"Modern Luftwaffe markings and identifier codes?" Topic
14 Posts
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MelEbbles | 12 May 2010 4:16 a.m. PST |
I'm having a really difficult time finding information on modern Luftwaffe aircraft markings and identifiers. Too many spurious Google results, and I don't really know where else to turn. On Luftwaffe jets, there's an iron cross with 2 pairs of numbers, like "23+76", and what I want to know is if those numbers have any meaning, how they're assigned, and whether or not cargo/transport planes are marked differently. I'm also interested in fin flashes, tail codes, and any other relevant information. Anybody have the details? Links or recommendations for good research material would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance! -Mel |
Doms Decals | 12 May 2010 4:43 a.m. PST |
Serial numbers – simply to identify the individual aircraft. They don't denote the unit, but seem to be allocated by aircraft type – every Phantom I've seen has had 37+XX or 38+XX, so I'd guess the first one delivered was either 37+00 or 37+01, and they kept going from there. (Starfighter numbers were originally done by another system (2 letters, 3 numbers), but codes from the switch onwards were 20+XX up to 28+XX, which fits with the 900-odd that they had
. I don't know the full ranges for other types, but Tornado at least 43 – 46, and the first Eurofighters seem to be 30. Helicopters and transports have them too – often on the tail for bigger stuff. They don't use USAF-style tail codes, as that's effectively what the number either side of the cross is. Fin flashes are just a very small national flag. Often a jagdgeschwader badge too. |
Doms Decals | 12 May 2010 4:45 a.m. PST |
A few examples here: link You can probably do a lot worse than just sticking Luftwaffe and the name of an aircraft type into Google image search
. |
MelEbbles | 12 May 2010 5:00 a.m. PST |
Thanks! That's useful. I had just bunged in "Luftwaffe aircraft markings" and "modern Luftwaffe aircraft markings" and there were, like, 113,987,476 results for WW2 aircraft, which drove me bonkers. I didn't even think to try by aircraft name. Okay, it's just a 4 digit airframe serial, iron cross in the middle, and that's it? Simpler than I thought. Thanks again! |
Doms Decals | 12 May 2010 5:03 a.m. PST |
No problem – the bumper book of Luftwaffe Starfighters was on my shelf, so it didn't take much looking up
.
Simpler than I thought.
Yes – I'd imagine sequences can pop up in a unit, especially newly equipped (as then they may well be a consecutive production batch) or specialist types where they've only got 12 and they're all in the same squadron, but they're usually pretty random. My book on Luftwaffe Starfighters rarely shows a pair of similar numbers in the same photo
. |
MelEbbles | 12 May 2010 6:16 p.m. PST |
Quick font question--would DIN 1451 Mittelschrift be accurate for the numerals? -Mel |
Doms Decals | 13 May 2010 2:47 a.m. PST |
Yes, but with the pre-1980s 6 and 9, not the updated version. |
MelEbbles | 13 May 2010 10:12 a.m. PST |
Thanks, and thanks for the warning about the 6 and 9. I'll keep that in mind! -Mel |
Doms Decals | 13 May 2010 10:30 a.m. PST |
No problem – just look for a version of the font where the 6 and 9 are vertical sided, rather than the more modern sloped version – the latter makes them much easier to tell from an 8 at distance, but LW serials have stuck with the old style. |
MelEbbles | 13 May 2010 11:46 a.m. PST |
Yeah, I had to go back and change the textures on the 3D model I was working on--turns out I was using the newer style rather than the old one. Funny thing is, I'd already seen several photos of Luftwaffe aircraft with the rounded, straight-sided 6s and 9s, but I got thrown off by a photo of an Eurohawk UAV mockup that had the serial 99+99 in the *new* style. If you hadn't warned me, I wouldn't have double-checked it. All sorted now, though. Thanks a bunch! This is for a whimsical and kinda tongue-in-cheek side project of mine, which I've been calling "Jansen's All The World's Dropships", in which I dress up a SF paper model dropship in a bunch of different nationality schemes. Here's the one you just helped with, 94+37, of Raumtransportgeschwader 44: picture And 'cause you're in the UK, here's the RAF version. XVD496, attached to HMSV Ark Royal. picture I'm having a ball with this silly project, and again, I really appreciate the help! -Mel |
Doms Decals | 13 May 2010 12:01 p.m. PST |
No worries – I'd half-guessed the subject matter as I have a bit of your stuff knocking around. Nice work too – good to see you've resisted the lo-vis nonsense for the Brits as well
. ;-) The only real nuisance is that I'm now looking at a pack of 1/600 Tornadoes and going "hmm, should I
?" Dom. |
MelEbbles | 13 May 2010 12:14 p.m. PST |
Glad you like them! Oh, man, I love Tornadoes. They're awesome planes. I'd be scared to paint them in 1/600 myself, though. I fell in love with them when I was a kid--it was a 1/72 plastic model, and there's just something about the Tornado that I can't put my finger on, but it's a really cool plane. Yeah, I took a bit of artistic license and made the subdued RAF version a little brighter and a bit more contrasty than it's supposed to be. Low-vis is great for the real thing, but for a toy that I want to run around with while making vroomy boomy shooty noises, I kind of want the markings to pop a little more. I think that's my favorite thing about focusing on SF, the ability to do some things my way when it suits me. -Mel |
Doms Decals | 13 May 2010 12:23 p.m. PST |
I've still got a trio of the Airfix 1/72 ones waiting for the day I finally do my 20mm 1980s German army
. :-) |
MelEbbles | 14 May 2010 11:31 a.m. PST |
Ooh. That'll be a sight to see on the tabletop! I remember collecting a bunch of little 1/87 Roco ground vehicles when I was in high school, and I had a cute little collection of 1/72 soft-plastic modern infantry figures. Man, if I'd only known back then what I know now about gaming
-Mel |
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