If US didn't adopt type-number nomenclature for its planes what would be the alternative? Similar to what Soviets did, shortened name-number? (MDD-XX, Gr-XX, Bo-XX)
If US didn't adopt type-number nomenclature for its planes what would be the alternative? Similar to what Soviets did, shortened name-number? (MDD-XX, Gr-XX, Bo-XX)
The US Navy did manufacturer/type nomenclature: F4F meant the fourth fighter design by Grumman, for instance. (G went to Goodyear). Incidentally, they did this even when the same airplane was produced by multiple companies - the FG-1 Corsair was the same design as the Vought F4U Corsair, but produced by Goodyear. I suppose the Navy's nomenclature system could win out, or simply be maintained.
The Soviets actually started out with a type-number nomenclature, as in the Polikarpov I-16 fighter or the Tupolev TB-1 heavy bomber.