Belgian aircraft registration and serials

Belgian owned and operated aircraft are identified by either registration letters or serial numbers for military aircraft.

Civil aircraft

An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile. In accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation all aircraft must be registered with a national aviation authority and they must carry proof of this registration in the form of a legal document called a Certificate of Registration at all times when in operation.

19131928

The first use of aircraft registrations was based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London International Radiotelegraph Convention (1912). The format was a single letter prefix followed by four other letters. The major nations operating aircraft were allocated a single letter prefix but minor countries had to share a single letter prefix but were allocated exclusive use of the first letter of the suffix. Belgium was not considered a major operator of aircraft and was allocated the prefix and first letter suffix O-B. When the conference allocated the same prefix it made sure that they were in different parts of the world, the other user of the O prefix was Peru and they were allocated O-P. The first allocation was O-BEBE to a Fokker D.VII on 1 March 1920.

1929current

At the 1927 International Radio-Telegraph Conference, new radio callsigns were allocated to Belgium, comprising ON, OO, OP, OQ, OR, OS and OT. In 1928 the International Convention of Air Navigation re-allocated the aircraft registration prefix to align with these radio callsigns. Belgium could use all or any letter groups that had been allocated as radio callsigns and in 1929 the prefix OO- was selected for civilian aircraft, while a number of Belgian military aircraft have used the prefix OT-. On 1 March 1929 a number of existing civilian aircraft were migrated across to the new register, many retaining much of their earlier registration; for instance the Caudron C.27 previously registered O-BAFW became OO-AFW.
Registrations are sometimes re-cycled. One of the first aircraft on the revised register was OO-AJT, initially allocated to a Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100 in March 1929. This same registration was used again from 1952 on a Miles M.14 Hawk Trainer III, and re-issued for a third time in 1958 on a Zlin Z.226T Trener.

Use

Some of the blocks of registrations have had a reserved usage and these include:

OO-BAA to OO-BZZ used mainly for balloons
OO-CAA to OO-CZZ used for the Belgian Congo 1934-1960
OO-YAA to OO-ZZZ used mainly for gliders
OO-01 to OO-499 used for homebuilt aircraft

Belgian Congo

The Belgian Government issued registration for civil aircraft used in the Belgian Congo and from April 1934 used OO-CAA to OO-CZZ. The allocation
ceased in 1960 with independence and the allocation of the prefix 9Q.

Military aircraft

Belgian Air Force

When the Belgian Air Force was re-formed in 1946 individual aircraft were allocated serial numbers in either a one or two letter prefix followed by a one or two digit number. The first allocations were mainly single letters but sometimes a second letter was used to distinguish variants, for example NA-1 was an Avro Anson I and NB-1 was an Anson II.

Designation	Aircraft	Notes
A-	Auster AOP.6
C-	Airspeed Consul
C	de Havilland Canada Chipmunk
D	de Havilland Dominie
G	Miles Magister
H	North American Harvard
K	Douglas Dakota	Some aircraft temporary used KP- for photography, KFC- reconnaissance and KR- for VIP transport
O	Airspeed Oxford
P	Percival Proctor
T	de Havilland Tiger Moth
V	Stampe-Vertongen SV.4	SV-4B and SV-4C
ED	Gloster Meteor T.7
EF	Gloster Meteor F.4
EG	Gloster Meteor F.8
EN	Gloster Meteor NF.11
ID	Hawker Hunter F.4
IF	Hawker Hunter F.6
MA	de Havilland Mosquito TT.3
MB	de Havilland Mosquito NF.30
MC	de Havilland Mosquito TT6
NA	Avro Anson 1
NB	Avro Anson 12
SG	Supermarine Spitfire XIV
SM	Supermarine Spitfire IX

In the 1950s the first letter started to be used as a role prefix, for example FX-01 was a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
classified as a Fighter.

Designation	Aircraft	Notes
AT	Dornier-Dassault Alpha Jet
AX	Avro-Canada CF-100
BA	Dassault Mirage 5BA	First aircraft used the serial MA-01 later changed to BA-01
BD	Dassault Mirage 5BD	First aircraft used the serial MD-01 later changed to BD-01
BR	Dassault Mirage 5BR
CA	Airbus A310
CB	Boeing 727
CD	Dassault Falcon 900
CE	Embraer 135
CF	Swearingen Merlin III
CH	Lockheed C-130 Hercules
CM	Dassault Falcon 20
CP	Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
CS	Hawker Siddeley 748
CT	Airbus A400M Atlas	15th Air Transport Wing, Melsbroek Air Base
FA	General Dynamics F-16A
FB	General Dynamics F-16B
FC	Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter
FR	Republic RF-84F Thunderflash
FS	Republic F-84E Thunderjet
FT	Lockheed T-33A
FU	Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
FX	Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
FZ	Republic F-84G Thunderjet
KX	Douglas DC-4
KY	Douglas DC-6
LB	Piper Super Cub	L-21B air cadet glider tugs
MT	Fouga Magister
RM	Percival Pembroke
RS	Westland Sea King
ST	SIAI SF.260

An Aero Commander 560F was operated for royal flights between 1961 and 1973 without a serial number but display its radio callsign OT-CWB instead. Similarly, there have been Douglas C-47B transports "registered" OT-CWA, OT-CWG and OT-CNR, and a Sikorsky S-58 helicopter "registered" OT-ZKP.

Belgian Army

In 1954 the Belgian Army formed its own aviation element and serial numbers were allocated in the form OL-A01, the OL for Observation Leger, the letter for the type and the number for each individual aircraft. In 1974 the OL prefix was dropped.

Designation	Aircraft	Notes
A	Sud Alouette II
B	Britten-Norman Islander
D	Dornier Do 27
G	Aerospatiale Puma
H	Agusta A.109
L	Piper Super Cub	L-18C

Belgian Navy

The Belgian Navy have operated a number of shipborne helicopters which were allocated serials with single letter prefix although the radio callsigns were also painted on the aircraft in a similar format to registrations.

Designation	Aircraft	Notes
B	Sikorsky S-58
M	Sud Alouette III

Police

The Belgian Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie and later the Federal Police have operated both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters which carry serial numbers prefixed G with individual aircraft identified by increasing numbers. The first was an Aerospatiale Puma registered as G01.