Aircraft recognition 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 model s , printed silhouette charts , slide projector s , computer aided instruction and even specially - printed playing card s . Early development of skills . In the United Kingdom , The Royal Observer Corps ( ROC ) was formed as a defence warning organisation with civilians trained in aircraft recognition and operated primarily as such between 1925 and 1957 . Aircraft recognition was first developed between the First and Second World wars when aerial warfare was first recognised as a future threat , after 208 Zeppelin and 435 aircraft raids over London during the First World War . In 1917 Germany had started using fixed - wing bombers , and the number of airship raids diminished rapidly . To answer this new threat , Major General Edward Bailey Ashmore , a First World War pilot who had later been in command of an artillery division in Belgium , was appointed to devise improved systems of detection , communication and control . The Metropolitan Observation Service was created , covering the London area , known as the London Air Defence Area , and was soon extended to the coasts of Kent and Essex . This led to the establishment of the Observer Corps in 1925 . It was the creed of the British War Department and the Air Ministry , at the start of the war , that accurate recognition of high - flying and fast - moving aircraft was not possible . The sparetime volunteers of the Observer Corps disagreed and between 1938 and 1939 they started developing the skills and training materials to achieve it , on an unofficial basis . Local units began to band together and form spotting clubs caller " Hearker clubs " that eventually combined in April 1941 as " The Royal Observer Corps Club " and prepared early aircraft type sillouette cards for both allied and German types , mostly made by tracing photographs from " The Aeroplane " magazine , with some made by enlarging sillouettes from commercially produced 1930s cigarette card sets . Technical editor of " The Aeroplane " , Peter Masefield , who was also a member of the Corps , travelled the length of Britain giving lectures and training sessions . The club also produced a fortnightly magazine , " The Aeroplane Spotter " , with the help of " The Aeroplane " ' s printers , that was eventually distributed to every unit in the Corps . Large wall posters were produced that showed every known type of aircraft . The WEFT ( Wingshape , Engine configuration , Fuselage shape and Tail type ) system of recognition was first developed by Chief Observer C . H . Gibbs - Smith of Watford Group ' s Delta 3 post and a member of " Hearker Club No . 3 " . Recognition competitions were organised locally , regionally and nationally and by the start of World War II the Corps had trained nearly 30 , 000 volunteers to accurately recognise all types of current aircraft . The unofficial " Aeroplane Spotter " magazine was later renamed as " The Journal of the Royal Observer Corps Club " before being adopted as an official publication and renamed as " The Royal Observer Corps Journal " published by HMSO and distributed to every observer at a price of one shilling ( 5 new pence ) . In April 1942 the club initiated recognition proficiency tests , later adopted officially by the ROC , with three levels : In September 1942 the government recognised the usefulness and effectiveness of the systems developed by the sparetime observers and first published " Aircraft Recognition The Inter - services Recognition Journal " with early content copied from previous editions of " Aeroplane Spotter " and " The Royal Observer Corps Journal " . Featured tests included " Airborne Headaches " and " Amuse and Confuse " . With official recognition by HQ Royal Observer Corps and the Air Ministry , that accurate recognition of aircraft was achievable , the systems developed by the volunteers were adopted as official training . The Royal Observer Corps Club disbanded in the Autumn of 1942 . In December 1943 the annual Master Test of aircraft recognition was introduced as a compulsory test for all observers and a basic level pass was mantatory for continued membership of the ROC . In the first year those observers who had achieved a club pass at 3rd class level were declared exempt from the basic test requirement . The Royal Observer Corps established an annual four - man recognition team , with keen competition amongst observers for selection . The team continued to compete annually in the UK ' s " Joint Services Aircraft Recognition Competition " and in international competitions with other NATO countries until 1991 , despite aircraft recognition being dropped as an operational role for the Corps in 1957 . There was also a hard - fought annual competition with the Luftmeldekorpsett , the Danish Ground Observer Corps . Aircraft recognition in the United States . 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 .