USAAF Station Numbers

Does anyone know who issued the codes?

Graham

Peter wrote:

I keep coming across this document ...

Sadly: The document US Air Force: usaaf bases in united kingdom has been deleted.

The one that normally turns up is (It may be the same):

www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf

Then there's the John Nichol's list:

www.gitrace.org/stationnumbers.html

Carnaby,

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately I committed the cardinal error of not phrasing my question correctly.

I came across the following on the "Army Air Forces of World War II" website ( forum.armyairforces.com/ ):

After conferring with a couple of friends in the U. K. who are researchers of USAAF in England, here's what they say:

Station numbers and names were designated by the Air Ministry who were also the landowner of the airfield portion of the base. Living areas and support facilities were dispersed among existing farms, which usually continued to operate. Apparently, numbers were just the sequence of construction awards and the name was the name of the parish in which the bulk of the airfield was located. RAF stations were included in the numbering scheme and the number had no particular significance as to the type of group or squadron that was assigned. Some USAAF stations were used at different times by a fighter group, a medium bomber group and a heavy bomber group. The name of the station was not always the nearest village which lead to some confusion.

Since I have never come across RAF airfields with station numbers, I assume it was a purely US practice. In "Mighty Eighth War Manual" Rger Freeman merely stated "In accordance with military practice, USAAF stations in the UK were given station numbers." As far as I can determine staion numbers were not used by the USAAF in other theatres.

So the question is who allocated station numbers to US airfields in the ETO?

Graham

Carnaby;157853 wrote:

Then there's the John Nichol's list:

www.gitrace.org/stationnumbers.html

Since that was first published in AR 68 twenty years ago, I've finally been able to fill in some of the gaps for the initial 1942 type/number series.
A bit more tidying up and it will be ready to go into a future edition of AR.

An interesting point Graham. I can only quote from limited experience, from my understanding of the identity of just one site. As on the list such as -

www.airwar.org.uk/UKBASES/stations4%20by%20no.htm

The US documents I have seen, refer to the site by the appropriate number and, where it has been used, always have labelled it 'RAF xyz', or 'RAF Station xyz'. So at some time during the wartime US use it had an 'RAF' designation number. Subsequent post war RAF documents have referred to the base by the 'RAF Station (Number) xyz', as used by the US. Wartime RAF use prior to the hand over to the US has made no use or reference to the 'xyz' number. However my interpretation based on the overall impression given by the wartime documentation is that the US were given the identification number by the RAF. But I accept this could be a misinterpretation.

If anyone has finite information that fixes it without dispute I would equally be glad to hear it.

It seems that the station numbers were allocated as a security measure, but the question remains by whom?

The suggestion that the numbers were allocated by the Air Ministry or RAF does not seem to hold water because

a. the RAF does not seem to have used the numbers for its own stations. (The Bomber Command system of base numbers appears to be something quite different equating to something like a wing structure), and

b. AAF station numbers were allocated to bases in Iceland, Western Europe and the former USSR, that is in areas where the Air Ministry or RAF had little or no jurisdiction.

A liitle searching has thrown up that a simple USAAF station numbering system existed in India.

More research is needed.

Graham

This may help

www.gitrace.org/stationnumbers.html

I suspect that it was a simple numbering system implemented by the American Adjutant Generals office to help then keep track of their war metrics.

I started a search a few years back to understand how the BS numbers were allocated and the Washington based historical center sent me a detailed list that they had traced back to the early 1920's.

The Army is driven by and retains its operational cohesion through the use of numbers.

Its possible that as their first official UK base had been at Daws Hill Lodge near High Wycombe that some one in General Eaker's administration team used AAF 101 to keep things simple.

The register may be just office administration activity based so I doubt that it was ever structured as no evidence has been found to explain it ?

This may explain the various gaps in the number sequence as management activity does not always result in action.

As always I willing to be corrected, educated or informed.