Manufacturers' Codes


The military assigned two-letter codes to identify the sources of aircraft and certain major components, hence a Liberator with a designation of B-24D-NK would quickly indicate its origin as the Nash-Kelvinator plant. Replacement parts would then preferably come from that source rather than other B-24 builders because of possible variations in tooling and assembly methods. This coding system helped in the bookkeeping and inventory departments, as well.

Code MANUFACTURER
AD Aero Design & Engr Co, Bethany OK
AE Aeronca Aircraft Corp, Middletown OH
AG Air Glider Inc, Akron OH
BA Bell Aircraft Corp, Atlanta GA
BB Babcock Aircraft, Deland FL
BC Bell Aerosystems, Buffalo NY
BE Bell Aircraft Corp, Buffalo NY
BF Bell Aircraft Corp, Fort Worth TX
BH Beech Aircraft Corp, Wichita KS
BL Bellanca Aircraft Corp, New Castle DE
BN Boeing Aircraft Co, Renton WA
BO Boeing Aircraft Co, Seattle WA
BR Briegleb Sailplanes, Beverly Hills CA
BS Bowlus Sailplanes, San Francisco CA
BU Budd Mfg Co, Philadelphia PA
BW Boeing (Stearman) Aircraft Co, Wichita KS
CA Chase Aircraft Co, West Trenton NJ
CC Canadian Commercial Corp, Toronto ONT
CE Cessna Aircraft Co, Wichita KS
CF Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corp (Convair), Forth Worth TX
CH Christopher Aircraft Co, St Louis MO
CK Curtiss Airplane Div, Curtiss-Wright Corp, Louisville KY
CL Culver Aircraft Corp, Wichita KS
CM Commonwealth Aircraft, Kansas City KS
CN Chase Aircraft Co, Willow Run MI
CO Consolidated Aircraft Corp, San Diego CA
CR Cornelius Aircraft Co, Dayton OH
CS Curtiss Airplane Div, Curtiss-Wright Corp, St Louis MO
CU Curtiss Airplane Div, Curtiss-Wright Corp, Buffalo NY
DC Douglas Aircraft Co, Chicago IL
DE Douglas Aircraft Co, El Segundo CA
DH De Havilland Aircraft, Toronto ONT
DK Douglas Aircraft Co, Oklahoma City OK
DL Douglas Aircraft Co, Long Beach CA
DM Doman Helicopters, Santa Monica CA
DO Douglas Aircraft Co, Santa Monica CA
DT Douglas Aircraft Co, Tulsa OK
FA Fairchild Engine & Airplane Corp, Hagerstown MD
FB Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corp, Burlington NC
FE Fleet Aviation Ltd, Fort Erie ONT
FL Fleetwings Div, Kaiser Cargo, Bristol PA
FO Ford Motor Co, Willow Run MI
FR Frankfort Sailplane Co, Joliet IL
FT Fletcher Aviation Corp, Pasadena CA
GA G & A Aircraft, Willow Grove PA
GC Fisher Body Div, General Motors, Cleveland OH
GE General Aircraft Corp, Astoria NY
GF Globe Aircraft Corp, Forth Worth TX
GK General Motors, Kansas Ciy KS
GM Fisher Body Div, General Motors, Detroit MI
GN Gibson Refrigerator, Greenville MI
GO Goodyear Aircraft Co, Akron OH
GR Grumman Aircraft Engr Corp, Bethpage NY
GT Grand Central Aircraft Engr Co, Tucson AZ
GY Gyrodyne Co of America, St James NY
HE Helio Aircraft Corp, Norwood MA
HI Higgins Aircraft, New Orleans LA
HI Hiller Helicopter Corp, Palo Alto CA
HO Howard Aircraft Corp, Chicago IL
HU Hughes Aircraft Co, Culver City CA
IN Interstate Aircraft & Engr Corp, El Segundo CA
KA Kaman Helicopter Corp, Windsor Locks CT
KE Kellett Autogyro Corp, Philadelphia PA
KM Kaiser Mfg Corp, Willow Run MI
LK Laister-Kauffman Aircraft Corp, St Louis MO
LM Lockheed-Martin Aircraft Corp, Marietta GA
LO Lockheed Aircraft Corp, Burbank CA
MA Glenn L Martin Co, Baltimore MD
MC McDonnell Aircraft Corp, St Louis MO
MD Martin Co, Baltimore MD
MF Martin Co, Orlando FL
MH McCulloch Motors Corp, Los Angeles CA
MM McDonnell Aircraft Corp, Memphis TN
MO Glenn L Martin Co, Omaha NB
NA North American Aviation, Inglewood CA
NC North American Aviation, Kansas City KS
ND Noorduyn Aviation Co, Montreal QUE
NF North American Aviation, Fresno CA
NH North American Aviation, Columbus OH
NI North American Aviation, Downey CA
NK Nash-Kelvinator Corp, Detroit MI
NO Northrop Aircraft, Hawthorne CA
NT North American Aviation, Dallas TX
NW Nortwestern Aeronautical Corp, St Paul MN
PA Piper Aircraft Corp, Lock Haven PA
PH Piasecki Helicopter Corp, Morton PA
PI Piper Aircraft Corp, Lock Haven PA
PL Platt-Le Page Aircraft Co, Eddystone PA
PR Gould Aeronautical, Pratt Read Co, Deep River CT
RA Republic Aviation Corp, Evansville IN
RD Read-York, Kenosha WI
RE Republic Aviation Corp, Farmingdale NY
RI Ridgefield Mfg Co, Ridgeville NJ
RO Robertson Aircraft, St Louis MO
RP Radioplane Co, Van Nuys CA
RY Ryan Aeronautical Co, San Diego CA
SA Stroukoff Aircraft Corp, West Trenton NJ
SE Seibel Helicopter Co, Wichita KS
SI Sikorsky Aircraft Div, United Aircraft Corp, Stratford CT
SL St Louis Aircraft Corp, St Louis MO
SP Spartan Aircraft Co, Tulsa OK
SW Schweizer Aircraft Corp, Elmira NY
TA Taylorcraft Aviation Corp, Alliance OH
TG Texas Engr & Mfr Co (TEMCO), Greenville TX
TI Timm Aircraft Corp, Van Nuys CA
TP Texas Engr & Mfr Co (TEMCO), Grand Prairie TX
UH United Helicopter Corp, Palo Alto CA
UN Universal Molded Products, Bristol VA
VE Vega Aircraft Corp, Burbank CA
VI Canadian Vickers, Montreal QUE
VL Vertol Aircraft Corp, Morton PA
VN Vultee Aircraft, Nashville TN
VO Chance Vought Aircraft, Dallas TX
VU Vultee Aircraft, Downey CA
VW Vultee-Stinson Div, Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corp, Wayne MI
WA Ward Furniture Co, Fort Smith AR
WI Wichita Engineering, Wichita Falls TX
WO Waco Aircraft Co, Troy OH