RAF serial blackout blocks

[PR19_Kit]

If any of we Whiffers are building an RAF or an FAA aircraft we're always searching for an unused serial number for our creations, and they have to fit in the correct historical period to an extent. Viz. my Meteor PR19 used a set of 12 unused serials at the end of the Meteor NF14 production batch, which was a perfect fit of course. Other models can be more difficult.

My bible for this task is Bruce Robertson's 'British Military Aircraft Serials 1878 - 1987' which fits my usual period of modelling, but I believe there are updates to this tome.

Tonight I was looking for an unused serial for my MB Monsoon PR3 and it needed to be in the very late WWII period or just afterward. To my utter amazement I found a blackout block of no less than 9990 unused serials, all in one block!!! 

They are the entire SA to SK batch (there isn't an SI...) because they were earmarked for any Lend-Lease aircraft that may have been required around the war's end, but of course events in Japan brought things to a halt rather rapidly.

So my Monsoon will be SC742, which leaves 9989 of them for all you lot. 

[Rheged]

That is an extremely useful piece of information. I may be placing a bid for one or two of those numbers in the near future. Thanks for sharing it.

[PR19_Kit]

Actually it occurs to me that there's less than 9990 actually, but not much less.

That's because the serial blocks always started at xx100 so it's 8900, not 9990.

[JayBee]

This is also a very useful site to use.

http://www.ukserials.com/

Jim

[kitbasher]

Not all letters have been/are used in British serials, Kit.  'C' I don't think has ever featured in the two-letter/three number sequence.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_military_aircraft_serials would appear to confirm that.

[The Wooksta!]

Excellent!  All this means that it's now dead easy to drop an 'S' in front of any serial after frist removing the first letter and we're good to go.

However...  Depending on teh aircraft you're doing, RAF-wise, there's plenty of cancelled serials to play with, especially for Spitfires, Spitefuls, Hornets and Tempests.  Not just them too.  For example, the Valiant B2 had seventeen serials issued and then cancelled, only to be re-allocated to new build Valiant B1s.  Now isn't that a good way to hide a batch of low level bombers in the inventory... (especially the Villiers Vindicator...)

[PR19_Kit]

Not all letters have been/are used in British serials, Kit.  'C' I don't think has ever featured in the two-letter/three number sequence.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_military_aircraft_serials would appear to confirm that.

I knew 'I' and 'O' weren't but I didn't know about 'C', thanks. 

Excellent!  All this means that it's now dead easy to drop an 'S' in front of any serial after frist removing the first letter and we're good to go.

However...  Depending on teh aircraft you're doing, RAF-wise, there's plenty of cancelled serials to play with, especially for Spitfires, Spitefuls, Hornets and Tempests.  Not just them too.  For example, the Valiant B2 had seventeen serials issued and then cancelled, only to be re-allocated to new build Valiant B1s.  Now isn't that a good way to hide a batch of low level bombers in the inventory... (especially the Villiers Vindicator...)

It certainly is............