigned onNotes VMF-451 Circa 1951 ATG-181, Air Task Group 181 November 1956 Inactivated in 1958. HSC-22 29 September 2006

AN Assigned to Assigned onNotes HATU, Heavy Attack Training Unit February 1953 ATG-182, Air Task Group 182 November 1956 Inactivated in 1959.

AP Assigned to Assigned onNotes ATG-201, Air Task Group 201 November 1956 Inactivated in 1958.

AQ Assigned to Assigned onNotes ATG-202, Air Task Group 202 November 1956 Inactivated in 1959.

AR Assigned to Assigned onNotes RCVG-50, Replacement Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 50 1960 Disestablished in June 1970. RCVG-50 tail code retained by HS-1 and VS-30. HS-1 June 1970 Disestablished in May 1997.VS-30 June 1970 Disestablished December 2005.

AS Assigned to Assigned onNotes CVGS-52, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 52 June 1960 Comprised squadrons VS-28, VS-31 and HS-11. Disestablished in December 1969.

AT Assigned to Assigned onNotesHEDRON-20, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 20December 1951 CVGS-54, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 54 1960 Comprised squadrons VS-22, VS-32 and HS-5. Disestablished in July 1972.

AU Assigned to Assigned onNotesHEDRON-13, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 13March 1951 CVGS-56, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 56 1960 Comprised squadrons VS-24, VS-27 and HS-3. Disestablished in June 1973.

AV Assigned to Assigned onNotes HEDRON-15, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 15 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48 CVGS-58, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 58 June 1960 Comprised squadrons VS-26, VS-36 and HS-7. Disestablished in March 1966.

AW Assigned to Assigned onNotes HEDRON-24, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 24 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48 CVGS-60, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 60 May 1960 Comprised squadrons VS-34, VS-39 and HS-9. Disestablished in October 1968. CVSR-70, Reserve Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 70 1970

AX Assigned to Assigned onNotesHEDRON-25, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 251952 CVGS-62, Carrier Antisubmarine Warfare Air Group 62 September 1961 Comprised squadrons VS-20, VS-42 and HS-13. Disestablished in 1962. VR-53 2004

AZ Assigned to Assigned onNotes HEDRON-1, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 1 4 August 1948, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 69-48

B Assigned to Assigned onNotes July 1945 8 January 1946, U.S. Navy Letter FF12-5 Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Wing 2 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 CVG-15, Carrier Air Group 15 12 December 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 165-46Navy Air Reserve units at NAS Atlanta November 1946The "C" code issued to this NAS was a controlled duplicate of the same code letter given to Carrier Air Group 15. Code changed to "7B" in 1956. CVG-19, Carrier Air Group 19 July 1953 Tail code changed to "NM" in November 1956. TW-2, Training Air Wing 2 Comprise VT-21, VT-22.

BA Assigned to Assigned onNotes 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 VO-1B 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 VP-MS-7 Re-designated VP-47 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Tail code changed to "RD" in 1957. HEDRON-11, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 11 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46Attack units of Navy Air Reserve at NAS Atlanta November 1946A very short-lived assignment.Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron Unknown This assignment is probably a purely bureaucratic one as no Blue Angels aircraft has ever carried tail codes.

BB Assigned to Assigned onNotes 8 January 1946, U.S. Navy Letter FF12-5 The USS Ranger was decommissioned on 18 October 1946. VO-2B 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 VP-HL-13 Re-designated VP-25 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Disestablished in January 1950. HEDRON-14, Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 14 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46

BC Assigned to Assigned onNotes VP-HL-3 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Disestablished in May 1947.VMF-122 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Tail code changed to "LC".VP-MS-3 Re-designayed VP-43August 1948Disestablished in March 1949. VMR-153 1957 Disestablished in 1959.

BD Assigned to Assigned onNotes VP-HL-5 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 Disestablished in May 1947.VMF-212 7 November 1946, U.S. Navy Letter ACL 156-46 VP-MS-6