Canadian Military Aircraft Serial Numbers RCAF 1000 to 9999 Rapid growth early in WW II, to early postwar procurement

back to main page

go to table

go to bottom of page

The serial numbers listed here are aircraft owned and operated by the RCAF, mostly within North America.  The 400 series squadrons that operated in Europe, the Mediterranean, and eventually in South-East Asia, used RAF owned, RAF numbered aircraft. These are covered in their own web page.

The early days of World War II

In the early years of World War Two, the RCAF expanded as fast as it could procure aircraft and train aircrew, as did most of the Allies. New aircraft came from the Canadian factories started in the 1920s and 30s, from American factories, and from the UK.  Civil aircraft were impressed in Canada, and purchased second hand from the US.  Many less successful British operational aircraft, like the Battle and the Anson, found their way to Canada, both new and second hand.  Similarly, less successful American types like the Douglas Digby (B-18 Bolo) and the Northrop Nomad (A-17) found a home in Canada. After taking over ten years to assign the first 1,000 RCAF serial numbers, serial number 10,000 was reached almost exactly 3 years later, when Bolingbroke number 10000 was delivered on 19 October 1942. Numbering continued with 5 digit serials from this point.

Starting with 1001, the four digit serials were generally assigned in blocks by aircraft types.  Gaps were sometimes left to accommodate future procurement, and some of these gaps would be filled in with other aircraft types at later dates.  Because of this, the relative age of aircraft from this period can only be roughly determined from relative serial numbers.  There does not appear to have been any deliberate attempt to mislead observers about procurement numbers by using this numbering method, unlike RAF serial number allocation at the same time.

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and aircraft for export

The RCAF began to expand its own training facilities even before war was declared, and this would lead into the massive multi-national British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of 1940 to 1945.  The BCATP era is a gold mine for the serial number enthusiast.  Because of the multi-national funding, some aircraft were issued two or even three serial numbers - RCAF, RAF and USAAF.  Usually only one of these numbers would be physically marked on the aircraft.  RCAF schools operated RCAF owned aircraft with RCAF serials and RAF serials, and even a handful with USAAF serials.  The RAF also funded and operated schools in Canada, using RAF owned aircraft with RAF serials.  Outside of the BCATP, Canadian built aircraft were also operated at schools in the US, with USAAF serials.  Many Canadian built operational aircraft from this era, bound for the US, USSR, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, would also have multiple serial numbers assigned.  I hope to live long enough to sort this all out and include the results in these pages.

Defense of Canada

The home defense squadrons also grew rapidly, but not to the dramatic degree seen in  the training schools.  East coast squadrons were in action over the North Atlantic from September 1939 to May 1945, flying long hours in terrible weather, and scoring several successes.  On the west coast, bomber and fighter squadrons saw action in the Aleutians after the Japanese invasion, and against Japanese balloon bombs later in the war.  Early in the war, several home defense squadrons were moved to the UK, and would form the first 400 series squadrons on 1 March 1941.  The few Canadian numbered aircraft they took with them were soon transferred to the RAF, and for the rest of the war the RCAF overseas would use RAF owned aircraft.  A few long range transports and patrol aircraft were regular visitors to Europe, and one Eastern Air Command squadron, No. 162, operated Cansos briefly from Iceland and the UK, but otherwise most of the aircraft here never left North America.

Post war era

A few of these 4 digit aircraft survived the war and the mass sell-offs at the end of the war, and continued in RCAF service.  No less than 71 Dakotas and 53 Expeditors survived past February 1968, and were allocated Canadian Armed Forces serial numbers.  Many of these were in storage at this time, and it is not known if all these new numbers were physically marked on the aircraft.  A few 4 digit aircraft would be transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in the post war era, retaining their RCAF serial number.  These are listed here under the original RCAF number., with the date of the change of ownership listed, when known.

Some blocks of numbers, in the 1000s, 3000s, 5000s, and the 9000s, were not completely used during the war. Some of these available numbers would be used for new procurement of transports, assault gliders, and helicopters from 1945 up to the 1960s. They are included in these lists for now.   Post war procurement is shown in italics in the table below.  Some postwar procurement recycled a few of the war time 4 and 5 digit serial numbers, and these are listed separately.  It should be noted that several aircraft  orders were canceled at the end of the war, particularly for Bolingbrokes and Cornells.  As a result, some of the serial numbers listed below were never actually marked on aircraft.  The last 4 digit serial numbers issued by the RCAF appear to be those of the de Havilland Canada Buffalos procured in the late 1960s.

The table below will connect you to two types of listings of these aircraft. The "Brief lists" present a minimum amount of information about as many aircraft as I can fit on a reasonably sized page. Use these lists to identify individual aircraft, or to quickly scan a large range of serials. The "Detailed lists" contain all the information currently in my database, and are broken into many more pages to keep the data manageable.

Brief lists	Detailed lists				Typical aircraft
1001 to 4999 3954 records updated 30 September 2005	1001 to 1049 49 records updated 13 May 2005	1050 to 1099 50 records updated 13 May 2005	1100 to 1149 50 records updated 20 May 2005	1150 to 1199 50 records updated 27 May 2005	Finch, Kittyhawk, Tiger Moth
	1200 to 1249 50 records updated 27 May 2005	1250 to 1299 50 records updated 3 June 2005	1300 to 1349 50 records updated 11 April 2010	1350 to 1399 50 records updated 18 April 2010	Tiger Moth, Crane, Battle, Harvard, Hurricane, Expeditor
	1400 to 1449 50 records updated 20 August 2005	1450 to 1499 50 records updated 18 June 2005	1500 to 1549 50 records updated 24 September 2011	1550 to 1599 50 records updated 3 July 2005	Expeditor, Oxford, Electra, Lysander
	1600 to 1649 50 records updated 15 July 2005	1650 to 1699 50 records updated 17 July 2005	1700 to 1749 50 records updated 24 July 2005	1750 to 1799 50 records updated 24 July 2005	Expeditor, Battle
	1800 to 1849 50 records updated 29 July 2005	1850 to 1899 50 records updated 5 August 2005	1900 to 1949 50 records updated 12 August 2005	1950 to 1999 50 records updated 12 August 2005	Battle
	2000 to 2049 50 records updated 12 August 2005	2050 to 2099 50 records updated 31 August 2005	2100 to 2149 50 records updated 31 August 2005	2150 to 2199 50 records updated 4 September 2005	Battle, Ventura
	2200 to 2249 50 records updated 11 September 2005	2250 to 2299 50 records updated 11 September 2005	2300 to 2349 50 records updated 16 September 2005	2350 to 2399 51 records updated 16 September 2005	Ventura, Expeditor, Lysander
	2400 to 2449 50 records updated 23 September 2005	2450 to 2499 47 records updated 23 September 2005	2500 to 2549 49 records updated 30 September 2005	2550 to 2599 50 records updated 30 September 2005	Lysander, Norseman, Harvard
	2600 to 2649 50 records updated 8 October 2005	2650 to 2699 50 records updated 22 October 2005	2700 to 2749 50 records updated 4 November 2005	2750 to 2799 50 records updated 11 November 2005	Harvard
	2800 to 2849 50 records updated 11 November 2005	2850 to 2899 50 records updated 11 November 2005	2900 to 2949 50 records updated 25 November 2005	2950 to 2999 50 records updated 25 November 2005	Harvard
	3000 to 3049 50 records updated 25 November 2005	3050 to 3099 50 records updated 16 December 2005	3100 to 3149 50 records updated 16 December 2005	3150 to 3199 50 records updated 16 December 2005	Harvard
	3200 to 3249 50 records updated 20 January 2006	3250 to 3299 50 records updated 29 January 2006	3300 to 3349 50 records updated 29 January 2006	3350 to 3399 50 records updated 10 February 2006	Harvard, NA-44, NA-26, Yale
	3400 to 3449 50 records updated 10 February 2006	3450 to 3499 50 records updated 18 February 2006	3500 to 3549 43 records updated 26 February 2006	3550 to 3599 50 records updated 26 February 2006	Yale, Voyager, Nomad, Norseman, Fort, Anson, Harvard
	3600 to 3649 50 records updated 3 March 2006	3650 to 3699 50 records updated 14 March 2006	3700 to 3749 45 records updated 8 April 2006	3750 to 3799 39 records updated 15 April 2006	Fort, Otter, Liberator, Harvard
	3800 to 3849 50 records updated 22 April 2006	3850 to 3899 50 records updated 5 May 2006	3900 to 3949 50 records updated 5 May 2006	3950 to 3999 42 records updated 21 May 2006	Harvard, Tiger Moth
	4000 to 4049 50 records updated 21 May 2006	4050 to 4099 50 records updated 27 May 2006	4100 to 4149 50 records updated 27 May 2006	4150 to 4199 50 records updated 2 June 2006	Crane, Tiger Moth
	4200 to 4249 50 records updated 2 June 2006	4250 to 4299 50 records updated 11 June 2006	4300 to 4349 50 records updated 16 June 2006	4350 to 4399 50 records updated 15 August 2007	Tiger Moth
	4400 to 4449 50 records updated 15 August 2007	4450 to 4499 50 records updated 23 June 2006	4500 to 4549 50 records updated 30 June 2006	4550 to 4599 50 records updated 30 June 2006	Tiger Moth, Finch
	4600 to 4649 50 records updated 7 July 2006	4650 to 4699 50 records updated 7 July 2006	4700 to 4749 50 records updated 14 July 2006	4750 to 4799 50 records updated 14 July 2006	Finch
	4800 to 4849 50 records updated 22 July 2006	4850 to 4899 50 records updated 22 July 2006	4900 to 4949 50 records updated 15 September 2006	4950 to 4999 50 records updated 15 September 2006	Finch, F-24R, Menasco Moth, Tiger Moth
5000 to 9999 4637 records updated 9 October 2007	5000 to 5049 50 records updated 14 November 2007	5050 to 5099 50 records updated 16 November 2007	5100 to 5149 50 records updated 6 January 2008	5150 to 5199 26 records updated 6 January 2008	Tiger Moth
	5200 to 5249 50 records updated 4 February 2008	5250 to 5299 34 records updated 12 February 2008	5300 to 5349 11 records updated 25 March 2008	5350 to 5399 24 records updated 13 January 2007	Mitchell, Comet, Caribou, Hurricane
	5400 to 5449 50 records updated 20 January 2007	5450 to 5499 50 records updated 10 February 2007	5500 to 5549 50 records updated 17 February 2007	5550 to 5599 50 records updated 10 March 2007	Hurricane
	5600 to 5649 51 records updated 15 May 2007	5650 to 5699 50 records updated 15 May 2007	5700 to 5799 76 records updated 1 August 2007		Hurricane
	5800 to 5849 50 records updated 1 May 2008	5850 to 5899 50 records updated 28 June 2008	5900 to 5949 50 records updated 15 August 2008	5950 to 5999 50 records updated 20 November 2008	Tiger Moth
	6000 to 6049 49 records updated 7 December 2008	6050 to 6099 50 records updated 3 February 2009	6100 to 6149 50 records updated 5 April  2009	6150 to 6199 50 records updated 26 June  2009	Anson Mk. I
	6200 to 6249 50 records updated 21 November 2009	6250 to 6299 50 records updated 29 November 2009	6300 to 6349 50 records updated 2 May 2010	6350 to 6399 50 records updated 22 August 2010	Anson Mk. I
	6400 to 6449 50 records updated 18 December 2010	6450 to 6499 50 records updated 15 November 2011	6500 to 6549	6550 to 6599	Anson Mk. I
	6600 to 6649	6650 to 6699	6700 to 6749	6750 to 6799	Anson Mk. I
	6800 to 6849	6850 to 6899	6900 to 6949	6950 to 6999	Anson Mk. I
	7000 to 7049	7050 to 7099	7100 to 7149	7150 to 7199	Anson Mk. I and Mk. II
	7200 to 7249	7250 to 7299	7300 to 7349	7350 to 7399	Anson Mk. II
	7400 to 7449	7450 to 7499	7500 to 7549	7550 to 7599	Anson Mk. II
	7600 to 7649	7650 to 7699 50 records updated 30 August 2010	7700 to 7749 50 records updated 30 August 2010	7750 to 7799 50 records updated 6 September 2010	Anson Mk. II, second-hand civil aircraft, Crane Mk. I
	7800 to 7849 50 records updated 25 January 2011	7850 to 7899 50 records updated 25 January 2011	7900 to 7949 50 records updated 15 March 2011	7950 to 7999 50 records updated 4 April 2011	Crane, second-hand civil aircraft
	8000 to 8049 50 records updated 1 May 2011	8050 to 8099 50 records updated 26 June 2011	8100 to 8149 50 records updated 26 July 2011	8150 to 8199 50 records updated 26 July 2011	Crane
	8200 to 8249 50 records updated 30 August 2011	8250 to 8299	8300 to 8349	8350 to 8399	Crane, Anson Mk. II
	8400 to 8449	8450 to 8499	8500 to 8549	8550 to 8599	Anson
	8600 to 8649	8650 to 8699 50 records updated 29 October 2011	8700 to 8749 50 records updated 22 November 2011	8750 to 8799 50 records updated 28 December 2011	Anson, Expeditor, Crane
	8800 to 8849 50 records updated 26 January 2012	8850 to 8899	8900 to 8949	8950 to 8999	Crane, Tiger Moth
	9000 to 9049 50 records updated 10 February 2009	9050 to 9099 50 records updated 10 April 2009	9100 to 9149 50 records updated 5 July 2009	9150 to 9201 53 records updated 11 December 2009	Crane, Bolingbroke
	9202 to 9207 6 records updated 12 August 2005	9221 to 9250 30 records updated 28 July 2006	9251 to 9300 50 records updated 5 August 2006	9301 to 9310 10 records updated 13 October 2006	Flying Fortress, Mustang, Albatross
	9401 to 9427	9451 to 9465 15 records updated 4 February 2005	9500 to 9530	9551 to 9600 50 records updated 19 August 2006	Otter, Buffalo, Crane and gliders, Mustangs
	9601 to 9644	9645 to 9700	9701 to 9750 50 records updated 21 September 2006	9751 to 9800 50 records updated 10 October 2006	Helicopters, Tiger Moth and Freighter, Canso Note: additional RCAF helicopters can be found on the post war RCAF serials page
	9801 to 9844 44 records updated 20 October 2006	9850 to 9899	9900 to 9949	9950 to 10000	Canso, Bolingbroke

This data has come from a variety of sources, and may contain all sorts of errors. In the future, I will add a complete list of references. For now, some recent Internet references can be found at the links below.  I would welcome any corrections or additions you may have. Contact me using the link below.

To main page

to top of this page

contact me

Canadian Military Aircraft links

Serial Number Links

About the Author

The Project

© 2004-2012 by R. W. R. Walker      All rights reserved under the copyright laws.
This is an amateur site - please don't rely on any of this data for anything important!
Created 27 April 2004. Updated 26 January 2012.