1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system

Until 1962, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard used a system to designate their aircraft that included information about a craft's role and its manufacturer. For a listing of all such designations see List of military aircraft of the United States (naval).

The system

The system conveyed its information in the form:

(Mission)(Design Number)(Manufacturer)-(Subtype)(Minor Modification)

For example, F4U-1A referred to the first minor modification (A) to the first major subtype (1) of Chance-Vought's (U) fourth (4) fighter (F) design.

For the first few years after the system was introduced, the manufacturer's letter and the mission letter were sometimes reversed. If it was the manufacturer's first design for that particular mission, there was no number before the manufacturer letter.

Mission

The mission of the aircraft was designated by a one or two letter code. This code would also indicate whether the craft was a glider (L), helicopter (H) or lighter-than-air (Z). Duplicated codes were not in use at the same time.

Design number

In cases where an aircraft was its manufacturer's first design for a particular mission, the 1 would not be written. Thus the Consolidated Catalina patrol aircraft was the PBY, not PB1Y, and the McDonnell Phantom was FH, not F1H.

Manufacturer

The codes used to denote manufacturers were not unique to a single company as they were reassigned, usually when the company had either ceased operations or had not produced an aircraft for the Navy for a considerable period of time. Additionally, aircraft built under license received a separate design number than the aircraft produced by the designing company. For example, Goodyear produced Vought's F4U as the FG and Grumman's TBF torpedo bomber was produced by General Motors as the TBM. Foreign aircraft generally did not receive a designation under this system unless they were to be built under license in the United States, or were built in Canada for use in the U.S.

Special modifications

Letters were occasionally appended after the design number, in the same place held for minor modifications to the subtype. Adding 'N' to the Grumman F6F-5 designated the radar equipped nightfighter version of that model: F6F-5N. There was no standarization with these codes.

End of the system

In 1962, the Department of Defense unified its aircraft designation systems along the lines of the Air Force's system. Many Navy aircraft then in service were redesignated. For many planes, the mission letters and design numbers were retained, as the AD Skyraider became the A-1 and the F4H Phantom II became the F-4. Some aircraft design numbers were not retained, like the North American Vigilante, which was redesignated from A3J to A-5 (the A-3 designation having already been assigned to the A-3 Skywarrior).

Similar systems

A very similar system, the short system, was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in the late 1920s that differed only in the use of the 1 for the first assigned type, and having letters assigned to match Japanese aircraft and manufacturers.

**Aircraft Type Codes^[1]**
Code	Type	Example	Period
A	Attack	AD	1946–1962
A	Ambulance	AE	1943–1962
B	Bomber	BG	1931–1946
BD	Bomber - Drone	BDR	1944
BF	Bomber - Fighter	BF2C	1934–1937
BT	Bomber - Torpedo	BTD	1942–1945
DS	Drone - Antisubmarine	DSN	1959–1962
F	Fighter	F2A	1922–1962
G	Aerial Refueling Tanker	GV-1	1958–1962
G	Glider	RG (USCG)	1946–1962
G	Transport, Single Engined	GK	1939–1941
H	Hospital	HE	1929–1942
H	Air-Sea Rescue	never assigned	1946–1962
HC	Helicopter - Crane	HCH	1952–1955
HJ	Helicopter - Utility	HJP	1944–1949
HN	Helicopter - Training	HNS	1944–1948
HO	Helicopter - Observation	HO4S	1944–1962
HR	Helicopter - Transport	HRB	1944–1962
HS	Helicopter - anti-Submarine	HSS	1951–1962
HT	Helicopter - Training	HTK	1948–1962
HU	Helicopter - Utility	HUP	1950–1962
J	Utility	JB	1928–1955
JR	Utility transport	JRM	1935–1955
KD	Drone	KDA	1945–1962
LB	Glider Bomb (unmanned)	LBD	1941–1945
LN	Glider - Trainer	LNE	1941–1945
LR	Glider - Transport	LRW	1941–1945
M	Marine Expeditionary	EM	1922–1923
N	Trainer^[2]	N3N	1922–1946
O	Observation	O2U	1922–1962
OS	Observation Scout	OS2U	1935–1945
P	Patrol	PV	1922–1962
PT	Patrol Torpedo	never assigned	1922
PB	Patrol Bomber	PBY	1935–1962
PTB	Patrol Torpedo Bomber	PTBH	1937–1938
P	Pursuit	WP	1922–1923
R	Racer	R2C	1922–1928
R	Transport	R4D	1931–1962
RO	Rotocycle	RON	1954–1959
S	Scout	SC	1922–1946
S	anti-Submarine	S2F	1946–1962
SB	Scout Bomber (dive bomber)	SBD	1934–1946
SN	Scout Trainer^[3]	SNJ	1939–1946
SO	Scout Observation	SOC	1934–1946
T	Torpedo	DT	1922–1935
T	Transport	TA	1927–1930
T	Trainer	T2J	1946–1962
TB	Torpedo Bomber	TBD	1935–1946
TD	Target Drone	TDC	1942–1946
TS	Torpedo Scout	TSF	1943–1946
U	Utility	UF	1955–1962
W	airborne early Warning	WF	1952–1962
ZP	Patrol Airship	ZPG	1947–1962
ZR	Rigid Airship	ZR	1922–1935
ZS	Scout Airship	ZS2G	1954–1962
ZT	Training Airship	ZTG	1947–1962
ZW	airborne early Warning Airship	ZWG	1952–1962

**Aircraft Manufacturer Codes^[1]**
Code	Name	Example	Period
A	Allied	XLRA	1943
A	Atlantic/General Aviation^[4]	XFA-1	1927–1932
A	Brewster	F2A	1935–1943
A	Noorduyn	JA-1	1946
B	Bee line	BR-1	1922
B	Boeing	F2B	1923–1962
B	Beechcraft	GB	1937–1962
B	Budd	RB	1942–1944
BS	Blackburn (UK)	BST	1922
C	Curtiss and Curtiss-Wright	R4C	1922–1962
C	Culver	TDC	1941–1946
C	Cessna	JRC	1943–1951
C	de Havilland Canada	UC	1955–1962
CH	Caspar(Germany)	CST	1922
D	Douglas^[5]	R2D	1922–1962
D	McDonnell	FD	1942–1946
D	Radioplane	TDD	1943-1948
D	Frankfort	TD3D	1945-1946
DH	de Havilland (UK)	XDC-60	1927–1931
DW	Dayton-Wright	SDW	1923
E	Bellanca	XRE	1931–1937
E	Cessna	OE	1951–1962
E	Detroit	TE	1928
E	Edo	OSE	1943–1962
E	Elias	EM	1922–1924
E	Hiller	YROE	1948–1962
E	Piper	AE-1	1941–1945
E	Pratt-Read/Gould	LNE	1942–1945
F	Grumman	SF	1931–1962
F	Fairchild-Canada	SBF	1942–1945
F	Fokker (Netherlands)	FT	1922
G	A.G.A. (originally Pitcairn)	XLRG	1941–1942
G	Eberhart	XF2G	1927–1928
G	Gallaudet	not used	1922–1923
G	Globe	KDG	1946–1959
G	Goodyear	F2G	1942–1962
G	Great Lakes	BG	1929–1935
H	Hall-Aluminum	PH	1928–1937
HP	Handley Page(UK)	HPS	1922–1923
H	Howard	GH	1941–1944
H	Huff-Daland	HO	1922–1927
H	McDonnell	F3H	1946–1962
H	Snead	LRH	1942
H	Stearman-Hammond	JH	1937–1939
J	Berliner-Joyce^[4]	OJ	1929–1935
J	General Aviation^[4]	PJ	1935–1937
J	North American^[4]	SNJ	1937–1962
JL	Junkers-Larson	JL	1922
K	Fairchild/Kreider-Reisner	XR2K	1935, 1937-1942
K	Kaiser-Fleetwings	XBTK	1948–1950
K	Kaman	HTK/HOK/HUK	1950–1962
K	Keystone	PK	1927–1930
K	Kinner	XRK	1935–1936
K	J. V. Martin	KF	1922–1924
K	Nash-Kelvinator	JRK	1942
L	Bell	XFL	1939–1962
L	Columbia	XJL	1944–1946
L	Langley	XNL	1940
L	Loening	OL	1923–1933
L	L.W.F.	not used	1922
M	Martin	JRM	1922–1962
M	General Motors (Eastern)	TBM	1942–1945
M	McCulloch	HUM	1951–1952
N	Gyrodyne Company	DSN	1960
N	Naval Aircraft Factory	N3N	1922–1962
O	Lockheed	R2O	1931–1942
O	Piper	UO	1955–1962
O	Viking	OO	1923–1941
P	Piasecki/P.V./Vertol	HUP	1946–1962
P	Piper	LNP	1941–1945
P	Pitcairn	OP	1931–1932
P	Spartan	NP	1940–1941
PL	Parnall(UK)	PL?	1922
Q	Bristol^[6]	XLRQ	1941–1943
Q	Fairchild	J2Q	1928–1962
Q	Hall-Aluminum	unkn. designation	1926
Q	Stinson	XR3Q	1934–1936
R	Aeronca	LNR	1942–1946
R	American Aviation	unk. designation	1942
R	Brunswick	drone, unk. designation	1942–1943
R	Ford	JR/RR	1927–1932
R	Interstate	TDR	1942–1945
R	Maxson	NR	1939–1940
R	Radioplane	KD2R	1940–1952
R	Ryan	FR	1948–1962
RO	Meridionali Romeo (Italy)	unk. designation	1933
S	Aeromarine	AS	1922
S	Schweizer	LNS	1941
S	Sikorsky	JRS	1928–1962
S	Sperry	Drone, unk. designation	1950
S	Stearman	N2S	1934–1945
S	Stout	ST	1922
S	Supermarine	ST reserved, not used	1943
T	New Standard	NT	1930–1934
T	Northrop	F2T	1933-1937 & 1944-1962
T	Taylorcraft	LBT	1942–1946
T	Temco	KDT	1955–1962
T	Thomas-Morse	R-5 maybe not used	1922
T	Timm	N2T	1941–1943
U	Chance-Vought	F4U	1922–1962
V	Canadian Vickers	PBV	1941–1945
V	Lockheed	P2V	1942–1962
V	Vultee	SNV	1943–1945
VK	Vickers	Viking unk. designation	1923
W	Canadian Car & Foundry	SBW	1942–1945
W	Waco	XJW	1934–1945
W	Willys-Overland	unk. designation	1948–1962
W	Wright	NW	1922–1926
X	Cox-Klemin	XS	1922–1924
Y	Consolidated	PBY	1926–1954
Y	Stinson	OY	1942–1950
Y	Convair	F2Y	1954–1962
Z	Wilford/Pennsylvania	XOZ	1933–1934

References

Citations

1 2 Swanborough, Gordon and Peter Bowers, US Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Putnam, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-838-0
↑ analogous to USAAC Primary Trainer
↑ analogous to USAAF Advanced Trainer
1 2 3 4 Atlantic, Berliner-Joyce, General Aviation and North American Aviation shared a lineage as a result of mergers and renamings, hence the reuse of the designation letter "J"
↑ The US Navy RD-2 and the USCG RD-2 designations referred to two substanntially different versions of the Douglas Dolphin
↑ Unrelated to British company of similar name.

External links

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