Recognition: Army Air Forces Ground Observer Corps - Identification of Aircraft - II: Aircraft Identification

CHAPTER II: AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION

SECTION I - APPROACH TO PROBLEM

27. Identification of aircraft requires study, practice, and a familiarity with the physical appearance of the various planes, but it is not as difficult as one might at first suppose. and there is no reason why any ground observer with the proper application cannot master the fundamentals in a reasonably short time and gradually acquire real proficiency. The more knowledge one acquires of the subject, the more fascinating it becomes. A ground observer who is reasonably proficient in spotting planes gets as much relish from identifying a new type as a collector gets from acquiring a rare item.

28. It is the purpose of this and succeeding chapters to impart certain fundamental principles and information as a basis upon which the observer can begin to teach and train himself.

SLCTION II - NOMENCLATURE

29. The principal elements of a typical airplane are shown in the diagram below. Additional terms used in this manual will be defined as they occur.

SECTION III - THE GENERAL TYPES OF AIRCRAFT

30. Before attempting to learn the principles of identification, the observer should first familiarize himself with the general types of aircraft.

BOMBERS

31. Heavy and medium bombardment airplanes are designed to carry heavy bomb loads to great distances and to conduct long-range strategic reconnaissance over land and sea. They are large airplanes having two or more engines, and their maneuverability is less than other combat types. Wings are apt to be of the long narrow type that gives the most miles to the gallon of gas. Fuselage is often (not always) carried back to a gun turret in the tail. On bombardment missions they usually operate in formation, often at very high altitudes.

32. Light bombardment airplanes are designed to attack material objectives of light construction, airdromes, troop movements, etc. The "dive bomber" is a light bombardment plane, though not all light bombardment planes are dive bombers. Light bombardment planes are medium-sized planes with one or two engines. They have considerable maneuverability and normally operate in formation at low and medium altitudes.

33. Recognition points which will usually distinguish bombers are gun turrets, which break the outline of the fuselage and a transparent nose.

FIGHTERS

34. The fighter is designed for air fighting: i. e., the destruction of other planes, principally bombers. It is characterized by high speed, high rate of climb, and great maneuverability. Day fighters usually operate in formation. In contrast to the bomber, the general appearance of the fighter is apt to be compact and stubby, though stream-lined. Its wings are relatively short and broad to reduce leverage at the wing tips when maneuvering. It usually has a single motor.

35. Fighters are often called pursuit planes and there are various subdivisions including interceptor pursuit, single-place fighter, and multiplace fighter. The latter are larger, heavier, and used for patrol duty and against ground troops.

OBSERVATION AND RECONNAISSANCE PLANES

36. Observation and reconnaissance planes are medium-sized, moderate-speed, single-engine airplanes or medium-sized, high-speed, twin-engine airplanes. They normally operate in single, as distinct from formation, flight at varying altitudes from low to high. A parasol wing usually indicates an observation plane, though not all observation planes have parasol wings.

LIAISON PLANES

37. Liaison planes are very small, light, slow, single-engine planes, the military version of the Piper Cub or Taylorcraft. They have place for two persons, either side by side, or tandem. They normally operate singly, at low altitudes, within our own lines, to carry on command, liaison and courier missions.

TRAINERS

38. Training planes are single or twin-engine, two-place. medium-sized airplanes, both monoplanes and biplanes, used for training purposes. Some trainers, both Army and Navy, have wings painted a bright yellow, combined in the case of Army planes with a blue fuselage. These colors, however, are not easily distinguishable at high altitudes.

TRANSPORTS

39. Transports are large airplanes with two or more engines, used for the transportation of troops and supplies. They are generally similar in appearance to medium bombers, save that the fuselage on a typical transport airplane is apt to be broader and deeper than that on a typical bomber—this because its cargo is bulkier per pound than that of the bomber.

SEAPLANES

40. Any plane which can land on the water—whether an amphibian or flying boat, or a plane equipped with pontoons—is classified as a seaplane. Seaplanes vary greatly in size, appearance, and functions, but are easily distinguishable by their fuselage (flying boats and amphibians) or their pontoons.

SECTION IV

PLANE IDENTIFICATION MARKINGS

41. The belligerent nations have identifying insignia with which they customarily mark their military and naval planes. By the use of field glasses it will sometimes be possible to distinguish these markings, which are usually located on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings and on the side of the fuselage.

42. These insignia (for the nations whose planes are illustrated herein) are as follows:

43. The observer should not place too great reliance upon these insignia as aids to identification. Enemy planes have been known to use our insignia when conducting a raid at low altitude.

44. In any event, structural features are more revealing and are distinguishable at greater distances. Ground observers should not, however, rely on the naked eye to distinguish such features except when the aircraft is fairly close by. Field glasses are of great assistance in identifying planes and every observation post should, if possible, be equipped with a pair.

SECTION V - THE WEFT SYSTEM

45. There is no system which provides a short cut to the identification of planes. Any system which could be applied as a system to the identification of aircraft would promote such a mental lag as to make it impractical from the standpoint of the observer, who must identify a plane within a few seconds of sighting it if his report is not to be delayed. Furthermore, new planes, both friendly and enemy, would require constant revision and the addition of countless exceptions.

46. A system, however, can be of tremendous help in analyzing and learning the salient recognition points of aircraft. As these points become familiar to the observer, he learns to distinguish between planes, learns to associate certain points with certain planes, gradually learns to recognize planes on sight without reference to any system by familiarity with their outline and by the over-all impression they give him. Only when in doubt does the experienced observer start a mental analysis of the plane's salient features and then only to the degree necessary to distinguish it from some other plane of similar appearance.

47. The WEFT  system, therefore, which will be more fully presented in succeeding chapters, is less a system for the identification of planes than it is a system for teaching observers what features to note and how to note them in an orderly, rememberable manner to the end that the recognition of such features may eventually become instinctive. Planes differ widely in appearance—far more so, for instance, than automobiles—and a systematic analysis of their features is helpful in establishing this fact.

48. The WEFT system is so named from the four elements which are most important from the standpoint of identification—Wings, Engine, Fuselage (including nose and undercarriage) and Tail assembly.

49. The shape of the wings of an aircraft, their number (monoplane or biplane), their size, the manner in which they are attached to the fuselage and the shape of the wing tips are revealing features. Positive identification can sometimes be made from the wings alone.

50. The number of engines of an aircraft, the type of engines (whether blunt radial air-cooled engines, or pointed "in-line" liquid-cooled engines), and their position on the fuselage are very helpful in establishing identity.

51. The fuselage itself is very important. Its general shape, the undercarriage (landing gear), the presence or absence of gun turrets, the shape of the nose, the shape of the cockpit should all be noted carefully.

52. The tail assembly, including the shape of the elevators, the shape and number of rudders, the presence or absence of a gun turret in the tail, constitute the fourth element of identification.

53. These elements will be discussed in detail in succeeding chapters. It should be noted that they are not necessarily presented in the order of importance or in the order in which they should be noted by observers. That will depend upon the view the observer gets of an airplane.