- Joined
- Sep 19, 2005
- Messages
- 9,486
- Display Name
Display name:
Pilawt
Not exactly. The J is the Department of the Navy designation for North American Aircraft. For Navy/USMC aircraft, the third letter is the manufacturer code.
B=Beech, also used for Boeing
C=Curtiss
D=Douglas
F=Grumman
J=North American
M=General Motors
N=Naval Aircraft Factory
S=Stearman
Y=Consolidated
A few others:
G=Goodyear
K=Fairchild
O, V=Lockheed
U=Vought
Obviously there were more than 26 manufacturers so there was a lot of duplication and inconsistency. It was a confusing mess by the time the unified Tri-Service military designation system was implemented in 1962.