US Army Aircraft Recognition Cards
Air defense combined with gameplay.
During World War II, the US military issued “spotter cards” – flash cards with Allied and Axis bomber and fighter planes to help ground observers identify aircraft. Each card showed an aircraft’s silhouettes from the front, side, and bottom. Those original WWII cards weren’t made for playing;* however, these, issued by the US Army in 1979, are. Like their WWII predecessors, they feature aircraft silhouettes, but with the addition of suit and rank markings allowing for gameplay.
One can see aircraft from the US and its allies UK, France, Italy, West Germany, and Sweden as well as the USSR, America’s Cold War foe. Helicopters have been added into the mix. The backs have what appears to be antiaircraft weaponry. It’s unclear whether these cards were created as a response to a particular threat or not.
US Army Aircraft Recognition Cards issued by the US Army in 1979.
This deck is the forerunner of the US military’s 2003 Iraqi Most Wanted and 2007 Heritage Preservation cards.
*At some point, Bicycle retrofitted the WWII flash cards with suit and rank signs, turning them into playing cards.
By Lev Golinkin
United States • Member since May 26, 2026
I'm a US-based author and journalist. I've been collecting playing cards since I was about 8 years old, when I got mesmerized by the various decks that were used in Soviet Ukraine, where I'm from. I collect mainly European decks such as those by Dondorf, Grimaud, and Piatnik. I love courts above all else, and am drawn toward historical and artistic decks.
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