'Pet' names for aircraft types?

[phil65]

"Beechcraft Bonanza - So why the 'Forked-Tailed Doctor-Killer'?"

Doctors could afford them, but usually lacked the skills to fly them well.
IOW - JFK Jr.

Phil

JFK Jr. died in a Piper Saratoga not a Bonanza but the concept is the same. He wasn't experienced enough for the conditions.

He wasn't a Doctor either, but like you said; The concept is the same....R.I.P.

Phil

[L2Driver]

F-117 -- Stink Bug

[PHague]

MD-80: Mad Dog
737: Guppy, or for old Piedmont Airlines "Cooter Scooter"
DC-9: Diesel Nine
747: Whale
E-190 (Embraer 190): E-180... always returnig back to the gate with a problem.
BAe J-32 Jetsteram: Junkstreak, Brick on a Stick (for how stable it was.)

UH-60: Widebody
SH-2F: Hookie Touk
SH-3: Sea Pig
CH-46: Phrog
T-34C Turbo Mentor: Tormentor.
A-7 Corsair II: SLUF

[Tiger Tim]

You guys are far too kind in only listing the nice names given to the Metro...

[Clifford Bossie]

You guys are far too kind in only listing the nice names given to the Metro...

You mean like "The Death Tube"?

[CAPFlyer]

Oh, forgot a couple of the civil aircraft nicknames -

DC-8 - Diesel 8
DC-10 - Douglasaurus Rex

[John Dupre]

North American A-36. Apparently called Invader unofficially in the Mediterranean Theater but also known as Apache except apparently there has never been found a WW2 era reference to the Apache name.

A few civilian types.

Beech Twin Bonanza = TwinBo or T Bone.
Beech Model 18 = Twin Beech. (Even when Beech had numerous other twins the Twin Beech name only refers to the Model 18)
Cessna 172RG Cutlass = Gutless.
Piper Aztec = Aztruck
Piper Navajo = NavaJoe
Douglas DC-3 types are known throughout South America as "el Douglas"

[CraigQ]

North American A-36. Apparently called Invader unofficially in the Mediterranean Theater but also known as Apache except apparently there has never been found a WW2 era reference to the Apache name.

'Apache' was another post war conjur like using the term 'razorback' for the B/C models. The Invader part was correct but rejected real quick, the name had already been assigned to the A-26. The A-36 already had a name anyway.

Mike Scalingi,a friend of mine found this in a NAA publication he picked up off of ebay which should lay to rest any name of than Mustang being given to the A-36. Shared with his approval.

Last edited by CraigQ on Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Matt Gunsch]

"Beechcraft Bonanza - So why the 'Forked-Tailed Doctor-Killer'?"

Doctors could afford them, but usually lacked the skills to fly them well.
IOW - JFK Jr.

Phil

JFK Jr. died in a Piper Saratoga not a Bonanza but the concept is the same. He wasn't experienced enough for the conditions.

John, I said that on the 2nd page, but thanks for repeating it.

a few more,
Twin Comanche, Twinkie
T-6 AT-6, Six
SNJ, The Snij also known as Secret Navy Jet

[PropsRule]

My uncle was an armourer on P-38's in the ETO. After looking through his photos, I recall seeing one of a scoreboard someone had made for the squadron. It had a list of all the squadron pilots and their kill tally to date. At the top of the sign was the squadron insignia (whether offical or not, I can't say) along with the now-familiar stylized P-38 silhouette with the devil's face replacing the center nacelle. I assume this picture ties in with the "Fork Tailed Devil" moniker, although my uncle had never heard of that (I asked him before he passed away). Actually, he didn't even call the aircraft the "Lightning". To him it was always just the "P-38".

(He also showed me a photo of a P-47 that landed at their field once for whatever reason. He asked ME what type it was, and when I told him, he said, "I always thought it was some Navy plane. Whatever it was, it was huge!").

Based on the photo I saw, I believe the "Fork Tailed Devil" name was made up during the war. Like many others, I have my doubts about it originating in Germany. A certain amount of credit should go towards whoever took the time to translate it to "Der Gabelschwanz Teufel", though!

[John Dupre]

One more civilian one.

Grumman G-1 Gulfstream = Gulfscream

[ffuries]

Forgot one.

MC-130H Opus

[VaBeachEd]

My favorite is the Douglas F3D / EF-10B "Skyknight". We always called it the "Drut". The humor of which can be seen if you spell "Drut" backwards.

[raconnel]

I am currently reading the book "A Higher Call". In one chapter, based on the memories of a German fighter pilot, it claims that the term "Fork-tailed Devil" was coined by the Germans in North Africa. It apparently refers to the heavy concentration of fire-power in the nose. I take it with a grain of salt, since the book was written by a current-day American.

[Dan Jones]

One more civilian one.

Grumman G-1 Gulfstream = Gulfscream

I used to work for an outfit that had a G1. The guys on the floor called it "Gulfzilla".