Page 9 - Avro Lancaster ME801

RAF Aircraft damage categories

Cat.U Undamaged

Cat.M (u) Capable of being repaired on site by the operating unit

Cat.M (c) The repair is beyond unit capacity

Cat.R (B) Repair on site is not possible; the aircraft must be dismantled and sent to a repair
facility

Cat.W Write-off

Cat.U Aircraft undamaged

Cat.A Aircraft can be repaired on site

Cat.Ac Repair is beyond the unit capacity.

(i.e. may be repaired on site by another unit or contractor)

Cat.B Beyond repair on site.

(i.e. repairable at a Maintenance Unit or at a contractor's works)

Cat.C Allocated to Instructional Airframe duties

Cat.E Aircraft is a write-off

Cat.El Aircraft is a write-off but is considered suitable for component recovery

Cat.E2 Aircraft is a write-off and suitable only for scrap

Cat.E3 Aircraft is burnt out

Cat.Em Aircraft is missing from an operational sortie.

(Missing aircraft categorized 'Em' after 28 days)

In addition to the above, the cause of the damage is sometimes indicated by a prefix or suffix,
thus:

FA (Flying Accident) and FB (Operational Loss)

G (Ground Accident) and T (Technical Cause)

EA (Enemy Action)