WWII Navy Plane Names/Designations, please explain

Hey Toad!

You were pretty close! Here's a bit of info that should help explain.

The first letter or letters in the designation indicate the type or the class of the aircraft. "S" for Scout, "SB" for Scout Bomber, "T" for Torpedo, "F" for Fighter etc. The last letter in a designation is the manufacturer's code. "A" for Brewster, "F" for Grumman, "M" for General Motors...

Some types are not as obvious as others. Take a Transport aircraft for instance; the letter "T" is already used for Torpedo aircraft. So the code letter for a Transport bird would be "R". I don't know why it's "R" for Transports, but the guy who wrote the work that I used as a reference for this post guessed it was because "R" is the second letter in "Transport". If anyones knows otherwise, I'd like to know! LOL

If there's a number anywhere in the designation it has one of two meanings. If it's within the main body, say F4F, it means that the aircraft is the 4th major fighter design built by Grumman. ("F" being Grumman's manufacturer code letter) If the number is used as a suffix this indicates a sub-type, say SBD-1, which would be the first version or sub-type Scout Bomber built by Douglas.

SBD - Scout Bomber built by Douglas

F6F - 6th Fighter design built by Grumman

F6F-3 - Third sub-type of the 6th Fighter design built by Grumman

If you want a more complete reference, check out this web page:

http://rwebs.net/avhistory/acdesig/usnavy.htm

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Blackwolf/toad: I was told sbd designation ment slow damn bomber!!

Or Slow But Deadly! LOL

QUOTE: Originally posted by blackwolfscd Or Slow But Deadly! LOL

OK how about SB2C for the 'Helldiver' or is this a family forum

I alway found the old Navy designations a litte confusing, although i think I got it... An R2D is/was the Navy version of the DC-3 or C-47. Now would the R2D-2 be the second version of the R2D series a/c or a star wars character?

ROTFLMAO!

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What about this one. AF version of the B-1RD was called the GU-ll in the Navy. So what was it a bird or a gull?

Or how about the F-1SH?

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"If the VP is such a VIP, shouldn't we put the PC on the QT because if it leaks to the VC, he could end up a MIA, then we'd all be put on KP."
Tell me, who said that?

Robin Williams - Goooooood Mornin' Vietnaaaaaam!

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PBY Patrol Bomber Y was the navy designation for the manufacturer, Consolidated.

The Navy designation system endured until the 1960s, when, allegedly, the Secretary of Defense, Robert MacNamara, couldn't understand how the McDonnell Phantom could be the Navy and Marine F4H and the Air Force F-110 at the same time. Subsequently the current tri-service designation came into being, which is how the F8U Crusader became the F-8E, to the unending chagrin of the services.

If the F-110 was the first to go under the new designation, how did we get the F-111 and the F-117?

The F-111 is actually sequential to the Phantom, but I guess they just decided to skip updating that one :).

The F-117 is a bogus number, chosen at random to confuse the hell outta any potential spies.

Close. The Phantom was a Navy project and the F-4A was already in production. When the Navy went to the F-4B to fix problems with the A model the Air Force got interested in it. So the AF version was designated F-4C in keeping with MacNamara's new rule.

The F-111 started off as an Air Force project and MacNamara said the Navy would also buy it. The Navy version became the F-111B.

You are correct on the F-117.

Happy Modeling

The Navy never did buy the F-111 because they couldn't get enough weight out of it without compromiseing the structure.
On the confusion scale this has to rate pretty high, After WW2 when the B-26 Marauder was taken out of service the A-26 Invader was redesignated B-26.

The same plane could also have different designations depending on who built it. The Grumman F4F Wildcat was also the General Motors FM-2 Wildcat. Even better, the Vought F4U Corsair was also built by Goodyear as the FG-1 and I believe there was a version from Brewster known as the F3A.

The TBF Avenger came from Grumman, the TBM Avenger from General Motors (again, the same design). The TBD was the Devastator from Douglas.

At the beginning of the Vietnam War the B-26 Invader was re-redesignated the A-26. Specifically, The B-26K became the A-26A, adding even more to the confusion! :-)

I hope this helps to sort out some of the mess.