Aircraft
by Nation
United States
Army (1919 -1924)
History
During this period, aviation within the U.S. Army
continued to be called the Air Service of the U.S. Army.
Designations
From 1919 to 1924, the U.S. Army Air Service adopted the
French system specifying fifteen airplane types. Two- or three-
letter type symbols were assigned to each numbered type. An aircraft
model would be designated first with the letter type symbols then a
sequential number. For example, the first water-cooled pursuit
aircraft model was designated the PW-1. Additional type symbols were
added for aircraft that didn't fit in the original fifteen types.
The types (and their symbols) were:
 | Type I: Pursuit-Water Cooled (PW) |
| Type II: Pursuit-Night Work (PN) |
| Type III: Pursuit-Air Cooled (PA) |
| Type IV: Pursuit-Ground Attack (PG) |
| Type V: Two-Seater Pursuit (TP) |
| Type VI: Ground Attack (GA) |
| Type VII: Infantry Liaison (IL) |
| Type VIII: Night Observation (NO) |
| Type IX: Artillery Observation (AO) |
| Type X: Corps Observation (CO) |
| Type XI: Day Bombardment (DB) |
| Type XII: Night Bombardment-Short Distance (NBS) |
| Type XIII: Night Bombardment-Long Distance (NBL) |
| Type XIV: Training-Air Cooled (TA) |
| Type XV: Training-Water Cooled (TW) |
| Additional Types
| Ambulance (A) |
| Messenger (M) |
| Racer (R) |
| Transport (T) |
|
