WWII USAAF Building Numbers?

Hmmm.

I read 404 over C, in a somewhat stencil style to that previously seen.
Which particular site at KC is this on Mike?

Provisional additions to the type designators list:

5-X	Aircraft Armament Eqpt Store
6	Dispersal Hut
6-X	Dispersal Decontamination Eqpt Store
8	Shooting-In Butt
19	Parachute Store
19-X	Dinghy Section
26-X	Squadron Armory Block
63	Station Headquarters Offices
64 or 94	Operations Block
98	Post Exchange
100	Gymnasium w or w/o Chapel and Squash Court
103	Airmen's Latrine 16' x 30' Nissen
104	Education Block, 24' x 84' Nissen
131-X	HF/DF Hut, Timber
131-XX	HF/DF Rest Hut, Timber, 14' x 25'
131-XXX	RDF Workshop, Brick
133	E/M's Living Quarters Types A and B
134	E/M's Living Quarters
143-X	E/M's Drying Room, 16' x 42' Nissen
143-XX	Fuel Compound, 54' x 72' Open Wire Enclosure
160	Airmen's Latrine
162-2	Boiler House
163-2	Fuel Compound

P wrote:

Hmmm.

I read 404 over C, in a somewhat stencil style to that previously seen.
Which particular site at KC is this on Mike?

Hi Paul,

It's one of the buildings in what was the Technical Site south of the Motor Pool on the eastern side of the airfield. There were lots of shells of buildings in there a few years ago of which several, if my memory serves me correctly, had markings and stencilling on.

Might be worth a trip back there?

Mike

Sounds a good idea to me Mike.

There are references to an earlier building numbering system used by the 8AF in late 42/early 43, which had 5" high numbers and corresponded to "the Air Ministry system", without expanding on whatever that was.

I've tracked down a copy of 1st Bombardment Division Instruction 135-1 (10th May 1943), which was the original regulations for Station Utilities Officers and had the "Directory of Technical Buildings and Facilities" for the numbering system as an attachment. Unfortunately, when this was archived they didn't actually include the attached list.

Never mind thinks I, there is a letter explaining the numbering system that was circulated about a month later, to ensure that all the bases were complying with 135-1, and that states a second copy of the directory is attached, in case they'd lost the first one. Guess what... that copy didn't get archived either.

Last chance, check the "Monthly Airdrome Facilities and Status Reports" which were to be compiled with the same numbering system.
Great, loads of those on file, but something's not right... The archived copies stop in February 1943, and use a different numbering ststem completely. Hang on, here's some from the end of 1943/early 1944, surely these will have the right list!
Sadly no, for some reason these ones were compiled with the standard US Army Services of Supply numbering system, which is different once again.

Primary source material, I just love it...

A few more examples, with slight variations when compared to those already seen...

US-48-T
Photo Lab at Grafton Underwood.
The "-1" has been omitted in this instance, although as each station only had one Photo Lab that wouldn't be a problem:



Closeup showing the number block painted both on the main entrance door and the end of the building nearest the road:



US-63
US-x4 (64 or possibly 94?)
SHQ and Ops Block at Chelveston, illustrating the dual number block application mentioned earlier in the thread:


(Image: 305BGMA)

US-63-T
Similar on the SHQ at Grafton Underwood, but only one number block visible:





Note the SHQ and Ops Block at Chelveston were directly connected by a corridor, whereas at Grafton they were adjacent but physically seperate.
This could possibly explain why only a single number block is visible on Grafton's SHQ entrance porch, with the Ops Block presumably having its own number applied beside its entrance door.

Yup, it's on the same AFHRA reel as the ranges data.