Wright Military Flyer arrives at Fort Myer VA DA-SD-05-00659

The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

and its predecessors, and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

operated aircraft when specific alphanumerical designation systems were not in use; these aircraft were referred to by their manufacturers' designations. There were also aircraft in service later that did not receive designations for other reasons, such as foreign military aircraft used for testing or

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

, and civil aircraft purchased off-the-shelf or impressed into service. For aircraft of the Air Force and its preceding Army air services after the introduction of the

1919 United States Army Air Service aircraft designation system From 1919 until 1924, the United States Army Air Service used a system to designate the types of aircraft it was operating, based on role and specific characteristics of the aircraft. When first instituted, Roman numerals were used to number the ...

, see the list of United States Air Force aircraft designations (1919–1962). For Navy and Marine Corps aircraft that received designations from 1911–1917 and post–

1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system From 1922 until 1962, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard used a system to designate their aircraft that included information about a craft's role and its manufacturer. For a listing of all such ...

, see the

list of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962) This list of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962) includes prototype, pre-production and operational type designations under the 1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system, which was used by the United States Navy, the Un ...

. For the Army designation system used from 1956 to 1962, after the creation of the Air Force, see

1956 United States Army aircraft designation system The 1956 United States Army designation system was introduced by the United States Army to replace the designation system used by the United States Army Air Corps which had become the United States Air Force in 1948. It was used until the unified t ...

. For all United States military aircraft after the implementation of the unified 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, see list of United States Tri-Service aircraft designations.

Army

This list includes aircraft operated by the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

, and

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

Air Force

This list includes aircraft operated by the

and its predecessors; the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

(USAAS), and

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

(USAAC), and

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF).

Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard

This list includes aircraft operated by the

and

. Aviation in the Marine Corps and Coast Guard has historically been subsidiary to naval aviation, with Marine Corps aircraft being procured by the Navy. Many Coast Guard aircraft have been procured from the Navy or the Air Force and its predecessors, typically carrying designations conforming to equivalent types operated by those services, but the Coast Guard has also independently obtained several aircraft types without a military designation or an equivalent. Although the Navy's

rigid airship A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the Aerostat, envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pres ...

s were given designations, its other lighter-than-air craft often were not. Until the 1940s, Navy blimps were grouped into classes by nominal power and size; within each class, individual aircraft often had significant design variations, and were sometimes sourced from different manufacturers. Spherical crewed free

gas balloon A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...

s used for airship crew training were considered ZF-class aircraft but categorically never received formal designations and were identified only by serial number and volume; similarly, crewed

kite balloon A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the mai ...

s and uncrewed

barrage balloons A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...

were considered ZK-class, but were undesignated.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

OrBat United States of America - MilAvia Press.com: Military Aviation Publications

National Museum of the USAF

OrBat United States Air Force - MilAvia Press.com: Military Aviation Publications

Brown-Shoe Navy: U.S. Naval Aviation
{{US military navbox United States, List of military aircraft of

Aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

Army

Air Force

Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links