Often aircraft either built locally or those impressed from civilian sources, as well as several overseas types, were assigned numbers in sequential order starting at 1 however, gaps in the numbering sometimes occurred for unknown reasons.
With the assigning of the A prefix for aircraft it was also decided that aircraft should be assigned its own identifying number for each type than another number for each individual aircraft. With the introduction of the N prefix for the Navy's aircraft it is also possible to assume the A stands for Air Force or Army depending on the aircraft itself. It is often mistaken that the A in the aircraft's serial number stands for Australia when it is merely just the group identification code. Prior to this system of identification aircraft had been using RFC/RAF serial numbers. The prefix Royal was granted soon after and promulgated on 31 August 1921.Ī series of prefixes were designed to identify specific areas or materials within the air force, some of which are still widely in use to this day.
On this day the AAC was disbanded and replaced by the Australian Air Force (AAF) as a separate service. The Commonwealth Gazette of 31 March 1921 announced the formation of the Australian Air Force.