Sherut Avir
31 May 1948 Onwards
November 1948 Onwards
Current System

Sherut Avir

Aircraft operated by the Palmach Flying Platoon, and then the Sherut Avir, retained their Palestinian civil registrations, ie of the form VQ-PAx, where x denotes the individual aircraft letter. Note that duplicate registrations were used to conceal the size of the Sherut Avir fleet. In Sherut Avir records these duplicate aircraft are denoted by a number after the registration, eg: VQ-PAS/1, VQ-PAS/2 etc. Aircraft delivered from overseas sources retained their original civil registrations.

31 May 1948 Onwards

On 31 May 1948, the Chel Ha'Avir issued orders regarding its first standardised national insignia and numbering systems. All newly arrived aircraft were allocated a military serial under a new system. The serial number comprised an aircraft role identifying letter (in Hebrew), a dash, and a three figure number for the individual aircraft identity. Hebrew reads from right to left, so the serial was displayed on aircraft in reverse order.

Hebrew  English    Role               Types
T       D (Daled)  Fighter            S 199, P-51, Spitfire, Mosquito,
                                      Beaufighter  eg: 110-T
]       B (Bet)    Light Bomber/      Seabee, Norseman, Bonanza, Widgeon,
                   Small Transport    Aerovan, Norécrin  eg: 52-]
X       A (Alef)   Light Aircraft     Auster, Piper Cub  eg: 13-X
?       S (Samech) Heavy Transport    Dragon Rapide, Dakota, C-46, DC-4
?       H (Hay)    Heavy Bomber       B-17

November 1948 Onwards

A new serialling system was introduced towards the end of November 1948, to account for the many new types recently introduced. Each serial number was to consist of four digits, with the first pair representing the aircraft type and the second pair the individual machine.

0101  Auster           1101 Harvard         2101 Mosquito
0201  Taylorcraft      1201 Widgeon         2201 Beaufighter
0301  RWD 13           1301 Dragon Rapide   2301 P-51
0401  Piper Cub        1401 Dakota          2401 C-69
0501  Argus            1501 DC-5            2501 Lodestar
0601  Bonanza          1601 B-17            2601 Hudson
0701  Norécrin         1701 C-46
0801  Norseman         1801 C-54
0901  Seabee           1901 S 199
1000  BT-13            2001 Spitfire  

eg: 0802 was the 2nd aircraft of the 8th type, i.e. a C-64 Norseman.

It took some time for the change over to the new system to be completed. At the same time, large two digit radio call numbers were introduced. Generally the individual serial number became the radio call sign, but since it was allocated when the aircraft entered service rather than on delivery, this was not always the case. During the 1950s most aircraft displayed only the two figure 'last two' individual number.

Current System

From the early 1960s, the serial system appears to have changed again. The new system, which is still used, comprised a three figure number allocated to each aircraft. The numbers are not allocated in a strictly sequential manner, often including 'black out blocks' of omitted numbers, or jumping forwards or backwards in an apparently random manner. The net effect is to make it impossible to determine the actual quantity of a specific aircraft type in service, merely by identifying the highest and lowest known serial numbers. Duplication of serial numbers is also known to occur. Aircraft receiving major modifications often have the first number of the serial changed eg: from 201 to 701. Aircraft which regularly fly abroad also carry a civil registration eg: 4X-FBU in addition to the military serial number.