Designation system for aircraft used by the US Navy from 1922 to 1962
The US Navy's designation system from 1922 to 1962 describes the formal guidelines for the designation of aircraft in service with the US Navy , the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guard during the specified period.
development
Prior to 1920, US Navy aircraft were generally procured and operated under the manufacturer's designation. Sometimes a general description like Twin Tractor Seaplane was used. Starting on March 27, 1914, all aircraft were assigned a serial number, each of which was preceded by a two-letter prefix. The first letter was A for heavier-than-air vehicles, B for balloon, D for dirigible balloons, K for tethered balloons. There were five names for aircraft:
- AB: Flying boats
- AC: Convertible aircraft
- AH: Seaplanes
- AL: Land-based types
- AX: amphibious aircraft
On June 17, 1920, a new nomenclature was introduced in order to be able to do justice to the growing number of aircraft types and the new tasks. Accordingly, lighter-than-air vehicles were given the letter “Z” and heavier-than-air vehicles the letter “V” as type designation. The class designation of "Z-type" was "R" for steerable rigid airships , "N" for steerable, non-rigid airships and "K" for Airships . Classes “F” for fighter aircraft, “O” for observation, “S” for reconnaissance (scouting), “P” for patrol, “T” for torpedo and torpedo aircraft were valid for the “V types” Bomb planes and “G” for fleet planes (transport, connection).
The next major change came into force on March 29, 1922, when the manufacturer became mandatory in the designation. From then on, a combination of letters and numbers was used, with the first letter identifying the manufacturer and the second indicating the class or the order ( mission ). So was z. B. MO an observation aircraft from Martin. Numbers between the letters stood for the design sequence of this manufacturer, whereby the "1" was left out for the first draft. A hyphen was followed by a sequential number for the variants of the type. The second variant was the MO-2, while the second draft of an observation aircraft by Martin was given the designation M2O.
Designation system from 1923
On March 10, 1923, the regulation that was valid until 1962 was passed, in which the order of the two letters was reversed. The name FB then stood for a fighter aircraft built by Boeing, but aircraft already in use were not renamed.
A rule-compliant designation of an aircraft thus had at least 3 and at most 7 elements, according to the table below. The numbers in bold indicate the mandatory information.
| <Prefix> | <type> | <Draft number> | <manufacturer> | - | <Variant counter> | <Optional equipment> | <name> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) |
The code letter for the purpose indicated the main purpose. Different uses with special equipment were taken into account in the suffix for special tasks.
It should be emphasized that, contrary to the currently valid designation system, the manufacturer was also taken into account in the designation. Since only a single letter should be used for this abbreviation, the number of different manufacturer abbreviations was limited to 26. Accordingly, many abbreviations had to be used several times (see table below).
There was no consecutive numbering in a type class, but counting was carried out separately for each manufacturer. Furthermore, the design number was only given if it was greater than 1. For example, the McDonnell FH Phantom was followed by the F2H Banshee as the next design by the same manufacturer .
Since the manufacturer's information was part of the designation, an unchanged produced type had to be given a new designation in the case of license production. This applies e.g. E.g. the Wildcat, which was produced by Grumman as the F4F, and also by General Motors as the FM.
Examples
| Prefix for status or class |
Type or class |
Manufacturer's design number |
Manufacturer | Variants sequence |
Suffix for optional equipment |
Surname | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F. | 4th | U | - | 1 | C. | Corsair | |
| Fighter plane |
4. hunting aircraft from Vought |
U = Vought |
First variant |
cannon armament |
Navy name | ||
| HO | 4th | S. | - | 2 | G | ||
| Observation helicopter |
4. Sikorsky observation helicopter |
S = Sikorsky |
Second variant |
Rescue facility as special equipment |
without name | ||
| Y | RO | N | - | 1 | Rotor cycle | ||
| Pre-series |
Kleinhub- helicopter |
first Kleinhub- helicopter of CMGs |
N = gyrodyne |
First variant |
no special equipment |
Navy name | |
| optional | necessary |
only necessary if> 1 |
necessary | optional | optional | optional |
Lists for the designation elements
List for status or class prefix (1)
| character | meaning |
|---|---|
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List of types or classes (2)
| symbol | meaning | Usage period | Last use |
|---|---|---|---|
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List of manufacturer codes (4)
| character | Manufacturer | Valid from to |
|---|---|---|
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List of optional equipment codes (6)
| A. | |||||
| Modifications of various kinds | Arming otherwise unarmed aircraft | Landing facilities for aircraft carriers | Built for the Army or received by the Army | Amphibious version | Land-based version of a carrier aircraft |
| B. | |||||
| Modifications of various kinds | Special armament | British version from lend lease contract | |||
| C. | |||||
| additional landing hook | Reinforced for catapult use | Cannon armament | Navy name for Army C-Series aircraft (SBN-2C = AT-7C) | ||
| D. | |||||
| Drop tanks | Drone control | Special search | Special radar | Navy name for Army D-series aircraft | |
| E. | |||||
| Electronics equipment | |||||
| F. | |||||
| Flagship conversion | Special engine | ||||
| G | |||||
| Search and Rescue (SAR) | Coast Guard version | Cannons in an otherwise unarmed aircraft | Navy name for Army G-Series aircraft | ||
| H | |||||
| Hospital renovation | Navy name for Army H-series aircraft | ||||
| J | |||||
| Special equipment for cold weather | Navy name for Army J-series aircraft | ||||
| K | |||||
| Drone conversion | |||||
| L. | |||||
| Winter equipment | with searchlight | ||||
| M. | |||||
| with rocket launcher | |||||
| N | |||||
| Night fighter | All-weather equipment | ||||
| P | |||||
| Equipment for photographic reconnaissance | |||||
| Q | |||||
| Electronic Countermeasure Equipment (ECM) | |||||
| R. | |||||
| Transporter conversion | |||||
| S. | |||||
| Submarine hunting equipment | |||||
| T | |||||
| Two-seat trainer version | |||||
| U | |||||
| Multipurpose version (utility) | |||||
| W. | |||||
| Special search version | Airborne early warning version | ||||
| Z | |||||
| Rod transport | |||||
literature
- John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Ed .: Midland Counties Publications.