Canadian aircraft with RAF serials, AA100 and up

Canadian Military Aircraft
Serial Numbers
RCNAS / RFC / RAF serial numbers

The first Canadian owned aircraft with British style military serials were the handful of aircraft reserved for the first Royal Canadian Navy Air Service. None were ever operated by the RCNAS. The 114 aircraft of the Imperial Gift of 1919 all arrived in Canada with RFC / RAF style serial numbers, and did not receive Canadian Air Board registrations until they were assembled and tested, a process that took several years. A few never received registrations, for a variety of reasons, and these are listed here under their original British serial numbers. A few ex-RAF aircraft were obtained in the 1920s and 30s, for evaluation by the RCAF, or for winter trials on behalf of the RAF. All these aircraft appear in the lists below.
The great majority of the aircraft listed here were transferred to the Canadian government during the Second World War. They were received from the RAF, for use at the BCATP and with the home defense squadrons. At first, these aircraft were given RCAF three or four digit serial numbers, as they arrived in Canada. It soon became apparent that this was, in modern terms, a non-value-added exercise. Even worse, the re-identification of these aircraft began to complicate many technical issues, such as tracking and implementing aircraft modifications, identifying which technical publications applied to which aircraft, and obtaining spare parts. As a result, the RCAF soon switched to operating these aircraft with their original RAF serials.
In the early months of the war, some well used veteran RAF aircraft were shipped from the UK to Canada for the BCATP schools and to meet urgent home defense requirements. This practice gradually ended as the ocean crossing became more dangerous, and as the need for any flyable aircraft in the UK became more desperate. These early aircraft included Ansons, Battles, Beauforts, Lysanders, Hampdens, and Oxfords. Most of the aircraft received during the war came directly from American and Canadian factories, and actually never were in the hands of the RAF. The North American built aircraft were mostly trainers, including Stearmans, Cranes, Harvards, Cornells, and Canadian built Ansons, plus a relatively small number of operational aircraft for the OTUs and home defense squadrons. The operational types included Catalinas, Hudsons, Venturas, Mitchells, Liberators, Tomahawks, Dakotas and Canadian built Mosquitos. A few oddballs were received for tests at Canadian ranges (Spitfires, Baltimores, Bostons and Bermudas), or as sample aircraft for Canadian production (one Blenheim, Hampdens, Lancasters and Mosquitos).
When the BCATP started, the RAF manned and operated a number of training units in Canada, all identified with 30 series numbers (for example, No. 34 Elementary Flying Training School at Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and No. 33 Air Navigation School at Mount Hope, Ontario). These units were gradually absorbed in to the RCAF through 1942 and 1943, with their aircraft being transferred to RCAF ownership then, generally keeping their RAF serial. Some of these aircraft had already been operating in Canada for two years or more prior to the "first date" shown in my database.
At the end of the war, a number of aircraft operated by the 400 series squadrons, or stored by the RAF in North America, were turned over to Canada to form the core of the post war RCAF. This included Dakotas and Lancasters ferried from the UK, and a few gliders already in North America. It should be noted that a number of the Lancasters arrived in Canada still in the ownership of the RAF, as the RCAF squadrons of 6 Group, Bomber Command, began to retrain to become Tiger Force for the war in the Pacific. The transfer to RCAF ownership came several months later, after VJ Day. A handful of aircraft were received from the UK after the war, for evaluation by the RCAF or for testing at the RCAF's Winter Experimental Establishment in Edmonton. This included Lincolns, Halifaxes, a Prentice, one Tempest, and the first Rockcliffe Ice Wagon, a Consolidated Privateer. Also included were the first Canadian jets, a Vampire and several Meteors.
The Fairey Swordfish listed here are those aircraft operated by the RCAF at BCATP training schools. Some of these aircraft were transferred to the RCN after the war for use as ground training aids with the RCN Reserve Squadrons. The RCN also received other Swordfish direct from RAF schools in Canada after the war ended, and they may not be listed below. For a more complete story on RCN post war aircraft, refer to Patrick Martin's latest book on the subject.
Researching these aircraft can be a tricky business, and this is why this was one of the last topics added to my web pages. Here are just a few of the problems encountered with this population of aircraft.
Many ex RAF aircraft eventually received RCAF serial numbers, but first arrived in Canada with the RAF markings. I generally only record these aircraft under their RCAF serial numbers (with the previous RAF identity given, when known) unless the aircraft was operated by the RCAF for any length of time before being re-marked. On occasion, some RCAF records continued to refer to the aircraft by the RAF serial number, even after an RCAF serial was assigned and marked.
Large numbers of RAF serialized aircraft, owned by the UK, were operated in Canada during the war by RAF units. This included a large number of BCATP schools, plus small numbers of transport, ferry, and liaison units. To add to the confusion, the RAF units could share a base with RCAF units, and RAF and RCAF personnel, including Canadians in RAF uniforms, were shared freely between the units. This confusion continued after the war, when several RAF and RN aircraft came to Canada for testing at the Winter Experimental Establishment. Some were taken on charge with the RCAF, and some were not. All were regularly operated by RCAF pilots, and maintained by the WEE. All this means that aircraft references in log books, letters, and autobiographies from Canada in these periods cannot always be easily identified as RAF or RCAF aircraft. When I have had doubts about the ownership of an RAF style serial number reported in Canada, I have referred to J. A. Griffin's masterpiece, "Canadian Military Aircraft", before including the aircraft on this page. Some have claimed this source is incomplete and sometimes inaccurate, but it is still far and away the best reference on this topic.
Large numbers of RAF serialized aircraft, owned by the UK, were operated by RCAF 400 series squadrons outside of Canada. A few of these were transferred to Canada at the end of the war, as mentioned above. This is a really confusing area for the aeronumerologist, and was the last topic added to my web pages.
There was a tendency within Canada to refer to these aircraft by only the last 3 digits of their RAF serial number. This occurs even in official documents such as pilot's log books, squadron diaries, and press releases. One classic example of this is the often told story of a patrol bomber that went missing in 1943, and was discovered in Newfoundland in 1948. The burial of the crew has been recorded as the "last Newfoundland funeral of WW2" in several sources. Some of these reports name the aircraft involved as an RCAF Lockheed Hudson, number 719. RCAF 719 was actually a Canadian built Bristol Bolingbroke, and it might be tempting to dismiss the Hudson reports as an error in aircraft identification by a non-wingnut author. However, the RCAF did own and operate Hudson BW719, and this was probably the aircraft involved.
During the 1950s, the RCAF placed large markings on the side of many aircraft, consisting of a two letter unit code to the left of the roundel, plus the "last three" of the complete serial number to the right of the roundel. These are much more obvious than the serial number in photographs from that time, and may appear to be an RAF style serial number. Two well photographed examples of this are Mitchell "HO 891" (actually RCAF serial 891), and Lancaster "MN 122" (actually RAF style serial number FM122).
Subject to all these ifs, ands, and buts, here is my current understanding of the topic. 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
up to Z9999 784 records updated 8 April 2005	up to K8750 52 records updated 13 April 2007	K8751 to L5331 50 records updated 6 July 2007	L5332 to N1045 49 records updated 16 January 2008	N1078 to N5041 51 records updated 21 June 2008	Schneider, Baby, Felixstowe F.3, H-16, D.H.9, Snipe, Avro 504, Siskin, Fairey IIIF, Wapiti, Hart, Audax, Anson, Blenheim, Battle, Spitfire, Walrus, Hampden, Beaufort, Albacore
	N5042 to N5352 50 records updated 24 December 2007	N5353 to N9615 49 records updated 25 July 2008	N9640 to N9901 53 records updated 9 January 2009	N9905 to P6732 48 records updated 21 March 2009	Anson, Camel, Hampden, Battle
	P6734 to R4043 50 records updated 4 May 2009	R4046 to R7446 50 records updated 8 August 2009	R7447 to R9703 47 records updated 27 February 2010	R9714 to V3294 50 records updated 4 December 2011	Battle, Spitfire, Anson, Oxford, Albacore, Hudson
	V3310 to V9504 54 records updated 7 May 2012	V9508 to X6538 50 records Updated 2 September 2012	X6359 to X7057 50 records Updated 10 February 2013	X7116 to Z9999 32 records Updated 2 July 2013	Oxford, Hurricane, Hudson, Lysander, Anson, Walrus, Swordfish, Beaufort, Catalina, Hampden, Spitfire, Albacore, Walrus
AA100 to AZ999 934 records updated 11 March 2005	AA100 to AE900 45 records updated 13 February 2007	AE901 to AJ200 47 records updated 5 March 2007	AJ201 to AJ570 52 records updated 27 April 2007	AJ571 to AJ685 50 records updated 13 July 2007	Hampden, Ventura, Harvard
	AJ686 to AJ790 50 records updated 12 October 2007	AJ791 to AJ908 50 records updated 20 May 2009	AJ909 to AJ959 50 records updated 27 August 2009	AJ960 to AM747 51 records updated 21 August 2011	Harvard, Hampden, Boston, Hudson
	AM748 to AN117 50 records updated 9 September 2013	AN118 to AR813 50 records updated 8 January 2104	AR814 to AS206 50 records updated 7 October 2014	AS207 to AS314 50 records updated 11 February 2015	Hudson, Hampden, Oxford
	AS315 to AS521 51 records updated 10 July 2015	AS522 to AS673 49 records updated 4 October 2015	AS674 to AS803 51 records updated 30 November 2015	AS804 to AT444 51 records updated 31 January 2016	Oxford, Hampden
	AT445 to AT589 35 records updated 9 April 2016	AT590 to AX185 35 records	AX186 to AX414 35 records	AX415 to AX641 36 records	Oxford, Anson
BA100 to FL999 2109 records updated 18 March 2005	BA100 to BG999 47 records	BH100 to BM800 49 records	BM801 to BW300 38 records updated 5 September 2009	BW301 to BW600 42 records updated 20 September 2009	Oxford, Harvard, Hudson
	BW601 to BW680 44 records updated 30 July 2010	BW681 to BW800 47 records updated 9 October 2010	BW801 to BW999 50 records updated 4 December 2006	BX100 to EB450 50 records	Hudson, Hurricane, Boston, Halifax, Anson, Swordfish, Oxford
	EB451 to EB538 50 records	EB539 to EB602 50 records	EB603 to EB677 ? records	EE182 to EW361 50 records updated 8 August 2010	Oxford, Catalina, Lancaster, Meteor, Liberator, Cornell
	EW362 to EW411 50 records	EW412 to EW461 50 records	EW462 to FD692 50 records updated 25 April 2015	FD693 to FD990 50 records	Cornell, Hudson, Baltimore, Ventura, Kaydet
	FD991 to FE308 50 records	FE309 to FE386 50 records	FE387 to FE456 50 records	FE457 to FE561 50 records	Kaydet, Harvard
	FE562 to FE636 50 records	FE637 to FE736 50 records	FE737 to FE810 50 records	FE811 to FE860 50 records	Harvard
	FE861 to FE934 50 records	FE935 to FH105 50 records	FH106 to FH165 50 records	FH166 to FH697 50 records	Harvard, Bermuda, Hudson, Cornell
	FH698 to FH752 50 records	FH753 to FH803 50 records	FH804 to FH853 50 records	FH854 to FH903 50 records	Cornell
	FH904 to FH953 50 records	FH955 to FJ204 50 records updated 7 November 2010	FJ205 to FJ262 50 records updated 12 December 2010	FJ263 to FJ672 50 records updated 12 December 2010	Cornell, Crane
	FJ673 to FJ762 50 records	FJ763 to FJ812 50 records	FJ813 to FJ862 50 records	FJ863 to FJ912 50 records	Cornell, Kaydet
	FJ913 to FJ962 50 records	FJ963 to FK176 50 records	FK177 to FL999 43 records updated 16 April 2008		Kaydet, Mitchell, Hudson, Dakota
FM100 to end 1819 records updated 18 March 2005	FM100 to FM229 50 records	FM300 to FN638 50 records updated 13 March 2010	FN639 to FP702 50 records updated 13 March 2010	FP703 to FP752 50 records	Lancaster, Lincoln, Seamew, Ventura, Catalina, Goose, Anson
	FP753 to FP802 50 records	FP803 to FP852 50 records	FP853 to FP902 50 records	FP903 to FP952 50 records	Anson
	FP953 to FR942 50 records	FR943 to FS957 50 records	FS956 to FT293 50 records	FT294 to FV694 50 records	Anson, Expeditor, Harvard, Cornell
	FV695 to FW278 50 records updated 8 March 2008	FW279 to FZ692 50 records updated 12 March 2008	FZ694 to HB186 50 records	HB207 to HH560 50 records updated 12 March 2008	Cornell, Mitchell, Dakota, Expeditor, Walrus, Hotspur
	HHH561 to HS325 50 records	HS355 to JS100 50 records	JS101 to JS150 50 records	JS151 to JS200 50 records	Hotspur, Mosquito, Swordfish, Spitfire, Anson
	JS201 to JX578 50 records updated 23 March 2010	JX579 to KA232 50 records updated 28 March 2010	KA233 to KA399 50 records	KA400 to KA455 50 records	Anson, Privateer, Seamew, Catalina, Mosquito
	KA456 to KA506 50 records	KA507 to KA888 50 records	KA889 to KB142 50 records	KB143 to KB287 50 records	Mosquito
	KB288 to KB379 50 records	KB380 to KB820 50 records	KB823 to KB891 50 records	KB892 to KB953 50 records	Mosquito, Lancaster
	KB954 to KG441 60 records	KG448 to KH944 60 records	KH945 to KN392 50 records updated 22 April 2010	KN427 to VT196 48 records	Lancaster, Dakota, Liberator, Hadrian, Mitchell, Mosquito, Swordfish, Tempest, Lincoln, Halifax, Spitfire, Vampire, Horsa, Sea Hornet, Meteor

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.

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© 2005-2016 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 11 March 2005. Updated 9 April 2016.