Planes number?

Question

what gives a plane it's number, like a f-22 rapter or f-14 tomcat, where does the 22 and 14 come from. I have always wounderd that an have never been able to find the answer.

I know where the letter comes from

f-fighter

b-bomber

x-experimental aircraft

not sure what it is for spy plane, I think it's U, like the U2 spy plane

Answer 1

The number designation comes from the military. How they choose it is any-ones guess,but the F-4 was originally designated F-110 when the military decided to start their numbering system over. The U as in U-2 stands for Utility. They have used O (observation) in the past also. SR for strategic reconnaissance.

Answer 2

It's all different model numbers assigned by the Air Force.  There was a prototype of the F-22 called the YF-22.  The YF meaning that it was a prototype.  There also was a YF-23 built by  another manufacturer.  The two went head to head in a contest for the Air Force contract and the YF-22 won.  Henceforth it's designation became the F-22.  Had the competition won it would be called the F-23.*

.

That's how some of the numbers never get used.  There was for example a prototype F-20 Tiger shark a low cost fighter for export that nobody wanted and so it was never produced.  

.

The SR-71 was originally designated the *RS-71 but President Johnson mentioned it in a speech and read it wrong saying "SR-71.  It was easy enough to just change the letters around say that they stand for "strategic recon".

*recon/strike

.

*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YF-23

.

Answer 3

Good question...usually it is the specific design number chosen during the design phase before building a prototype.