Aircraft
by Nation
United States
Navy/Marine Corps (1923 - 1962)
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Basic Classification: In 1923, the U.S. Navy (and
by extension the U.S. Marine Corps) introduced a classification system in
which the aircraft class (mission) was denoted by the first letter of the
designation and the manufacturer denoted by the second letter.
Subtypes were denoted by a "dash number". For example, the
first Patrol aircraft purchased from Martin was designated the PM-1
(Patrol Martin, sub-type one). Minor modifications to the PM-1
resulted in the aircraft designated the PM-2. The second Patrol type
purchased from Martin was the P2M-1.
In 1934, as aircraft become more capable, double class
letters were introduced to denote aircraft designed to fill two
missions. For example, the SBD Dauntless denoted the Scout
Bomber by Douglas.
Note: As the same aircraft could be
subcontracted to different manufacturers, that same aircraft could have
different designations. For example, the F4F-4 (Fighter,
4th design by Grumman (F), subtype 4)
was subcontracted to General Motors whose product was designated the FM-1
(Fighter General Motors (M), subtype 1).
Problems: When the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy
procured the same aircraft, that aircraft would get two
designations. For example, the Douglas DC-3 civil airliner was
designated the C-47 by the Army and the R4D by the Navy. In 1962,
the military moved toward a single procurement system and agreed upon a
single designation system for Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
