[firefighterpilot1]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Funny, but this is probably the primary reason I like AJ210 just a bit better....I don't need every jet in my collection being a CAG....and that's what most of 'em (Navy) are. (the "00"s just start getting monotonous)

I understand, but typically the color birds are reserved for the CAG or CO birds so it just seems more appropriate to me to have the color bird be the CAG bird. (even though the entire squadron was done up in that scheme at the time)

[Louie]

What exactly did the AJ stand for anyway?

[IKONOS]

Originally Posted by trex0770

After all of this talk about the AJ210 I went back and found that I actually have 2 of them!

You may want to double check your AJ210 just one more time to be sure. If I remember correctly, there was a thread floating around here a little while ago about a mix-up on this and the AJ200 bird(?) - something about 210 being printed on the wing and 200 on the fuselage... or vice-versa. Does any else remember this?

[lanslide]

Oh boy...here we go again!
Question on AJ200 with 202 nose number

[tripoli]

Lol
Given the prices these are going now... Dang, CW does owe me.

[Louie]

so what does the AJ stand for anyway?

[Andrew]

Thats the letter coding for the carrier group. All the aircraft from a carrier will carry the same letters. I guess its to identify from which carriers they are from.

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Louie

so what does the AJ stand for anyway?

Aircraftus Jollyrogerus

[David Hingtgen]

The A is for Atlantic, the J is just a letter. All Atlantic squadrons are A*, all Pacific are N*. (Yes, P would make more sense, but this the is the US military, so sense is just not an option). (Really, it's N because that's the beginning of the second half of the alphabet---if you go deeper, everything's split A-M, and N-Z, but the important carrier air wings get the "first" letter of each group---thus A and N)

As for AJ----that is the code for CVW-8, (Carrier Wing 8). Note--carrier *wing*, not carrier. Carrier wing 8 always show AJ codes, no matter what squadron is in them or what carrier they are deployed on. Now, normally squadrons stay with a wing for a while, but the wing can move carriers quite often. Thing is, VF-84 was so famous, and CVW-8 stayed with the Nimitz for so long, that people assocate AJ with the Jolly Rogers and/or the Nimitz, even though it was just "coincidence" that a lot of pics showed that. The Jolly Rogers do not get their own code, no squadron does, USN or USAF. Squadrons belong to a wing, and so they show the wing's code. (Though there are plenty of times that a lone squadron is the only member of a wing---but it's still the WING's tail code they are showing, not the individual squadron's) VF-41 was paired with VF-84 for a long time, and thus as they were both part of CVW-8, they both showed CVW-8's code of AJ. Regardless of carrier. (CVW-8 moved to the Roosevelt in the late 80's/early 90's) Squadrons used to be paired for a long time and stayed with a wing, with wings staying with a carrier for cruise after cruise. (70's, 80's, early 90's). Nowadays, squadrons get switched within wings all the time, and wings change carriers every cruise it seems. Hornets rarely wear the same tailcode for more than a year or two it seems.

• CVW-1 "AB"
• CVW-2 "NE"
• CVW-3 "AC"
• RCVW-4 "AD" (Disestablished)
• CVW-5 "NF"
• CVW-6 "AE" (Disestablished)
• CVW-7 "AG"
• CVW-8 "AJ"
• CVW-9 "NG"
• CVW-10 "NM" or "AK" (Disestablished)(1)
• CVW-11 "NH"
• RCVW-12 "NJ" (Disestablished)
• CVW-13 "AK" (Disestablished)(2)
• CVW-14 "NK"
• CVW-15 "NL" (Disestablished)
• CVW-16 "AH" (Disestablished)
• CVW-17 "AA"
• CVW-18
• CVW-19 "NM" (Disestablished)
• CVW-21 "NP" (Disestablished)

If you ever see something saying a USN squadron's tailcode is NK or something, that's wrong. They may have that painted on the tails at the moment, but that's just temporary. May be for 5 years, but it's still temporary. And again--that's the WING's code, not the squadron's. It's the same as the US insignia---that's the symbol for the United States, not the squadron's personal nationality marking...

Currently, CVW-7 (AG) is the "coolest" wing by far IMHO. They've got the Jolly Rogers, Pukin Dogs, Wildcats, and Rampagers. Currently on the Eisenhower.

[Louie]

Thanks David you are a wealth of information.