RAF Registrations
Discussion
silverfoxcc said:
I noticed the other day that this is getting towards to end as ZZ xxx are flying around
When it gets to ZZ 999 what would be the next set?
There are plenty of gaps in the number blocks that have never been allocated, so they will use these up first, so it will be some time yet before they need to decide what to do.When it gets to ZZ 999 what would be the next set?
For example, the new recently delivered Poseidon P-8's to the RAF, and pretty much the newest aircraft in the RAF inventory have the serial ZP801, ZP802, ZP803 etc.
silverfoxcc said:
I noticed the other day that this is getting towards to end as ZZ xxx are flying around
When it gets to ZZ 999 what would be the next set?
allowing for odd letters they might not use (O, I etc) thats over 500,000 aircraft. How many have the RAF actually had over the years?When it gets to ZZ 999 what would be the next set?
I doubt if they'll have many more.
Anyway just reverse them. 123 AA etc. Or add a suffix letter for the year of build.
sherman said:
Would you not just go to AA or AAA
The RAF (and Royal Navy) have been using the current "Two Letters - Three Numbers" format since about 1942. The serials used to be allocated fairly logically up until the 1990s when they started allocating blocks out of sequence.The First in this series would have been AA100. Once they got to AA999 they would have switched to AB100. So many aircraft were built in World War 2 that by the time the war ended, they were up to the VP---s and the VR---s.
Since then the allocations have been a bit more leisurely - much more so in the last 20 years.
CanAm said:
allowing for odd letters they might not use (O, I etc) thats over 500,000 aircraft. How many have the RAF actually had over the years?
I doubt if they'll have many more.
Anyway just reverse them. 123 AA etc. Or add a suffix letter for the year of build.
Not all letters are issued - for instance "Q" is never used as it looks too much like a letter "O". "I" isn't used either to avoid confusion with the number "1". Also, the numbers always start with 100 so, as in my example above, after AA999 came AB100, not AB001.I doubt if they'll have many more.
Anyway just reverse them. 123 AA etc. Or add a suffix letter for the year of build.
There are books you can get on the whole subject. They make great reading 
Wiki gives a run down on how the system evolved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_milit...
The Two letters/three numbers system came in after they had run through the older single letter/four numbers system.
Wiki gives a run down on how the system evolved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_milit...
The Two letters/three numbers system came in after they had run through the older single letter/four numbers system.
williamp said:
Interesting thought. What was AA100?? Did it survive the war?
It never existed... 
Z9836 was numerically the last in the Z series, part of an order for 200 Blenheims delivered between May and October 1941 (part of the order was cancelled, hence no Z9999 and no AA100).
The AA series started with AA281 one of 63 Defiants delivered between May and July 1941.
aeropilot said:
It never existed...
Z9836 was numerically the last in the Z series, part of an order for 200 Blenheims delivered between May and October 1941 (part of the order was cancelled, hence no Z9999 and no AA100).
The AA series started with AA281 one of 63 Defiants delivered between May and July 1941.
Good 'ole Defiant. Always first...Z9836 was numerically the last in the Z series, part of an order for 200 Blenheims delivered between May and October 1941 (part of the order was cancelled, hence no Z9999 and no AA100).
The AA series started with AA281 one of 63 Defiants delivered between May and July 1941.
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