SURVEY: PLVMB tools with "Letter-Letter" code stamps (and ONLY those tools!)

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not sure I am following you exactly on the manufacturing process observations, but that might be because I was so pleasantly distracted by the big ol' "USAAF" markings scrawled into the walls of a few of those sockets with an electric pencil!

Why is that so significant? Because the US Army Air Forces was created on 20 June 1941 as a successor to the United States Army Air Corps (which it subsumed) and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, established in 1947. Those markings can be considered to be consistent with the original hunch about the codes and the conclusions that some of us still draw about them after hundreds of additional examples.

I don't recall any 3/4-drive sockets in the database, and a quick scan confirmed that, so your return and contribution is already paying off.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Gents,

I got a very nice attachment from Roy (@r_olson_06) in proper format for easy insertion and sorting into the Excel file/database.

Notes:

/ He had a total of fifty-six (56) sure-thing Letter-Letter code tools, which makes him one of the biggest contributors behind Don (@d42jeep) (84) in a pack with Ed (@Oregon rock crusher) (47) and @RubiconJK (41).

/ Here's a summary of his breakdown: AB (6), BB (6), CB (11), DB (4), EB (3), GB (1), AC (3), BC (6), CC (3), DC (3), EC (1), GC (4), IC (1), AD (3), and ID (1). As you would expect from someone with a massive Plomb collection, the tools were very diverse, from end wrenches to socketry and drive tools and a few chisels and punches, too.

Comments:

/ As you can see, his contribution fell very much in line with the Letter-Letter combinations we have seen in the original pattern.

/ In addition to upping our overall numbers - which always increases the statistical relevance, and the wartime "USAAF" scrawled on a few of his 3/4" sockets, as previously noted, his collection did have one other significant effect that bears reporting. The majority of his Letter-Letter code tools were chromed (qty 38) vs plain steel (qty 17), which did bump up the previous percentage of chromed to 36% (vs. 64% not chromed). As we have seen, the majority of those were "early" (_B) vs. "later" (_C) in the sequence.

 

[r_olson_06]

Digging through my sockets I found this 4 point that may shed some light of the subject? A 2A date code on a 5424-S.

 

[d42jeep]

What do you make of this two digit code?
-Don

 

[r_olson_06]

I am guessing beginning of 1942. Nice socket!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this little war finish 1212 3/8” combo wrench at a Genoa NV estate sale today.

...with an "HC" code, I noted. Of similar significance, with even more factory bona fides, as the "USAAF" scrawled on a few of Roy's 3/4-inch drive sockets. Added to the database!