[OT] USAF plane nomenclature

Hi guys, 

Drawing upon the collected wit of the body. 

I see some USAF planes tagged with F (F-15, F-
16, etc), some with F/A, some with VF, etc. 

What do these mean? I'm guessing F is for 
fighter, B is for bomber, V is a qualifier 
meaning Vertol or Vectored thrust... but what 
are some of the others like the /A? 

And what's the Osprey? A VT-22 ? (T for 
Transport?)

Is X experimental?

And what kind of tags get stuck on CAS planes 
like the Warthog (A for attack)? Didn't the 
Sandy's (from Nam era) have a different sort of 
designator? 

I further assume H (as in Huey UH1H) is 
helicopter, U perhaps univeral? And the A in AH-
64 is attack helicopter? 

Am I even playing in the right ballpark? :) 

(I ask because I'm thinking about CAS and 
tactical transport planes like A-10s and 
tiltrotors like the Osprey or the QTR in the 
context of SG2 and DS2). 

T. 
---------------------------------------------
Thomas Barclay
Co-Creator of http://www.stargrunt.ca 
Stargrunt II and Dirtside II game site

No Battle Plan Survives Contact With Dice.
-- Mark 'Indy' Kochte