Aircraft names

Able Dog reference to its original “AD” (Attack aircraft, Douglas) designation see A-1 Skyraider
ace maker reference to its success in battle see F6F Hellcat
azure lightning see Su-27 “Flanker”
balalaika resemblance to the musical instrument when viewed from above see MiG-21 “Fishbed”
bamboo bomber see UC-78 Bobcat
Barney see C-17 Globemaster III
Beagle Bomber Eagle see F-15E Strike Eagle
beak reference to its sharp nose see B-2 Spirit “stealth bomber”
The Beast see SB2C Helldiver
bent wing bird reference to its gull-wing design see F4U Corsair
Bison NATO reporting name see M-4 Molot
Bone lengthened form of “B-1” (“B-one”) see B-1 Lancer
Boxkite see UC-78 Bobcat
Brasshat see UC-78 Bobcat
Britchik Russian for “little shaver” see P-39 Airacobra
BUFF Big Ugly Fat ****** see B-52 Stratofortress
Caribou see P-39 Airacobra
Cessna suck-blow reference to the pusher and puller engine arrangement see O-2 Skymaster
Charger NATO reporting name see Tu-144
Colt NATO reporting name see An 2 “Colt”
Concordski reference to its similarity to Concorde see Tu-144
Connie short form of “Constellation” see C-121 Constellation
crane see Su-27 “Flanker”
crocodile see Mi-24 “Hind”
Crusty NATO reporting name see Tu-134
Daffy “stupid”, as in Daffy Duck, a reference to its strange design see Boulton-Paul Defiant
Devil’s chariot supposed mujahadeen name see Mi-24 “Hind”
die eierlegende Wollmilchsau German for “egg-laying wool milk pig” see Tornado
Doppel Blitz see He 111
Double Blitz see He 111
Double-Breasted Cub see UC-78 Bobcat
double ugly see F-4 Phantom II
Dragon Lady see U-2
the duck see O-2 Skymaster
Eisensau German for “iron pig” see F-4 Phantom II
electric jet reference to its “fly by wire” operation see F-16 Fighting Falcon
Fagot NATO reporting name see Mig-15 “Fagot”
Firebox see Fairey Firefly
Fishbed NATO reporting name see MiG-21 “Fishbed”
Flanker NATO reporting name see Su-27 “Flanker” and Su-30 “Flanker”
Fliegende Ziegelstein German for “flying brick” see F-4 Phantom II
flying banana reference to its shape see H-21 Shawnee
flying barrel reference to its shape see F3F
flying coffin reference to the number of Luftwaffe crashes see F-104 Starfighter
flying porcupine reference to the amount of defensive weaponry see Short Sunderland
flying tank see Mi-24 “Hind”
flying tennis court reference to the size of the wings see F-15 Eagle
Fred see C-5 Galaxy
Fred NATO reporting name see P-63 Kingcobra
Fresco NATO reporting name see MiG-17 “Fresco”
Frog see CH-46 Sea Knight
Frogfoot NATO reporting name see Su-25 “Frogfoot”
Fulcrum NATO reporting name see MiG-29 “Fulcrum” and MiG-30 “Fulcrum”
gooney bird see C-47 Skytrain
gorbatov Russian for “hunchback” see MiG-29 “Fulcrum”
gratch Russian for “rook” see Su-25 “Frogfoot”
Gustav long form of the “G” in the “Bf109G” designation see Bf109G
Halibag see Handley-Page Halifax
Halo NATO reporting name see Mi-26 “Halo”
Heinemann’s hot rod reference to the designer, Ed Heinemann see A-4 Skyhawk
Hind NATO reporting name see Mi-24 “Hind”
Hip NATO reporting name see Mi-8 “Hip”
Hokum NATO reporting name see Ka-50 “Hokum”
hopeless diamond a play on “Hope diamond” because of its unairworthy-looking shape see F-117 Nighthawk
Huey derived from its original “Hu-1” designation see UH-1 Iroquois
hummer see E-2 Hawkeye
Hun short for “hundred”, a reference to its designation see F-100 Super Sabre
Hunchback Russian nickname see MiG-29 “Fulcrum”
Ishak Russian for “little donkey” see Polikarpov I-16
Jug short for “juggernaut”, perhaps see P-47 Thunderbolt
Krokodil Russian for “crocodile” see Mi-24 “Hind”
lawn dart reference to the number of crashes see F-16 Fighting Falcon
lead sled see F-4 Phantom II
Lightning II see F-22 Raptor
Little Bird see OH-6 Cayuse
Lizzie see Lysander
Loach see OH-6 Cayuse
Luftverteidigungsdiesel German for “air defense diesel” see F-4 Phantom II
Matador Spanish operational name see Harrier
Maya NATO reporting name see L-29 Delfin
Maytag Messerschmitt see PT-22 Recruit
Mermaid NATO reporting name see Beriev A-42 Albatross
Mitten NATO reporting name see Yak-130
mixmaster see O-2 Skymaster
Moose see C-17 Globemaster III
Mosca Spanish for “little fly” see Polikarpov I-16
Oscar American reporting name see Ki-43 Hayabusa
Oscar Deuce long form of the “O-2” designation see O-2 Skymaster
Puff the Magic Dragon see AC-47 ‘Spooky’ gunship
Peashooter see P-26 Peashooter
Pedro Spanish civil war see He 111
pencil Polish air force nickname, because of the shape of the fuselage see MiG-21 “Fishbed”
pig Australian nickname for their F-111Cs see F-111 Aardvark and Short Sunderland
the pilot maker see AT-6 Texan
push-pull reference to the pusher and puller engine arrangement see O-2 Skymaster
Raschoska Russian for “comb”, reference to the underwing pylons see Su-25 “Frogfoot”
Rata Spanish for “rat” see Polikarpov I-16
Rei-sen see Mitsubishi Zero
Rhapsody in Glue see UC-78 Bobcat
Rhino see F-4 Phantom II
rook see Su-25 “Frogfoot”
Sabre Slayer Indian air force reference to its 7-to-2 victories against Pakistani F-86s see Folland Gnat
Sandy see A-1 Skyraider
San Joaquin Beaufighter see UC-78 Bobcat
scooter see A-4 Skyhawk
Slow But Deadly long form of the “SBD” designation see Douglas SBD Dauntless
Son of a Bitch, 2nd Class long form of the “SB2C” designation see SB2C Helldiver
Spad see A-1 Skyraider
The Spade see He 111
Spooky see AC-47 gunship
stealth bomber see B-2 Spirit
stealth fighter see F-117 Nighthawk
Stoof see S-2 Tracker
Super Scooper see CL-215 water bomber
Tante Ju German for “Auntie Ju” see Ju 52
Tarpon early British designation see Grumman Avenger
Teppichklopfer German for “carpet beater” see UH-1 Iroquois
Thud see F-105 Thunderchief
Tin Fin see Tornado
Tonka see Tornado
Tupperwolf a play on tupperware because of its high composite content see HH-65 Dolphin
Useless-78 a play on the UC-78 designation see UC-78 Bobcat
Viper see F-16 Fighting Falcon
Voron Russian for “hawk” see B-2 Spirit “stealth bomber”
Warthog see A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Whale see C-46 Commando
whistling wheelbarrow reference to engine noise and twin boom structure see Argosy
whistling ****house see Supermarine Stranraer
whistling tit see Argosy
whistling turtle see Fouga Magister
Wichita Wobbler see UC-78 Bobcat
Wimpy reference to J. Wellington Wimpy of Popeye see Vickers Wellington
Wobblin’ Goblin reference to its supposed instability in flight see F-117 Nighthawk “stealth fighter”
the Wooden Wonder reference to its plywood construction see De Havilland mosquito
Yastrebok Russian for “hawk” see Polikarpov I-16
The Yellow Duck reference to its yellow color and amphibious role see CL-215 water bomber
Zeke American reporting name see Mitsubishi Zero
Zipper see F-104 Starfighter
Zorro see A-1 Skyraider
Got this from here — http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/AircraftNicknames.html#B

LOL should make for more interesting comments.

Didnt read all the threads, but:

Did Grumman aircraft name their ships first?
Or did Grumman decide to name them after the British did?

Wildcat (Martlet in FAA)
Avenger (Tarpon)
Hellcat

Hellcat – proposed to be called the ‘Gannet’ in FAA service.

Wasn’t the original 737 also called Fat Albert?

Pigjet in my experience (back to mid-70s)

Wasn’t the original 737 also called Fat Albert?

‘Fat Albert’

The 1312 Flt Herks in the Falklands post-war were called ‘Alberts’, their bar was called ‘The Queen Vic’ (yes, on ‘Albert Square’)

The Camel was so named because of the hump-like configuration of the fuselage ahead of the cockpit.

Hmmm. What about the Camel, then……………….. I don’t suppose they were born domesticated so must originally have been wild.

Brewster Buffalo
Vickers Vildebeest
Fairey Albacore
Bell Caribou

So who came up with the idea of naming combat planes after game animals?

The pilots of better fighters perhaps 😀

Brewster Buffalo
Bell Caribou
So who came up with the idea of naming combat planes after game animals?

That would have been the UK or RAF.
Bell called it the Airacobra.

Brewster Buffalo
Vickers Vildebeest
Fairey Albacore
Bell Caribou

So who came up with the idea of naming combat planes after game animals?

The first time I heard of Fat Albert many years ago it was referring to the Grumman Albatross.

Ditto ‘Fat Albert’ for the C-130: never heard it called that, but ‘Herk’ was often used, along with non-specific terms like ‘cab’ etc.

In fact to my generation, Fat Albert was a BAF Carvair. And yes, I know that would post-date a lot of C-130s, but I’d suggest it pre-dates the term’s use on Herks.

Bone- yes B-1- apparantly no crews call it the Lancer…..

In my years at a B-1 unit, I never heard the aircrews call it “Bone”.
Perhaps I didn’t hang around the Officers Club enough…but than name comes across to me as one aviation geeks use to sound like they’re cool “insiders”.
And I never heard anyone call it Lancer (which to me will always be the Republic P-43)…but we did have an ac with the name “Last Lancer”.

In general conversations we knew what aircraft we were discussing…so names weren’t used. Now what a air or ground crew might say while trying to get a date …:)

…and Huey Cobra?

Huey is the unofficial (later made semi-official) nickname for the entire UH-1 (originally HU-1) Iroquois family.
Cobra was the field name given to armed variants.
When the UH-1 powertrain was developed into the specialized AH-1 gunship…the “Cobra” name passed to those and is the official nickname for the slim fuselage gunships.
But since it’s in the H-1 family, we can assume the Cobra also covered by the Iroquois name…not that it’s ever been called that.
Confused yet?

All 3 dead A3D? Lawn Dart F104? Viper F16? Bone B1.

Yes, A3D Skywarrior was cheekily “All Three Dead” as it was not equiped with ejection seats.
Lawn Dart was F-16 (early, when quite a few were lost)
Viper, yes F-16
Bone- yes B-1- apparantly no crews call it the Lancer.

Ohh forgot “Budda”- C-17. Fat, sits around, everyone worships it…..

…and Huey Cobra?

Beavers and Otters are de Havilland aircraft made in Canada and named after Canadian animals. The Bird Dog was named by Cessna employees.

In those cases…as well as the Caribou and Buffalo (also both used by the Army…only service test quantities of the Buffalo) the Army simply used the UK practice of using already established names. The Army also has/had a few DHC -7s for signals work…to the best of my knowledge, they don’t even have an Army designation and are just called “Dash 7s”. They’re (or were) operated in their former airline livery with titles painted out.

Fun facts:

The original name for the Otter was King Beaver.

Cessna employees suggested names for the L-19/O-1 aircraft with the winner being chosen by the famous General Mark Clark. His first choice was Skyhawk…but that was copyrighted at the time and would later be used by Douglas for its A-4 (perhaps they bought the name from the copyright holder or the name was available by then). So his second choice, Bird Dog, was used. Later, Cessna would use “Sky Hawk” as a optional trim package for its 172.

The other names in the “top 5” suggested for the bird Dog included: Apache, Prowler and Pointer.

One more exception to the rule: The Army name for the Hiller H-23 (civil designation: Hiller 360 and UH-12) was Raven.

So, U.S.Army helicopters were named after native American tribes? – I guess we can forgive Sikorski’s R-4 Hoverfly as it was the first.
However the follow-on R-5 Dragonfly – was that a British only name?
Were there any other helicopters named after insects?

Unless you want a essay on the various systems in use since the start of aviation included in every post (and I certainly don’t have the time and inclination to research and write these), assume that general statements are only valid for limited periods of time, and that there are exceptions.
I was just rebutting the laughable suggestion that the Chinook name was an exception to the norm.

Didnt read all the threads, but:

Did Grumman aircraft name their ships first?
Or did Grumman decide to name them after the British did?

Wildcat (Martlet in FAA)
Avenger (Tarpon)
Hellcat

So, U.S.Army helicopters were named after native American tribes? – I guess we can forgive Sikorski’s R-4 Hoverfly as it was the first.
However the follow-on R-5 Dragonfly – was that a British only name?
Were there any other helicopters named after insects?

Roger Smith.

I don’t think the U.S. Army used this aircraft unless you want to count the U.S.A.A.F.