page_title: Aircraft recognition
section_title: Aircraft recognition in the United States
hierarchical_section_title: Aircraft recognition / Aircraft recognition in the United States
caption_attribution_description: Lot 8081-3: Aircraft Recognition Tests, 1943. “Double Trouble…or is one ours?” Answer: P-51 “Mustang” Fighter is below while a Messerschmitt “ME 109” is on top. Note the square tail of the Mustang. Bureau of Naval Personnel. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (2016/04/29).
context_page_description: Aircraft recognition is a visual skill taught to military personnel and civilian auxiliaries since the introduction of military aircraft in World War I. It is important for air defense and military intelligence gathering.
  Aircraft recognition generally depends on learning the external appearance of the aircraft, both friendly and hostile, most likely to be encountered. Techniques used to teach this information have included scale models, printed silhouette charts, slide projectors, computer aided instruction and even specially-printed playing cards.
context_section_description: In the US during World War II, civilians were enlisted into a Ground Observer Corps to support air defense operations, receiving training in aircraft identification.
  The US military continues to use "WEFT" as a mnemonic for the major features of an aircraft: Wings or rotors to provide lift, Engines to provide power, a Fuselage to carry the payload and pilot, and a Tail assembly which controls the direction of flight. These elements differ in shape, size, number, and position. The differences distinguish one aircraft type from another. The individual components can be taught as separate recognition and identification features, but it is the composite of these features that must be learned to recognize and identify an aircraft.
caption: Test of aircraft recognition with a P-51 Mustang Fighter below a Messerschmitt Bf 109
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