British military aircraft designation systems
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Since the end of the First World War, aircraft types in British military service have generally been known by a "type name" assigned by their manufacturer, or (for various imported types) bestowed upon them by the first military service to bring them into service. This is in contrast to other military aircraft designation systems, such as those used in the United States, where an aircraft type is primarily identified by an alphanumeric designation.
Previous to this practice, from about 1910, it was decided that all aircraft for British Army use would be designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, although they might be built elsewhere. The Royal Aircraft Factory designated its types according to several categories, which were given the following prefixes:
- B.E.: Blériot Experimental (tractor configurations) (e.g B.E.2)
- F.E.: Farman Experimental (pusher configurations) (eg. F.E.2)
- R.E.: Reconnaissance Experimental (eg. R.E.8)
- S.E.: Scouting Experimental (eg. S.E.5)
The Admiralty chose to have private industry design and build its aircraft. The Army eventually relented, and also bought industry-designed aircraft.
There was a period (in the 1920s) when names followed function, beginning with 'F' for fighters, 'N' for naval, 'B' for bomber, and so on.
From 1920 to 1949, most aircraft had an associated Air Ministry Specification number (eg F.4/27). Prototype aircraft would be produced under contract and be known as the (Manufacturer) F.4/27. If accepted they would get a service name. Others were drawn up around a private venture (PV) design which might then get a specification written that could be used as the basis for an official contract, or were an imported model.
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[edit] Naming
The actual names would be decided by the Air Ministry or Admiralty when placing the order. Names followed patterns and alliteration was popular
- Heavy (four-engined) bombers received the names of major cities and towns - Stirling, Lancaster, Halifax
- A trend might be followed by a manufacturer - Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest
- Flying boats were given the names of coastal towns - Lerwick, Stranraer, Sunderland
- If a (land-based) maritime patrol aircraft then a name with nautical exploration associations - Anson (George Anson), Hudson (Henry Hudson), Shackleton (Ernest Shackleton)
- If a naval version on an existing (RAF) aircraft then "Sea" would be put in front - Sea Hurricane, Seafire (in the case of the Supermarine Spitfire), Sea Venom. Sometimes a named RAF version of an aircraft would be later cancelled with the naval version entering service without a corresponding land-based name, e.g., Sea Fury, Sea Vixen.
- Otherwise naval aircraft would have some relation to the sea - Walrus, Skua, Gannet. Torpedo bombers would be given 'fish' names, e.g., Shark, Swordfish, Barracuda.
- Training aircraft would be given names related to academia, universities, etc. - Oxford, Harvard, Balliol.
Occasionally, a manufacturer's alphanumeric designation is used as a type "name". Examples are the VC-10 or the HS.125.
With the radical introduction of jet propulsion, swept wings and nuclear weapons, the new four-engined jet bombers were given names beginning with "V" - the V Bombers - Valiant, Vulcan and Victor.
[edit] Mark numbers
Starting in the inter-war period, variants of each operational type were usually indicated by a "mark number", a Roman numeral added to the type name, usually preceded by "Mark" or "Mk." (eg. "Fury Mk. I"). Mark numbers were allocated sequentially to each new variant, the new Mark number signifying a 'major' change such as a new engine-type. Sometimes an alphabetic suffix was added to the mark number to indicate sub-variants (eg. "Bulldog Mk. IIA"), this signifying a 'minor' change such as to the armament. During the Second World War, mark numbers became prefixed with letters to indicate the rôle of that variant. Prefixes introduced at this time included "NF" for "Night Fighter" or "B" for "Bomber". In 1948, Arabic numerals replaced Roman. This system has continued largely unchanged to this day with the addition of more prefixes as new rôles have arisen.
A typical example is the first Lockheed Hercules variant in RAF service, known as the Hercules C1 ("Cargo, Mark 1"). A later version with a lengthened fuselage received the designation Hercules C3 because a single example adapted for weather monitoring purposes had already taken the designation Hercules W2. Aircraft with a long service life may find that their function changes from time to time and a change in the designation letters and sometimes the following digit will reflect such new rôles.
The prefixed mark number can be presented in three different styles - for example:
- Hercules C Mark 3 - very rarely used
- Hercules C Mk 3 - official style
- Hercules C3 - common abbreviated style
Very often, a full-stop is used to break the number from the prefix, eg. "C. Mk. 3" or "C.3", although this practice was officially discontinued recently for current in-service types.
When major modifications are made to an aircraft the designation can change - example when the Harrier GR7 is upgraded with more powerful engines and electronics it becomes a Harrier GR9. Minor modification that require the aircraft to be operated or maintained differently can result in a suffix to the designation - example a VC-10 C1 modified for in-flight refuelling becomes a VC-10 C1K.
Export variants of British military aircraft are usually allocated mark numbers (sometimes without a rôle prefix) from a higher block of numbers. This block usually starts at Mark 50. A converse convention was adopted for the Canadian-designed Chipmunk, where the sole British service variant was designated Chipmunk T.10.
Rôle prefixes used at various times comprise:
| Prefix | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A | Airborne (paratroop transport) | Halifax A7 |
| AOP | Airborne observation post | Auster AOP9 |
| AEW | Airborne early warning | Sentry AEW1 |
| AH | Army helicopter | Apache AH1 |
| AL | Army liaison | Islander AL1 |
| AS | Anti-submarine | Gannet AS1 |
| ASR | Air-sea rescue | Sea Otter ASR.II |
| ASaC | Airborne Surveillance and Control | Sea King ASaC7 |
| B | Bomber | Vulcan B2 |
| B(I) | Bomber interdictor | Canberra B(I)8 |
| B(K) | Bomber/tanker | Valiant B(K)1 |
| B(PR) | Bomber/photo reconnaissance | Valiant B(PR)1 |
| C | Transport | Hercules C4 |
| CC | Transport and communications | BAe 125 CC3 |
| COD | Courier - later Carrier - onboard delivery | Gannet COD4 |
| D | Drone or pilotless aircraft | Shelduck D1 |
| E | Electronic warfare | Canberra E15 |
| ECM | Electronic counter-measures | Avenger ECM6 |
| F | Fighter | Typhoon F2 |
| FA | Fighter/attack | Sea Harrier FA2 |
| FAW | Fighter, all-weather | Javelin FAW9 |
| FB | Fighter-bomber | Sea Fury FB11 |
| FG | Fighter/ground attack | Phantom FG1 |
| FGA | Fighter/ground attack (superseded by FG) | Hunter FGA9 |
| FGR | Fighter/ground attack/reconnaissance | Phantom FGR2 |
| FR | Fighter/reconnaissance | Hunter FR10 |
| FRS | Fighter/reconnaissance/strike | Sea Harrier FRS1 |
| GA | Ground attack | Hunter GA11 |
| GR | General reconnaissance (superseded by MR) | Lancaster GR3 |
| GR | Ground attack/reconnaissance | Harrier GR9 |
| HAR | Helicopter, air rescue | Sea King HAR3 |
| HAS | Helicopter, anti-submarine | Sea King HAS2 |
| HC | Helicopter, cargo | Chinook HC2 |
| HCC | Helicopter, transport and communications | Squirrel HCC1 |
| HF | High-altitude fighter (Spitfire only) | Spitfire HF.VII |
| HM | Helicopter, maritime | Merlin HM1 |
| HMA | Helicopter, maritime attack | Lynx HMA8 |
| HR | Helicopter, rescue | Dragonfly HR5 |
| HT | Helicopter, training | Griffin HT1 |
| HU | Helicopter, utility | Sea King HU4 |
| K | Tanker | VC-10 K4 |
| KC | Tanker/transport | Tristar KC1 |
| L | Low-altitude fighter (Seafire only) | Seafire L.III |
| LF | Low-altitude fighter (Spitfire only) | Spitfire LF16 |
| Met | Meteorological reconnaissance (superseded by W) | Hastings Met.1 |
| MR | Maritime reconnaissance | Nimrod MR2 |
| MRA | Maritime reconnaissance and attack | Nimrod MRA4 |
| NF | Night fighter | Venom NF2 |
| PR | Photographic reconnaissance | Canberra PR9 |
| R | Reconnaissance | Sentinel R1 |
| S | Strike (generally Fleet Air Arm types) | Buccaneer S2 |
| SR | Strategic reconnaissance | Victor SR2 |
| T | Training | Hawk T1 |
| TF | Torpedo fighter | Beaufighter TF10 |
| TR | Torpedo/reconnaissance | Sea Mosquito TR33 |
| TT | Target tug | Canberra TT18 |
| TX | Training glider | Cadet TX3 |
| U | Drone or pilotless aircraft - code superseded by D | Meteor U3 |
| W | Weather research | Hercules W2 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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