ANOMALIES & MYSTERIES

The following is a list of "out of place" serial numbers,
designations and general "misplacements" etc.
Theres also some aircraft whose histories and depositions
just don't add up.
Please e-mail the author: sdbeck AT caverock DOT net DOT nz
with any information or your own theories...

World War II

Grasshopper Series

What's the correct c/n allocation for the Piper L-4B?

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor

What was the date of first flight for the C-45?

Was BuNo. 89466 / 89494 (29) designated as the JRB-5 or JRB-6?
I have them as JRB-6 at the moment.

Details for a Beechcraft Model D18S issued s/n: 89-0126 in 1988-1989?

Was RAF Expeditor Mk. I (HB759), delivered?

Boeing-Stearman PT-13 / PT-17 kaydet

A photo depicting an N2S-5 Kaydet with BuNo. 52941 has been published
in several books. However, the s/n batch for BuNo. 52627 / 53049 was
cancelled according to every source I can locate?

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

C/n's for the P-40F and P-40L.

Douglas A-20 Havoc

Were the 240 Boeing DB-7B (AL263 / AL502) designated
as Boston Mk. III or Boston Mk. IIIA in RAF service?
The Boeing built DB-7B's had electrical system differences over the
Douglas built DB-7B's, but was this enough to warrant them as Mk. IIIA?
The RAF version of the A-20C was Boston Mk. IIIA as these had
armament and fuel capacity improvements.

Douglas DC-3 / C-47 Skytrain

Production dates for the C-47 military variants?

Was RAF s/n: HK993 a DC-2 or DC-3 model or
was it allocated twice similar to s/n: HK867?
HK993 is quoted as being C-47 41-38625.

Grumman F4F Wildcat

Some Martlet Mk. III serial numbers seem to duplicate
themselves with those of the Martlet Mk. I.
These are s/n: AX733 and AX824 / AX829.

Lockheed Twin Series

Hudson Mk. III (RAF) V9069 (414-3714) is quoted as being converted
on the factory floor and delivered as an L-18-07 c/n: 18-2111, then
impressed as a C-56C s/n: 42-57212. It is known to have existed up to
1982 where it then disappeared?
However, sources also quote V9069 (414-3714) being completed and sent
to the RAF and RCAF before being struck off charge in 1948?
Were there two airframes built with s/n: V9069 attached?
Answer: Was most likely built.

Was USAAF s/n: 41-23629 (414-6446) - (RAF) BW767 -
(RNZAF) NZ2048 built as an A-29 or A-29A?

What was the distribution of the B-34 Lexington to the USAAF, RAF, RAAF,
RCAF and RNZAF, did the RAF receive any aircraft?

Did the 18 B-37 aircraft built have c/n: 137-1001 / 1018 or
c/n: 437-6476 / 6493 or were both issued?

North American AT-6 Texan (Harvard)

Harvard Mk. II serial numbers:
(RAF) AH185 / AH204 (20)
(RCAF) 2501 / 3013 (513)
(RNZAF) NZ901 / NZ967 (67)
All were produced between c/n: 66-2234 / 2833 (600).
What was the distribution within this c/n range?

Some sources quote these RAF serial numbers:
EZ100 / EZ208 (109)
EZ259 / EZ458 (200)
as being Harvard Mk. IIA where others
quote them as being Harvard Mk. III's.
Answer: They are Harvard Mk. III.

North American B-25 Mitchell

Of the 162 Mitchell's for the NEIAF (N5-122 / N5-283),
what number were B-25D's and B-25J's?

There appears to be various s/n to c/n "mismatches" for the B-25J,
especially in the later batches.

North American P-51 Mustang

Are the c/n's for the two XP-51J 105-47446 and 105-47447 or
the more likely 105-47444 and 105-47445?

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Was the P-47 company model number AP-10 or P-44?

Stinson L-5 Sentinel

Details required on post-WW2 Stinson production concerning
left-over airframes which were built and sold on the civil market
from 1945 - 1950?

Post World War II & The Modern Era

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor

What was the serial number for the third civil Model 45 (c/n: G-3)?

Were Argentina s/n: E-091 / E-098 re-manufactured from earlier aircraft?

Details on the Model B-45 export version of the T-34?
Some known foreign s/n's are:
TH-334, TH-344
H-1101 / H-1120
FM-93 (USAF s/n: 58-12093)

Why was T-34C c/n: CL-150 not issued?

Some sources quote T-34C c/n's as being: GP-7 / GP-51 (45),
GL-1 / GL-184 (184) and GL-231 / GL-353 (123)?

S/n's and c/n's for the Fuji T-34A for The Philippines.

Fairchild C-82 / C-119 Flying Boxcar

Why were the USMC R4Q-2 Packet's redesignated as C-119F's in 1962
and not C-119G's, did they not have "G" variant features?

What year did the C-119L first enter service?

The Kaiser-Frazer Mystery:

There is strong speculation that the 71 C-119F-KM aircraft were actually converted
and included as part of the 88 C-119G-KM. There is some very good evidence to
support this theory, including the fact that no record exists of any C-119F-KM ever
having served anywhere at anytime.
What seems almost certain however, is that due to Kaiser-Frazer Corporation's production
problems, Fairchild completed most, if not all, of the 88 C-119G-KM aircraft at the Fairchild
Maryland plant. The Kaiser-Frazer c/n's were retained for contract reasons.
If the 2 static test airframes (48-320, 48-321), are also subtracted from the traditional
total of 1185, the final total built is 1112 C-119 aircraft, not including the XC-119A.
This figure is accepted by many as the actual number of Flying Boxcars built and is
supported by many contributing factors including Fairchild company magazines of the day.
One other mystery is just how many of the C-119C's were actually completed by Kaiser-Frazer,
as these aircraft were sent from Fairchild in component form as "tooling up" airframes
for the Kaiser-Frazer production run.
UPDATE:
It now appears through records I've obtained from Maxwell AFB, Alabama, that the 41 C-119C
and 88 C-119G aircraft were in fact, all built at the Fairchild plant.
The 71 C-119F aircraft were it seems the only Boxcars built by Kaiser-Frazer before their contracts
were cancelled. The last C-119F-KM was delivered on 26th August 1953, several months after
the hearings into Kaiser's C-119 production problems ended.

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

Did F-111A-CF s/n: 66-9277 exist?

Why the dual c/n's on the F-111E and F-111F variants?

Grumman AF Guardian

Did AF-2S BuNo. 124210 exist?

Grumman F9F Panther / Cougar

At what point (BuNo.) was F9F Cougar production transferred from
Bethpage to Calverton?

Did F9F-8T BuNo. 143013 exist?

Grumman S2F Tracker

What are the c/n's for the XS2F-1 and YS2F-1?

The first batch of S2F-1 c/n's seem to be out of sequence:
BuNo. 133043 / 133328 are listed as c/n: 14 / 299.
The c/n's should be 16 / 301, if they are to line up with the
YS2F-1 and the next batch of S2F-1's which start at c/n: 302.
This maybe to do with the first two S2F-1 airframes originally
ordered as the XWF-1 (BuNo. 133043, 133044) prototype
which was then cancelled.

What are the c/n's for S2F-1 BuNo. 149843, 149844?

The USAF s/n: 59-5919 / 59-5921 (3) were assigned from what
batch of S-2 Tracker?

Need further details on CS2F-1 s/n: (RCN) 1500, 1501.
Whats the first flight and production dates for the CS2F-2?

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

Were the construction numbers for the Aeritalia F-104S
783-1001 / 783-1246 or just 6701 / 6996?

Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk

USAF serial numbers and construction numbers maybe inaccurate?

Lockheed P2V Neptune

Did the 3 P2V-7 BuNo. 144732 / 144734 exist?

Lockheed S-3 Viking

Are the c/n's for S-3A BuNo. 160567 / 160607:
394A-1147 / 1187 or 394A-3147 / 3187?

North American T-28 Trojan

Why were the two USN Trojans (T-28B / C), given
USAF designations and not Navy ones when the
1962 Tri-service system wasn't in place till 1962?
Answer: Aircraft were procured through USAF so had
USAF designations with USN serial numbers.

What plant were the two US Navy T-28A's built at?

What NAA plant was the RT-28B built at and when?

North American OV-10 Bronco

Did the charge number NA-404 ever exist for the OV-10E?

Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter

The following countries assembled F-5's but I have
no references to what serial numbers were built
and when:
Korean Airlines Co. Ltd., Aerospace Division (KAL), Seoul, South Korea,
1981 - 1986, 48 KF-5E / 20 KF-5F "Chegong" (Skymaster).
Swiss Federal Aircraft Factory (F&W), Emmen, The Netherlands,
1978 - 1985, 90 F-5E / F-5F.
Aero Industry Development Center (AIDC/CAF), Taichung, Taiwan,
380 F-5E.

Bell H-13 Sioux

HTL-1 BuNo. 122452 / 122461 appear to clash
with the BuNo.'s of the Lockheed P2V-2 Neptune?

s/n's / c/n's don't seem to exist anywhere for the foreign
built versions of the Model 47 helicopter?

Hiller H-23 Raven

HTE-1 BuNo. 129169 / 129184 (16) - I've counted as cancelled.
H-23G s/n: 66-13106 / 66-13195 (90) - I've counted as cancelled.

Kaman H-2 Seasprite

Is the SH-2G Super Seasprite still in US service / still in production?

Did UH-2B s/n: BuNo. 150621 / 150623 exist?

What's the BuNo. of the second YSH-2E conversion?

Piasecki (Vertol) H-21 Workhorse / Shawnee

Was CH-21C s/n: 52-8680, c/n: C-176?

Some Canadian deliveries had previous USAF serial numbers which
don't line up against the delivery dates for the numbers assigned:
CH-21B, s/n: 59-2331 / 59-2336 (6).
CH-21B, s/n: 59-5927 (1).
Model 44A, s/n: 60-5445 / 60-5449 (5).

Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw

Complete s/n range for RCAF / RCN H-19 helicopters.
So far I have: 9597 / 9600 (4), 9619 / 9629 (11).

Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe

Were c/n's: 64-068 and 64-069 ever built as the civil S-64E?

Sikorsky H-3 Sea King

Did CH-3C s/n: 65-12511 exist?

Did USCG HH-3F with US Navy BuNo. 158847 / 158858 exist?

Were the 2 RMAF AS-61N-1 purchased second-hand from Indonesia in 1992?

Martin B-57

Were there 823 or 925 UK built Canberra bombers.

Present Day

Boeing Military Airliners

Model 737
Did USAF C-40B 01-0005 exist, or did it become 01-0041?
Answer: 01-0005 was not taken up.

Was C-40C s/n: 02-0204 cancelled?
Answer: Either cancelled or not built yet.

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

Some Pakistan F-16A/B contracts may have been cancelled?

Did these serial numbers for the UAE F-16E/F Desert Falcon exist:
(F-16F) 00-3005 / 00-3014 (10)
(F-16E) 00-3028 / 00-3037 (10)

Did Japanese production of the Mitsubishi F-2 ever get underway?
If so, what were the serial number ranges and numbers built?

Grumman E-2 Hawkeye

What factory was the E-2 / C-2 built in?

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Is the civil L-100-30 still in production and do all of them
carry the Model Number 382G?

Lockheed U-2 / TR-1

Dates of first flights for the U-2A/B/D?

Factory locations and production dates for the U-2 / TR-1?

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle

What is the c/n for F-15C s/n: 81-0056, some sources
quote it as 046 but this clashes with s/n: 81-0002
for Saudi Arabia as 1322?

Did F-15E s/n: 92-0607, 92-0608 exist?

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

The Northrop YF-17A prototypes featured s/n: 72-1569, 72-1570. However I have
seen pictures with the tail number on 72-1569 being "01569"?

Theres some conflicting details over Australian Hornet construction numbers, are they:
AF/A-18A c/n: mixed 228 to 834 or as I have presently listed c/n: mixed A181 to A581.
AF/A-18B c/n: 213, 214 or as I have presently listed c/n: B041, B042.
AF/A-18B c/n: mixed 215 to 632 or as I have presently listed c/n: mixed B043 to B097.

Bell OH-58 Kiowa

Production dates for some H-58 / H-57 / H-67 helicopters.

Bell UH-1 Iroquois / AH-1 Cobra

UH-1
Production details for NUH-1B s/n: 64-18261?

Did s/n: 70-4507 / 70-4510 (4) for the UH-1D exist, some sources
quote them as being an export sales batch?

Were the 4 UH-1F (s/n: 66-15358 / 66-15361) really cancelled,
as some sources quote they were sent to Colombia?

The c/n's for Turkish assembled UH-1H s/n: 85-25489 / 85-25518
don't seem to line up, some sources quote dual c/n's for Turkish
built Hueys?

What was the distribution in numbers of the 205 UH-1N's
between the US Navy and USMC.

Production details for the foreign built civil / military Bell Hueys?

AH-1
Was s/n: 64-7015 (2600) and s/n: 64-7016 (20001) ever assigned to
any AH-1 Cobra prototypes?

Was the Model 209 prototype assigned c/n: 20001?, there are photos
with this helicopter as well with s/n: 74-7015?

What are the s/n's and c/n's for the Model 309 prototypes?
The second was civil reg. N309J with c/n: 2503.

What are the s/n's and c/n's for the Fuji-Bell AH-1S helicopters?

Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey

Year of first flight of the CV-22B?

Was the first 6 MV-22B aircraft designated as NV-22A?

Seems to be some c/n conflicts in various production batches?

Boeing-Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight / CH-47 Chinook

Civil Model 107
What was the US registration for the original Model 107 prototype?
What were the c/n's for the 18 civil Model 107's?

CH-47
What happened to c/n: B-006 between the YHC-1B and CH-47A?

Did the Model 414 International Chinook also cover the CH-47C series?

Did the export version of the CH-47C have individual model numbers or
were they all known as just Model 414?

What's the status of US s/n: 95-88184, 95-88185 and 95--88187 within
the batch of 9 sent to Singapore as CH-47D?

Does Singapore s/n: 88199 (199) CH-47SD exist or was it ever delivered?

Has production in Italy and Japan finished?

Is CH-47D s/n: 98-0853 for South Korea new or re-manufactured?

Were MH-47E conversions, s/n: 91-0520 / 91-0535 and 92-0313 / 92-0327,
ever taken up?

Hughes (McDonnell Douglas) AH-64 Apache

Is YAH-64A s/n: 77-23257 / 77-23259 in the FY'77 or FY'79 year?

YAH-64A s/n: 74-22247 clashes with s/n for Bell YAH-63?

AH-64A+ s/n: 92-0110, 92-0111 clashes with s/n for a cancelled
block of Lockheed F-16C?

GAH-64D s/n: 99-0001 / 99-0014 clashes with s/n for Boeing C-32A, E-8C
and Lockheed-Martin F-22A?

Is the AH-64D still being new built as Mesa, Arizona?

What happened to AH-64D s/n: 92-5408, British Army prototype, was it
new built or a converted airframe?

S/n's for AH-64D's delivered to Singapore?

Hughes OH-6 Cayuse / Model 500 Defender

Whats the history / status of the TH-6J?

Sikorsky H-53 Sea Stallion

The s/n's for CH-53 Iran, Israel and Japan deliveries?

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

UH-60A s/n: 85-25511, 85-25512 clash with s/n for Bell UH-1H.

Are UH-60M s/n: 05-20001, 05-20002, 05-27047 new-built or re-built airframes?

Who was export S-70A s/n: 96-26729 / 90-26740 sold too?

The US Army spells the name as two words: BLACK HAWK,
but the US Navy spells the name as one: SEAHAWK,
various other "Hawk" names are spelt as one or two words as
well, which is correct?

McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier

Was AV-8B+ batch  BuNo. 165020 / 165027, completed by Italy?

Some sources quote Spanish AV-8's as being designated as the AV-8G?

Raytheon T-6 Texan II

Did the modified Pilatus PC-9 with US civil reg.: N26BA also
have a modified c/n, possibly being either PT-1 or T-1?

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