[sci.military] Soviet Aircraft Naming

willey@arrakis.NEVADA.EDU (07/21/89)

From: willey@arrakis.NEVADA.EDU

>The code names are assigned by NATO, not the Pentagon.
>
>In addition to B for Bomber, F for Fighter, and H for Helicopter,
>there are also M (sic) for Reconnaissance (including ASW, AWACS, and
>tanker), and C for Cargo (Transport & Utility).  For fixed-wing
>aircraft, names of one syllable (e.g., Bear, May, Cock, etc.) indicate
>propeller-driven planes, while two syllable names (e.g., Backfire,
>Mainstay, Fulcrum, etc.) are for pure jets.  I'm unaware of the
>significance of 1- vs. 2-syllable names for helicopters, although
>both exist.		[stuff deleted]

	I was looking through the 1976-1977 issue of Jane's yesterday
and noticed that helicopters with one main rotor have one syllable names
(e.g., Hook, Hip, Harke), and helicopters with two main rotors have two
syllable names (e.g., Hormone, Hoodlum, Hokum).
	BTW, I don't have access to a recent issue of Jane's (Las Vegas
may be growing, but the libraries aren't), and I am looking for info
on the Hokum. I have built the AMT model, and it looks very interesting,
the kit even comes with air-to-air missiles. Is there an advantage of
having two counter-rotating main rotors over one (aside from the absence
of torque)?