British Military Aircraft Designation Systems

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. Individual variants are recognized by mark numbers. This is in contrast to the systems such as that used in the United States, where an aircraft type is primarily identified by an alphanumeric designation.

Naming

The names of aircraft would be suggested by the Air Ministry or Admiralty and agreed with the manufacturer when placing an order. Names generally followed one or a number of patterns;

• Alliteration was popular; e.g. aircraft from Vickers-Armstrongs were given names starting with V, Hawker Aircraft, names starting with H, etc.
• A trend might be followed by a manufacturer - Hawker Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest
• Heavy bombers received the names of cities and towns - Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, Handley Page Halifax
• Flying boats were given the names of coastal towns - Saro Lerwick, Supermarine Stranraer, Short Sunderland
• Land-based maritime patrol aircraft were given names with nautical exploration associations - Avro Anson (George Anson, 1st Baron Anson), Lockheed Hudson (Henry Hudson), Avro Shackleton (Ernest Shackleton)
• Aircraft for army co-operation and liaison were given names associated with mythological warriors, heroes and generals; e.g. Westland Lysander, Airspeed Horsa, General Aircraft Hamilcar, Slingsby Hengist
• American aircraft, whether purchased directly or sourced under Lend-Lease, were given American-themed names following established patterns, e.g. the Martin Baltimore, Consolidated Catalina. The American services were not generally in the habit of giving aircraft names, and many British-chosen names would later be adopted; e.g. the P-51 Mustang began life as the North American Mustang Mk.I with the RAF.
• Naval versions of aircraft not originally ordered for the Fleet Air Arm were given the prefix "Sea" - Sea Hurricane, Seafire (in the case of the Supermarine Spitfire), Sea Venom. Sometimes a named RAF version of an aircraft would be cancelled with the naval version entering service without a corresponding land-based name, e.g., Hawker Sea Fury, de Havilland Sea Vixen.
• Naval aircraft ordered as such would have names with a nautical theme - e.g. Supermarine Walrus, Blackburn Skua, Fairey Gannet. Torpedo bombers would be given 'fish' names, e.g., Blackburn Shark, Fairey Swordfish, Fairey Barracuda.
• Training aircraft would be given names related to academia, universities, etc. - Oxford, Harvard, Balliol.
• With the introduction of jet-engined, swept wing bombers armed with nuclear weapons, these aircraft were given names beginning with "V": the V Bombers - Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor.
• Where civilian aircraft types have been taken into service, their existing names or alphanumeric designations have often been retained, e.g. the Vickers VC-10 or Lockheed Tristar.