Veteran’s Corner

Tom Krabbenhoft

The US military has set up a system where aircraft are codified and reported. These codes or reporting name have NATO communication implications as well. This system has been in place since WW2

 MIG stands for the manufacturer name short for Mikoyan-Gurevich. The number after MIG stands for model number. The first MIG-1 flew in 1940.

In Korea the MiG-15 was the primary fighter opponent of allied forces. In Vietnam it was the MIGs 17, 19 and 21. The current model MIG in development is the 41, to give you a timeline example.

Russian aircraft are assigned names that let one know immediately what the aircraft is for, this started after WW2.

All fighter aircraft names start with F. If we were talking aircraft over Ukraine we’d maybe reference the MIG-31 Foxhound. Neat tidbit, the MIG-9 was called Fargo, so it would be called MIG-9 Fargo.

Maybe the MIL MI-8 Hip would come into the conversation. Hip and any other aircraft with a name that starts with H would tell a person helicopter. The MIL MI-8 is the equivalent to our Huey.

If one heard Blackjack we would be talking about the TU-160 Bomber. Blackjack is the Russian equivalent to our B1 Bomber, its manufacturer is Tupolev.

Condor would mean we are talking about the AN-124 Cargo plane, manufacturer Antonov.

To place it all in the same drawer. All Russian aircraft lead with its manufacturing company. It’s then followed by the model number. Bringing up the end is the NATO name.

The US has a system in place for its own aircraft that much easier to interpret. F-15 Eagle, F=Fighter, 15= model, Eagle is the name. B-52 is a Bomber. Now some of you in the history zone may wonder what about the P-51 Mustang? The P-51 was the best fighter we had in WW2. In this case P=Pusuit. As the P-51, P-38 and P-47 of WW2 fame were fighters they would also pursue enemy Bombers for dispatching.

Here is a breakdown of US aircraft type letter codes.

A=Attack

B=Bomber

C=Cargo

EW=Electronic Warfare

F=Fighter

H=Helicopter

K=Tanker

L=Modified for cold weather

O=Observation

P=Pursuit

R=Reconnaissance

T=Trainer

U=Utility

X=Experimental

Y=Prototype

Many of these can be used together such as AH= Attack Helicopter, FA=Fighter Attack.

Those of us that understand the system know when we hear about aircraft, it gives us an idea of what US is intending.

I hope this has been a bit more enlightening instead of confusing.

Next time you are sitting around having a beverage in public and someone mentions old farmer. They could be talking about my uncles Doug or Victor, or they very well might be talking the MIG-19 Farmer. Either way let me know.

Send your veteran-related items to me at 11btwk@gmail.com.