EC-47 Serial Numbers and Data

Table Headings Explanations

S/N: The original U.S. Army Air Forces serial number.* The first two digits indicate the fiscal year in which the order for the aircraft was placed. The numbers following the dash represent the numerical sequence of aircraft ordered in that fiscal year. For example, 45-0925, the original HAWK EYE aircraft, was the 925th aircraft to be ordered in fiscal year 1945.

Last 3: The last 3 digits of the S/N. An aid to identification of the complete S/N when only the last 3 digits are known.

Model: The model number of the aircraft after conversion to EC-47. (The aircraft were originally redesignated RC-47, the R standing for Reconnaissance. The designation was later changed to EC-47, the E standing for Special Electronic Mission.) EC-47N models rolled off the WWII assembly line as A models; EC-47Ps were originally B models. (O is not used to avoid confusion with zero.) EC-47Q models were earlier models retrofitted with more powerful R-2000 engines. (Click here for further explanation of EC-47 model designations.)

Mission Configuration: Mission equipment installed as of August, 1969. Aircraft carrying only the X (ARDF) and Y (collection/support) positions were generally referred to as “straight birds” while those fitted with Z1 and Z2 positions were called “Z birds”. The five aircraft fitted with the QRC-346 electronic warfare suite were informally tagged as “Q birds”. These should NOT be confused with the EC-47Q model noted above, although at times these were also called Q Birds. The QRC-346-equipped "jammers" were in fact all EC-47N airframes.

Built as: C-47 was the basic designation of the aircraft, the C indicating that this was the forty-seventh “C” (cargo, or transport) design to be accepted by the Army Air Corps. The initial model designation of USAAC/USAAF aircraft did not include an alpha suffix. Thus the C-47A was actually the second model to be produced. Fairly significant design changes resulted in the B model. Following the model designator is the “block number”. Each block number represented relatively minor variations from the previous block, but not significant enough to warrant a model change. The last two letters represent the manufacturer and plant location. DL indicated Douglas Long Beach, CA, while DK indicated Douglas Oklahoma City, OK.

Delivery date: The approximate date of delivery or acceptance by the USAAF in World War II. (The two events might be separated by a few days.) 

NOTE: This listing will be gradually updated to include links to photographs and additional information.

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     * The term was in fact Air Forces, plural. The AAF (20 June 1941) did not replace the old Air Corps, which remained as an administrative and training arm. Air Force Combat Command (AFCC) would control the war fighting units. The AAF as a whole remained subordinate to the U.S. Army/War Department until the establishmenet of the USAF (singular) under the Department of Defense in 1947.