Plane Name

[JBoyle]

This may be fairly obvious but What does the letter in the name mean?
Example: F-16; P-51; B-17

How could you have posted 140+ messages on this forum without knowing that?

[p51dman]

GrumpE left out one important German designation, that being

Bf as in Bf 109
Bf stood for BAYERISCHE FLUGZEUGWERKE AG
Which in English would be Bavarian Airplane Factory, Inc.
Not too far into WW2, the Bf was changed to Me.
Dick Phillips

[JBoyle]

You mean the B in B-17 doesnt stand for Boeing?

[Eric Friedebach]

F = Fast
P = Pretty fast
B = Big butt bird

[Wolverine]

Y = Prototype
X = Experimental

I'll bet someone posted that before me...but I don't have the time to read the whole thread.

[systemofadown1162]

This may be fairly obvious but What does the letter in the name mean?
Example: F-16; P-51; B-17

How could you have posted 140+ messages on this forum without knowing that?

In my defense, I always thought that the B stood for Boeing and I just never really questioned it.

[gilt]

For extra points does anyone know why the USN gave North American the "J"???????

Tom-

[airnutz]

For extra points does anyone know why the USN gave North American the "J"???????

Tom-

Hi GilT, are you referring to the the fact that "N" was already taken by the
Naval Aircraft Factory or the Berliner-Joyce/General Aviation Corporation
heritage to North American Aviation inheriting the "J" from that lineage?
....OR?

[gilt]

AirNutz-

EXCELLENT, it's little known that the North American "J" came from Berliner-Joyce.

GilT-

[GrumpE]

Dick,

How could I forget the Bf history?!

Good catch and thanks!

Eric