Locations of Werknummern on aircraft

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Guchi
WrkNum.s
Thu Mar 14 18:22:52 2002
205.210.222.129

Were work numbers painted anywhere on the aircraft or were they just on a manufacturer's 'plate' somewhere?

TIA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Jim P.
Where?
Fri Mar 15 00:14:22 2002
209.237.197.222

Generally speaking they were applied somewhere on the tail. However, it would seem that in numerous cases they ended up being overpainted during some point during the life of the machine.

But, when they were applied in black on a dark green field they can sometimes be indistinguishable. Then again, on some types they were applied in odd locations. For instance, on some Fw 200s, they were applied to the front of the underbelly gondola.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

guchi
Aha!
Fri Mar 15 01:27:13 2002
64.10.179.46

So some of those 6 - 7 dig numbers that we see on some of the vertical tail surfaces are work numbers?!

Was some way of tracking the work number of an aircraft if the tail section was destroyed? Like an alternative manufacturer's plate maybe?

Also do kit manufacturers 're-produce' this (work numbers on the tail)?

Thanks again!