AIRCRAFT NUMBER VERSUS BU NUMBER

[BILLT]

I AM BUILDING AN A/M SB2U-3 THAT FOUGHT AT MIDWAY AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH THE CORRECT A/C NO. VERSUS BU NO. AND PILOT. I HAVE SEARCHED THE INTERNET BUT CANNOT FIND A MATCH OR CONFLICTING INFO. IS THERE A DEFINITIVE SIGHT I CAN GO TO TO GET THE CORRECT INFO. A/M INSTRUCTION SHEET CONFLICTS WITH OTHER INFO.

[ghodges]

William: I don't have any specifics for you, but your question doesn't address if you understand the difference between the two numbers. The US Navy assigned a Bureau Number (Bu No.) that was it's official designation as far as identifying it for purchase and assignment to the US Navy. Groups of them were run consecutively within a production run, but NOT necessarily for the WHOLE run, as some numbers might be assigned to another a/c from another company bought in the middle of that time period.

 

The a/c No. was the number assigned to the a/c within a squadron. This could vary from group to group, and also have numbers repeated within different squadrons. They seldom had anything to do with the BU No on the a/c; unlike a/c in the Army Air Corp where the serial number was often incorporated into the a/c number, as well as being its radio ID code too.

 

Are you trying to match an EXACT a/c side number with the exact Bu No on the tail of that airplane? If so, what is the squadron in question at Midway? If you're building the Accurate Miniatures kit and doing a MAG 22 a/c, you can rely on their research for their markings. Outside of that, I don't know where to point you, except perhaps to contact the USMC Museum in Quantico VA. They may have some info in their archives. If you're doing a Navy Vindicator, perhaps the Naval Museum in P-cola can help. Hope this helps!

 

GIL

[BILLT]

GIL,

THANKS FOR THE REPLY. THE AIRCRAFT I'M TRYING TO MODEL ARE THE ONES THAT BELONGED TO VMSB-241 THAT WAS BASED ON MIDWAY DURING THE BATTLE. I UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERING SYSTEM,BUT AT THIS TIME I,M TRYING TO MATCHUP BU NO. TO A/C NO. AT THAT TIME, PLUS THE PILOT,S NAME. LIKE I MENTIONED I SEARCHED THE INTERNET BUT WAS CONFRONTED WITH CONFLICTING INFO. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOU TIME.