USSR military aircraft designation systems
Encyclopedia
Imperial Russia does not seem to have had a system.
Aircraft were given names or numerical designations by manufacturers, like Ilya Muromets
or Anatra Anasal.
then numbers in order, with odd numbers for fighters and even numbers for all other types. However, this latter rule was sometimes breached, especially for helicopters.
Contrary to western sources, official Soviet designations did not include constructors' names (e.g. Yakovlev Yak-1
), only abbreviations (i.e. Yak-1). But at the beginning names like Yakovlev-1 was used sometime. In general, this naming practice was adopted from German, except for numbering. Germans have numbered aircraft sequentially regardless of developer, while USSR used "semi-sequential" (odd numbers for fighters, even numbers for bombers/transport with well known exceptions like Tu-95 or An-225) numbers within every developer "label." These names were given to aircraft when they enter the service. Aircraft may have development names (used within design bureaus, like "105" (read as "aircraft 105," count as "ANT-105") for future Tu-22 or T-6 for Su-24) and/or production name (used by industry). This schema was established in ~1940. Before this date soviet aircraft were named according to their function: TB-1 for "Tyazholy Bombardirovschik" ("тяжелый бомбардировщик", "heavy bomber"), the first. Again, this is a soviet practice. Pre-revolutionary Russia (and early Soviet Republic) have used only "vendor names" like "Farman F-20" or "Ilya Muromets" (by I.Sikorski).
The NATO Air Standardization Coordinating Committee reporting name
system (used because correct designation of new types not always known) was based on having the initial letter indicate type of aircraft (B = bomber, C = cargo, F = fighter, H = helicopter, M = miscellaneous) or missile, and 1 syllable if propeller-driven or 2 if jet- or rocket-powered.
Aircraft were given names or numerical designations by manufacturers, like Ilya Muromets
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
The Ilya Muromets refers to a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and heavy military bombing aircraft used during World War I by the Russian Empire. The aircraft series was named after Ilya Muromets, a hero from Russian mythology...
or Anatra Anasal.
Soviet System to 1940
Soviet system to 1940 was divided by type, with numbers assigned in order by government ministry. However, designers/manufacturers usually also gave them their own designations.Type prefixes
(Cyrillic characters in parenthesis)- A (А) - Avtozhir (Autogiro)
- B (Б) - Bombardirovshchik (Bomber)
- BB (ББ) - Blizhnij bombardirovshchik (Short-range Bomber)
- BSh (БШ) - Bronirovannyi Shturmovik (Armored Ground Attack plane)
- DI (ДИ) - Dvukhmestnii istrebitel (Two-seat Fighter)
- DB (ДБ) - Dalnij bombardirovshchik (Long-range Bomber)
- G (Г) - Gruzovoi (Cargo plane (usually converted from heavy bombers: G-1 from TB-1 and G-2 from TB-3))
- I (И) - Istrebitel ("Destroyer" = Fighter)
- IP (ИП) - Istrebitel pushetchnii (Cannon Fighter)
- K (K) - Korablennyi (Shipborne)
- M (М) - Morskoi (Seaplane)
- MBR (МБР) - Morskoi blizhnii razvedchik (Short-range Reconnaissance Seaplane)
- MDR (МДР) - Morskoi dalnii razvedchik (Long-range Reconnaissance Seaplane)
- MI (МИ) - Mnogomestnii istrebitel (Multi-seat Fighter)
- MP (МП) - Morskoi passazhirskiy (Passenger Seaplane)
- MR (МР) - Morskoi razvedchik (Reconnaissance Seaplane)
- PS (ПС) - Passazhirskii samolyot (Passenger plane)
- R (Р) - Razvedchik (Reconnaissance)
- SB (СБ) - Skorostnoi bombardirovshchik (High-speed Bomber)
- SPB (СПБ) - Skorostnoi pikiruyuschii bombardirovshchik (High-speed Dive Bomber)
- T (Т) - Torpedonosets (Torpedo bomber) ("Torpedo carrier")
- TB (ТБ) - Tiazholyi bombardirovshchik (Heavy Bomber)
- TIS (ТИС) - Tiazholyi istrebitel soprovozhdennii (Heavy Escort Fighter)
- TSh (ТШ) - Tiazholyi Shturmovik (Heavy Ground Attack plane)
- U (У) - Uchebny (Trainer)
- UT (УТ) - Uchebno-trenirivochnyi (Primary/Advanced Trainer)
- UTI (УТИ) - Uchebno-trenirivochnyi Istrebitel (Fighter Trainer)
- VIT (ВИТ) - Vozdushnyi Istrebitel Tankov (Air Tank Destroyer)
Fighters
- I-1: Polikarpov (1-seat monoplane)
- I-1: Grigorovich (prototype only. Two different designs had one designation)
- I-2: Grigorovich
- I-3: Polikarpov (1-seat biplane with open cockpit and fixed undercarriage)
- I-4: Tupolev ANT-5 (1-seat sesquiplane)
- I-5: Polikarpov-Grigorovich. First was Tupolev I-5 (ANT-12), later Polikarpov-Grigorovich I-6 was renamed to I-5.
- I-6: Polikarpov-Grigorovich. Renamed to I-5 after winning competition with Tupolev I-5.
- I-7: Heinlel (licenced-built German HD-37)
- I-8: Tupolev ANT-13 (prototype only)
- I-9: Grigorovich
- I-10: Grigorovich
- I-11: Polikarpov
- I-12Tupolev I-12-External links:**...
: Tupolev (ANT-23) - I-13: Polikarpov
- I-14: Tupolev ANT-31 (1-seat monoplane with enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage)
- I-15Polikarpov I-15The Polikarpov I-15 was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed Chaika because of its gulled upper wings, it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet Air Force, and together with the Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, was one of the standard fighters of the Spanish Republicans during...
: Polikarpov TsKB-3 (1-seat biplane with `gull' upper wing open cockpit and fixed undercarriage) - I-15bis/I-152: Polikarpov TsKB-3bis (re-engined and other minor changes)
- I-15ter/I-153: Polikarpov TsKB-3ter (re-engined and retractable undercarriage)
- I-16Polikarpov I-16The Polikarpov I-16 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first cantilever-winged monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear. The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II...
: Polikarpov TsKB-12/18/29 (1-seat monoplane with open cockpit and retractable undercarriage) - I-17: Polikarpov TsKB-15/19/33 (1-seat monoplane with in-line engine and retractable undercarriage)
- I-18: Polikarpov (TzKB-43). Later Polikarpov began use 3-digit designation and again used "18th" index in I-180, I-185 etc.
- I-19: Polikarpov (TzKB-25). Later Polikarpov I-190.
- I-200 or I-61: Polikarpov and later Mikoyan-Gurevich (later designated MiG-1Mig-1Mig-1 may refer to:* Middle Investment Grade 1, A credit rating for municipal bonds issued by Moody's or Standard and Poor's bond rating agencies* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 airplane, a fighter aircraft manufactured by Russia...
) - I-21: Ilyushin (Pashinin I-21 (only 5 built) is type 21 of Plant No 21 and designated probably as "istrebitel of 21st plant")
- I-22: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov (later designated LaGG-1)
- I-26: Yakovlev Krasavec `Beauty' (later designated Yak-1). But really index '26' is from Yakovlev AIR seria.
- I-28: Yatsenko (constructed from resin-bonded wood)
- I-30, I-301: (later designated LaGG-3)
Bombers
- DB-1: Tupolev/Sukhoi bomber variant of ANT-25
- DB-2: Tupolev/Sukhoi ANT-37 (2-engine bomber derivative of ANT-25)
- DB-3Ilyushin Il-4|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim and Khazanov, Dmitri. Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War, Volume 2: Twin-Engined Fighters, Attack Aircraft and Bombers. Earl Shilton, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2006. ISBN 1-85780-084-2...
: Ilyushin TsKB-30 (2-engine all-metal monoplane), later version (DB-3F) was designated Il-4Ilyushin Il-4|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim and Khazanov, Dmitri. Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War, Volume 2: Twin-Engined Fighters, Attack Aircraft and Bombers. Earl Shilton, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2006. ISBN 1-85780-084-2... - SBTupolev SBThe Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB , and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934....
: Tupolev ANT-40 (2-engine all-metal monoplane) - TB-1: Tupolev ANT-4 (2-engine all-metal monoplane)
- TB-2: Polikarpov
- TB-3Tupolev TB-3The Tupolev TB-3 was a heavy bomber aircraft which was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and during World War II. It was the world's first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber. Despite obsolescence and being officially withdrawn from service in 1939, TB-3 performed bomber and...
: Tupolev ANT-6 (4-engine all-metal monoplane) - TB-4: Tupolev ANT-16 (6-engine all-metal monoplane)
- TB-5: Grigorovich
- TB-6: Tupolev ANT-26 (12-engine all-metal monoplane, cancelled)
- TB-7Petlyakov Pe-8The Petlyakov Pe-8 was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet...
: Tupolev ANT-42 (4-engine all-metal monoplane, later designated Pe-8Petlyakov Pe-8The Petlyakov Pe-8 was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet...
)
Soviet system since 1940
The system after 1940 (in accordace with order No 704 December 9, 1940) used letter abbreviations for the design office,then numbers in order, with odd numbers for fighters and even numbers for all other types. However, this latter rule was sometimes breached, especially for helicopters.
Contrary to western sources, official Soviet designations did not include constructors' names (e.g. Yakovlev Yak-1
Yakovlev Yak-1
The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Produced from early 1940, it was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings....
), only abbreviations (i.e. Yak-1). But at the beginning names like Yakovlev-1 was used sometime. In general, this naming practice was adopted from German, except for numbering. Germans have numbered aircraft sequentially regardless of developer, while USSR used "semi-sequential" (odd numbers for fighters, even numbers for bombers/transport with well known exceptions like Tu-95 or An-225) numbers within every developer "label." These names were given to aircraft when they enter the service. Aircraft may have development names (used within design bureaus, like "105" (read as "aircraft 105," count as "ANT-105") for future Tu-22 or T-6 for Su-24) and/or production name (used by industry). This schema was established in ~1940. Before this date soviet aircraft were named according to their function: TB-1 for "Tyazholy Bombardirovschik" ("тяжелый бомбардировщик", "heavy bomber"), the first. Again, this is a soviet practice. Pre-revolutionary Russia (and early Soviet Republic) have used only "vendor names" like "Farman F-20" or "Ilya Muromets" (by I.Sikorski).
The NATO Air Standardization Coordinating Committee reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
system (used because correct designation of new types not always known) was based on having the initial letter indicate type of aircraft (B = bomber, C = cargo, F = fighter, H = helicopter, M = miscellaneous) or missile, and 1 syllable if propeller-driven or 2 if jet- or rocket-powered.
Design Office Prefixes
- An (Ан): AntonovAntonovAntonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
- Ar (Ар): Archangelskii
- BI (БИ): Berezniak-Isaev
- BICh (БИЧ): Boris Ivanovich CheranovskyBoris Ivanovich CheranovskyBoris Ivanovich Cheranovsky was a Soviet aircraft designer, notable for creating world's first fly-worthy flying wing aircraft - the gliders BICh-1 and BICh-2 from 1924, and powered BICh-3 later. They used tailless parabolic planform....
- Be (Бе): Beriev
- Che (Че): ChetverikovChetverikovOKB Chyetverikov was a Soviet aircraft design bureau headed by designer Igor Vyacheslavovich Chyetverikov at the TsAGI Menzhinskii factory in 1931 in order to produce flying boat designs.-Overview:Chyetverikov, Igor Vyacheslavovich , was a Soviet aircraft...
- Gu (Гу): Gudkov
- Il (Ил): IlyushinIlyushinOpen Joint Stock Company «Ilyushin Aviation Complex» , operating as Ilyushin or Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a Russian design bureau and aircraft manufacturer, founded by Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin. Ilyushin was established under the Soviet Union. Its operations began on January 13, 1933, by...
- Ka (Ка): KamovKamovKamov is a Russian rotor-winged aircraft manufacturing company that was founded by Nikolai Il'yich Kamov, who started building his first rotor-winged aircraft in 1929, together with N. K. Skrzhinskii...
- La (Ла): LavochkinLavochkinNPO Lavochkin is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of the Fregat upper stage, as well as interplanetary probes such as Phobos Grunt...
- LaG (ЛаГ): Lavochkin-GorbunovGorbunovGorbunov , or Gorbunova , is a Russian last name, which may refer to the following people:*Alexander Gorbunov , a Soviet army officer and Hero of the Soviet Union*Anatolijs Gorbunovs Gorbunov , or Gorbunova (Горбунова; feminine), is a Russian last name, which may refer to the following...
- LaGG (ЛаГГ): Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov
- Li (Ли): Lisunov
- M (М): MyasishchevMyasishchevV. M. Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau or OKB-23, founded in 1951 by Vladimir Myasishchev) was one of the chief Soviet aerospace design bureaus until its dissolution in 1960. Vladimir Myasishchev went on to head TsAGI...
- Mi (Ми): MilMil Moscow Helicopter PlantMil Helicopters is the short name of the Soviet Russian helicopter producer Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant , named after the constructor Mikhail Mil. Mil participates in the Euromil joint venture with Eurocopter....
- MiG (МиГ): Mikoyan-Gurevich, until the death of Artem Mikoyan in 1970, then just Mikoyan
- Pe (Пе): Petlyakov
- Po (По): PolikarpovPolikarpovPolikarpov Design Bureau was a Soviet OKB for aircraft, led by Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. After his death on 30 July 1944 at the age of 52, his OKB was absorbed into Lavochkin, but with some of its engineers going to Mikoyan-Gurevich and its production facilities going to Sukhoi...
- Su (Су): SukhoiSukhoiSukhoi Company is a major Russian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, famous for its fighters...
- Shche (Ще): Shcherbakov
- Ta (Та): Tairov
- Tu (Ту): TupolevTupolevTupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...
(earlier: ANT (for A.N.Tupolev, the number sequence is still in use)) - Yak (Як): YakovlevYakovlevThe Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...
(earlier: AIR (for A.I.Rykov, one of communist leaders)) - Yer (Ер): Yermolayev