Aircraft marking

Aircraft markings are symbols and annotations painted on aircraft, primarily for visual identification. Types of aircraft markings include:

Aircraft registration, unique alphanumeric string that identifies every aircraft
Invasion stripes, alternating black and white bands painted on the fuselages and wings of World War II Allied aircraft, for the purpose of increased recognition by friendly forces
Military aircraft insignia, applied to military aircraft to identify the nation or branch of military service
- United Kingdom
  - Royal Air Force roundels, a circular identification mark used since 1915, United Kingdom
  - United Kingdom military aircraft registration number, the alpha-numeric registration used to identify individual military aircraft
- Royal Canadian Air Force, roundels used from 1920–1945
- Hungarian Air Force, a set of aligned triangles which points toward the front of the aircraft
- Romanian Air Force#Aircraft markings, roundels on military vehicles and aircraft that use the colours of the Romanian flag
- Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, an adapted version of the former Royal Yugoslav Air Force roundel that was officially adopted in 2006
- South African Air Force, roundels adopted in 2002 that are distinct from the Army
- United States:
  - United States military aircraft national insignia, a listing of the nationality markings used by military aircraft of the United States
  - United States military aircraft serials, the serial numbers used to identify individual military aircraft
  - USAAF unit identification aircraft markings, an identification code to identify the unit to which U.S. aircraft are assigned
  - Tail code, markings, usually on the vertical stabiliser of U.S. military aircraft, that help to identify the unit and base assignment
Nose art, decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, often applied during conflicts
Mission marks, monochrome stencil representations on the fuselage (typically adjacent to the cockpit) of individual ordinance items delivered during conflict by that specific aircraft
List of air forces provides the markings used by each military organisation, with historical examples.

See also[edit]