Airplane spotter cards (pictured left) are playing cards which were designed to feature the different aircraft used during World War II. By playing card games using the airplane spotter cards soldiers easily learned and memorized which aircraft belonged to an enemy or an ally. Members of the civil defense during World War II were able to identify different aircrafts on sight because of this unusual but fun way of studying them.
A deck of airplane spotter cards is composed of 52 cards divided into two sets, one set for the enemy aircraft and the other for the allied aircraft. Each suit represents one country’s different types of airplanes. Spades featured the American aircraft, Hearts had the British aircraft, Diamonds had the German airplanes, and Clubs had the Japanese aircraft. Each card was divided into three parts with the top featuring a picture of the airplane’s frontal image, the middle with the side view of the plane and the bottom with a brief description about the aircraft – its name, country of origin and other vital information.
Purchasing a deck of airplane spotter cards was not only a source of fun for playing poker, go fish, black jack or solitaire but also functioned as a learning tool covering the different aircrafts of World War II.
Today, you can use these cards to teach yourself or your children about World War II aviation. After a few rounds of playing cards, you and your kids will for sure have memorized most of the names of the aircrafts and which country they belong to.
Learning history can also be fun and easy. To pick up a deck of World War II airplane spotter cards, click here. You can also find other World War II collectibles in the World War II products section.