Re: [OT] USAF plane nomenclature

Alan pretty well covered this subject, but it's worth mentioning that 
what each letter means in a designation depends on its position -- in 
the case of a/c, in relation to the dash and type number. What a letter 
means in one slot is not the same as its meaning elsewhere.

"H" is a good example: in a type designation, it means helicopter; as a 
qualifier (which precedes the "central" type designation), it means 
an SAR a/c. Hence the HH-61 Holly Green Giant, a (heavily modified) SAR 
version of the Sea King, but also the HC-130H Hercules variant.

In the case of the Osprey, the a/c is the V-22, with particular 
sub-types including the MV-22 (SpecOps), the CV-22 (cargo/troop 
hauler), the SV-22 (projected anti-sub version), etc.

And then there are the "sports", generally caused by some iggorant 
politician, e.g., the SR-71 which was given that designation after LBJ 
(I think) messed up the correct version in a national broadcast and 
no-one was game to contradict him... And it has to be said that the 
Pentagon is not as rigorous about this as it perhaps might be.

Phil
----
(Dr) P.A. Atcliffe
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
University of the West of England, Bristol
Phone: +44 (0)117 344 2496
Fax:   +44 (0)117 344 3800