Which aircraft manufacturer had the best naming scheme?

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Vickers became so short of names they named two aeroplanes after one man Arthur WELLESLEY the Duke of WELLINGTON
 
I might guess Lockheed & the whole "Star" theme, though Republic had a lot of "Thunderous" planes: P/F-47 Thunderbolt, F-84 Thunderjet, F-84F Thunderstreak, RF-84F/K Thunderflash, XF-84H Thunderscreech [Too Apt?], XF-91 Thunderceptor, XF-103 Thunderwarrior, & F-105 Thunderchief! Plus they had other similar-themed planes, i.e. the XR-12 Rainbow. Guess it's a matter of taste, though...
 
Thud-Dud89 said:
I might guess Lockheed & the whole "Star" theme
Click to expand...

  • Vega (the brightest star in the constellation Lyra)
  • Lodestar (Polaris)
  • Constellation
  • Starliner
  • Saturn
  • JetStar
  • TriStar
  • Hercules (a constellation)
  • Starlifter
  • Galaxy
  • Lightning (well, it's up in the sky)
  • Shooting Star
  • Starfire
  • Starfighter
  • Warning Star
  • Neptune
  • Orion
  • Quiet Star
  • Star Clipper
  • Corona
  • Agena (Beta Centauri, a trinary star system)
  • Polaris (commonly the North Star or Pole Star, in the constellation Ursa Minor)
  • Perseus (a constellation in the northern sky)
  • High Virgo (another constellation)
 
Agree with most of the British planes except de Havilland. What a bunch of p***y names.

Gazelle
Okapi
Dormouse
Highclere (what the hell is a highclere?)
Hound
Express
Dragonfly
Hummingbird
Dove
Flamingo
Don. Really? Don? How about a Howard, a Jimmy, and a Larry too?
And the one to strike ultimate fear in your enemy.....the Dolphin

And don't forget their major hard on for moths.
Giant Moth
Moth
Cirrus Moth
Genet Moth
Gypsy Moth
Moth Major
Tiger Moth
Fox Moth
Hornet Moth - Oh come on.....your just making s**t up now!
Hawk Moth
Puss Moth - WHAT????
Swallow Moth - That's what she said
Leopard Moth
Moth Minor

And while we love the plane, a mosquito isn't a scary beast

Now they did get a few right
Dragon
Vampire and Sea Vampire
Venom and Sea Venom
Sea Vixon
Hornet
 
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The British names were decided upon by the manufacturer and Air Ministry together. The Air Ministry had the final say and approval. If, for example you offered a name for your heavy bomber that did not meet the convention of city names it would probably be rejected.

In the case of the most famous of all, Vickers wrote to the Air Ministry in 1933 asking that the name 'Spitfire' be reserved for their new fighter. The Air Ministry replied that both it and Supermarine should continue to refer to the type officially as the Supermarine F.7/30 "until it is accepted for supply to the RAF", which shows whose foot the boot was on.

Cheers

Steve
 
'Mosquito' might not sound very war-like, or threatening, but it was named after the most dangerous creature on the planet, and not just for its 'sting' (which was one of the reasons for naming it so, being armed with four cannon, four machine guns, and bombs or rockets, in the FB version). The female anopheles Mosquito is responsible for more deaths, due to malaria, than any other creature, including man !
 
You're right Terry. I was just having fun with the names. At a minimum a mosquito is a pain in the butt, but at their worst, they are no bueno. Still, which would make you flinch if coming at you full steam, a Mustang, a Hawk, or a Mosquito? LOL
 
The only aircraft to have it's name stripped by the United Nations? Originally the Terminator, then Dominator....then just B-32.


 
I have to give it the British when it came to names of aircraft.

Who doesn't love the name Spitfire.

I owned a '78 Spitfire for years. Part of the legend (not confirmed but good car lore) of the Triumph, was when Vickers was developing the Vanguard, Triumph had the copyright to the name Vanguard, they asked Triumph to use the name, they traded the copyrights for Spitfire for Vanguard.
 

Can you copyright a noun in common use? A spitfire is just an admittedly old fashioned word for someone with a fierce temper. I know that you can't do it for a term in common use, like dire straits, even if your name is Mark Knopfler
It's a great story, but I fear maybe also an urban myth. I'd happily be wrong though!
Cheers
Steve
 
The BBC have the rights to "Top Gear"
 

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm sure you could copy write "Spitfire" as a proper name and trademark.
 
I always found the Imperial Japanese aircraft names interesting.

The official designations seem a little confusing until one looks at how the IJN and IJA came to assign their designations, but the actual names for the types are the best part!

Here's a few of them:
Akigusa - "Autumn Grass"
Donryū - "Storm Dragon"
Gekko - "Moonlight"
Ginga - "Galaxy"
Hien - "Flying Swallow"
Hayabusa - "Peregrine Falcon"
Hayate - "Gale"
Hiryū - "Flying Dragon"
Karyū - "Fire Dragon"
Kikka - "Orange Blossom"
Kyōfū - "Strong Wind"
Nankai - "South Sea"
Nanzan - "South Mountain"
Ohka - "Cherry Blossom"
Raiden - "Thunderbolt"
Ryūsei - "Shooting Star"
Saiun - "Iridescent Cloud"
Seiran - "Mist on a Fair Day"
Shiden - "Violet Lightning"
Shiragiku - "White Chrysanthemum"
Shiun - "Violet Cloud"
Shōki - "Demon Queller"
Shuka - "Autumn flower"
Suisei - "Comet"
Tenzan - "Heavenly Mountain"
Tokai - "Eastern Sea"
Toryū - "Dragon Slayer"
Zuiun - "Auspicious Cloud"
 

Do we know if the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden "Thunderbolt" ever flew against a P-47?
 
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