USNavy training units markings

[SeabeeCook]

I realize that this thread is nearly three years old. I am trying to identify the TBF on the aircraft carrier flight deck. My father said that he took carrier qualification on the USS Sangri-La (CV-38) in the spring of 1946. In 1946, the Sangri-La conducted carrier qualification in three locations: off Norfolk, Virginia, March 4-7 and off San Diego, California, April 23-26 and April 30-May 9. The Shangri-La departed San Diego for Operation Crossroads (Bikini Island atomic tests) on May 21, 1946. Dad's "Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service" (NAVPERS-533) says that he completed 12 weeks operation training at NAS Fort Lauderdale followed by 8 weeks carrier qualification at NAS Cecil Field.

I am interested in the identification of the TBF with the marking "S4" on the fuselage. You helped me identify the TBF with "CT" on the fuselage in the other photo.

Thank you for any assistance,

Steven

 

[YellowT34]

VBF-13, you are welcome! But I must thank you for the shared memories too. And...apologize for the wrong guess! Half of my "explanation" was wrong: M was not assigned to Master Field - see below.
As I wrote before, I remember I've already seen all this 2-letter abbreviations and their meaning, but I couldn't remember where and when. I started checking all my books and notes and (Thanks God!) I found the data. Here it is:
1. One or two characters designate the Naval Air Station and the number of the training unit (if more than one). If there was only one training unit a single letter designated the Air Station to which an a/c was assigned (2 exceptions with 2 letters see below): The assigned letters were:
J = Jacksonville
M = Miami
B = St Simons Island (Brunswick)
D = Daytona Beach
ME = Melbourne
V = Vero Beach
F = Fort Lauderdale
L = Lake City
DE = Deland
S = Sanford
R = Banana River
K = Key West (initially)
K = Beaufort, SC (later)
E = Edenton, SC (USMC)
G = Green Grove Springs, FL
C = Cecil Field, FL
2. One letter indicated the type of Operational Unit resp. the a/c type:
F = Fighter
S = Scout Bomber
T = Torpedo Bomber
P = Patrol Bomber
B = Landplane Bomber
N = Miscellaneous Trainer (e.g. Navigation, Instrument etc.)
3. The number after the two letters (painted on the wings in a group with the letters, but sometimes separately on the fuselage) denotes the number of the a/c in the unit. For example:
View attachment 252365
This is the 48-th a/c from a fighter OTU (F) in NAS Miami (M).
View attachment 252366
This is the 112-th a/c from the first fighter OTU (F) in NAS Jacksonville (J1).
View attachment 252367
This is the 156-th a/c from a miscellaneous TU (N) in NAS Deland (DE).
In other words your dad's "Dauntless" was the 19-th a/c in a Scout Bomber OTU in Miami.
Unfortunately the older alphanumeric designations were not that well described and I couldn't find any good explanation. But I'm still searching...
Best Regards!

Catch,

Where on earth did you find that photo of the DeLand SNJ? If you have any others, please, please, please direct me to where I can find them. I'm trying to do some research on these SNJs in the Daytona area and it is hard to come by anything related to the hack aircraft, their markings/colors, and numbers. Thanks for anything you can do to steer me in the right direction!

 

[CATCH 22]

Catch,

Where on earth did you find that photo of the DeLand SNJ? If you have any others, please, please, please direct me to where I can find them. I'm trying to do some research on these SNJs in the Daytona area and it is hard to come by anything related to the hack aircraft, their markings/colors, and numbers. Thanks for anything you can do to steer me in the right direction!

This is a very old thread and my memory is not the same as 6 years ago.
The source for the above photo: US Navy & USMC Aircraft Color Guide Vol.2 1940-1949., page 109.
Check your pm as well.
Regards,
Yves