Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!ucsd!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: fiddler@concertina.Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: F-19 vs. F-117 Message-ID: <1990Jul27.015601.22152@cbnews.att.com> Date: 27 Jul 90 01:56:01 GMT References: <1990Jul18.040928.14461@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul24.024951.21186@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 70 Approved: military@att.att.com From: fiddler@concertina.Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix) > From: Adrian Hurt > > Also, can someone explain to me the way the USAF numbers its aircraft? I > can account for most of the numbers 1 to 20, thus: I see the problem: You're assuming that there is some method to the numbering scheme. Also you're working with old/new Navy numbering, old/new Air Force numbering, and the current combined/rationalized numbering scheme. The following are from the old Navy scheme: McDonnell FH-1 Phantom, McDonnell F2H Banshee, McDonnell F3H Demon, North American FJ-4 Fury, Douglas F4D Skyray, McDonnell-Douglas F4H Phantom II, Chance Vought F7U Cutlass,Chance Vought F8U Crusader, Grumman F9F- (Panther/Cougar). This system used a letter for aircraft type, another letter for the manufacturer, and a number (sometimes with addtional letters and numbers for subtypes. So the FH-1 was a fighter (F), made by McDonnell (H), first one for Navy by that manufacturer. The Panther/Cougar was an example of two variants of a given type: F9F6 for the straightwing Panther, and F9F7 for the sweptwing Cougar. (I think it was -7.) Grumman's letter designator was H. I think Lockheed's was V...so you see that the manufacturer's name had little to do with his designator. This numbering scheme was in force at least from the 1930's through the early 1960's. Some from the old Air Force numbering: "And explain why, at the same time, there were also numbers > from 100 up, e.g. F-104 Starfighter." Numbering for operational aircraft types was sequential (with some gaps) from the 1930's through the early 1960's. So for fighters, you have a continuous lineage from such as the P-26 "Peashooter" through the P-51 "Mustang" through F-86 "Sabre"...F-100 "Super Sabre"...F-110 "Phantom"... Obviously, this was going to get out of hand, and there were some cases of the same fighter (originally P for "pursuit") flying for both the AF and the Navy. The F-110 and F4H both meant McDonnell Phantom II. So they started over at F-4. And the navy dropped the letter designator. And some from the current combined numbering scheme: Lockheed F-12,F-13, Grumman F-14 Tomcat, ... > 11: Would be the F11F "Tiger" and F11F-1 "Super Tiger" > 13: ? Maybe the companies were superstitious; maybe someone felt no pilot > would want to fly an F-13. Well, there was the XF13F "Jaguar". A swingwing testbed aircraft from Grumman. They seem to have learned enough to make the F-14. > 22: The hypothetical ATF. (Not so hypothetical anymore.) 23: Another ATF contender, recently rolled out. Isn't this stuff fun? Sort of like baseball statistics. ------------ The only drawback with morning is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day. ------------