GUIDE TO USING THIS WEB SITE
Welcome to US Warplanes, an internet guide to
what is considered
the most definitive, decisive and enduring World War II,
Post World War II
(Cold War / Vietnam Era) and Present Day military
aircraft of the United States Air Force, Army and Navy.
US Warplanes.net is designed as a quick reference site for aviation researchers
and enthusiasts who are looking for a concise listing of individual
aircraft variants, conversions and serial numbers.
The site does not go into a detailed description of aircraft histories or
service and does not discuss any one aircraft's service history.
There are four main sections in each database - Service,
Variants, Production and Conversions.
The information below is a guide to how each of these
sections is constructed and presented.
SERVICE
This section introduces the aircraft type with various
information like
the model, designation, names and the main time frames the type
was in production and service.
| Manufacturer: | This is the location of the
manufacturer's MAIN CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS at the time the first prototype flew, not the manufacturing plant(s) where production was undertaken. Subsequent locations are also noted if the main headquarters was shifted DURING an aircraft's production run. Name changes of manufacturers are also noted if these occurred also DURING an aircraft's production run, e.g. Consolidated to Consolidated-Vultee to Convair. |
| Model: | This is simply the
manufacturer's
own company designation for an aircraft type. Greater detail of model designations can be found in the variant section. |
| Designation: | This is a rundown of all
designations officially applied to an aircraft type across all of the services - Air Force, Army and Navy. Designations in use by close-ally countries are also included. |
| Name: | This lists the OFFICIAL name(s)
of a type as bestowed by the Air Force, Army or Navy, it does also list unofficial names, e.g. Blackbird (SR-71), Aardvark (F-111), but does not list nick-names or slang expressions. Names in use by close-ally countries are also included. |
| First official flight: | Basically the first flight of
the prototype aircraft. If the prototype was a conversion from an earlier model, e.g. XP-40, XC-119, the official flight of the first production aircraft is also listed. |
| Factory production period: | This spans the time in years
from the construction of the first prototype to the last year of production of the last variant. |
| Primary service period: | This is an aircraft's main,
front-line service period, not the entire service period it was on active duty. Most aircraft have a primary service period before being outdated by a newer model and becoming obsolete or assigned to second line duties. Aircraft assigned drone duties, (e.g. QF-102, QF-4), are not included as these aircraft have been written-off so to speak and are not technically in service. |
| Last official flight: | An aircraft types last
assigned mission before being finally retired completely from active duty, e.g. although the B-29 was no longer a front-line aircraft by 1953, its last official flight was not until 1960. |
VARIANTS
This part presents a list of an aircraft's NEW BUILT variants as they were
designated when they came off the production line. Some designations were
changed after delivery due to service reassignment or Lend-Lease etc. and these
are
listed where possible.
Example:
The year of first flight is in the first cell.
Model numbers are presented in bold in the second cell.
Designations of variants are listed in bold in the third cell.
Subtotals (where required) are listed in the second to last cell.
Totals are listed in bold in the last cell.
| 1949 | Model MS-8 | XCG-20 | 2 | Total: 002 |
| 1953 | Model F-205 | C-123B | 307 | Total: 307 |
| 1955 | Model F-205 | YC-123E | 1 | |
| 1957 | Model F-205 | YC-123H | 1 | Total: 002 |
|
Grand Total: 311 |
PRODUCTION
The Production section is a rundown of the variants presented
above
but with a brief description attached of important information.
The variant's production period and plant location(s) with their
two letter codes are also listed along with the serial numbers
and construction numbers of that particular plant location.
Models or variants not built are listed in Italics.
Example:
C-123B
As XC-123, squared tail, rounded cockpit windows,
engine upgrade. First 5 begun under the Chase name
by Kaiser-Frazer but completed by Fairchild.
Fairchild built airframes added a dorsal fin and from
the 16th delivery squared rear cockpit windows.
Produced 1952 - 1958
Example:
Serial numbers are presented in the first cell.
Construction numbers are presented in the second cell.
Sub totals (where required) are in the third cell.
Variant totals are presented in bold in the last cell.
Kaiser Mfg. Corp. (Kaiser-Frazer Corp.),
Willow Run, Ypsilanti, Michigan (CN)
| 52-1627 / 52-1631 | unknown |
5 |
Fairchild Hagerstown, Maryland (FA)
| 54-552, 54-553 | 20001, 20002 | ||
|
54-555 / 54-715 - 1 (54-557), static test airframe. |
20004 / 20164 | ||
| 55-4505 / 55-4577 | 20166 / 20238 | ||
| 56-4355 / 56-4396 | 20239 / 20280 | ||
|
57-6185 / 57-6202 - 18 to Venezuela. |
20281 / 20298 | ||
| 57-6289 / 57-6294 | 20299 / 20304 | 302 | Total: 307 |
Some tables include cancelled order details plus other additional information
such as Lend-Lease deals or changes of designation.
Block numbers are not included on this database.
CONVERSIONS
These are the NEW BUILT variants converted to a secondary role
such as tankers, cargo conversions, VIP transports etc.
It's also for aircraft that have had a change of designation by either
armed service (Air Force, Navy, Army etc.), or a change of country
ownership.
Secondary conversions are presented in brackets underneath the
original conversion.
Proposed designs or cancelled conversions are presented
as italics.
Aircraft in bold type have two separate categories:
The first are prototypes that contribute a significant development to that
aircraft type. The second are production conversions that also contribute a
large
development to that aircraft type, e.g. KB-29P, C-123K, C-141B etc., or are variants
with a newly assigned designation e.g. C-108 (B-17), C-109 (B-24) or F-61 (P-61) etc.
Example:
Conversion designations are presented in the first cell.
Numbers converted are presented in the second cell.
The third cell contains a brief description along with any
newly assigned model numbers, names or serial numbers.
| NC-123B | 6 | C-123B, permanent conversions with radome and special sensors. |
| UC-123B | 3 | C-123B, 1961, defoliant sprayer for use in Vietnam. |
| VC-123B | 1 | C-123B(56-4375), Gen. Westmoreland's VIP transport in Vietnam. |
| (VC-123K) | 1 | VC-123B, 1968, upgrade to "K" standards. |
| YC-123B | 1 | C-123B-CN(52-1627), 1955, conversion with wing-tip jet pods. |
| (YC-134) | 1 | YC-123B, 1956, Boundary Layer Control
system, engine upgrade. Converted by Stroukoff Aviation Corp., New Jersey. Original designation was YC-123F. |
| (YC-134A) | 1 | YC-134, redesignation after "Pantobase" hydro-skis
were added. Converted by Stroukoff Aviation Corp., New Jersey. Original designation was YC-123G. |
| YC-123D | 1 | XC-123A(47-787), 1954, prototype with Boundary Layer
Control system and piston engine conversion, new s/n: 53-8068. Converted by Stroukoff Aviation Corp., New Jersey. |
| C-123J | 10 | C-123B, 1957, wing-tip jet pods, skis, serving in Arctic regions. |
| C-123K | 183 | Model 473 C-123B, 1966, twin underwing jet engines, minor improvements. Prototype was s/n: 54-581, total includes the single VC-123K. Conversions by Fairchild-Hiller Corp., Maryland. |
| (NC-123K) | 2 | Black Spot, C-123K, conversions for armed night
reconn. / surveillance. Also designated as AC-123K. |
| (UC-123K) | 34 | C-123K, conversions as defoliant sprayers in Vietnam. |
| (C-123T) | 1 | C-123K, 1980, prototype
turboprop upgrade for Thailand. Conversion program later cancelled. |
DETAILS NOT INCLUDED ON THIS WEB SITE
BLOCK NUMBERS
Listing block numbers is a major task on any scale and is outside the
scope of this web site which is
only aimed at giving an overall view of the variants, factory locations,
production periods and numbers built
of any particular aircraft. Block numbers are only listed with photo captions.
EXPERIMENTAL PROTOTYPES
There were many hundreds of aircraft types developed and tested by the US Armed
Forces over the years
since aircraft became a formidable form of combat.
Some never got off the drawing board and others only made it as far as the
prototype stage - for these reasons
this part of aviation history is another story and non-production aircraft are not
included on this web site.