Imperial Russia (before 1917) does not seem to have had a system. Aircraft were given names or numerical designations by manufacturers, like Ilya Muromets or Anatra Anasal. The Ilya Muromets (Илья Муромец in Russian) was the first mass produced bomber aircraft in the world, a massive four-engined biplane that could penetrate deep into the enemy territory and drop a significant load of bombs. ...

Soviet System to 1940

Soviet system to 1940 was divided by type, with numbers assigned in order by government ministry. However, designers/manufacturers usually also gave them their own designations.

Type Prefixes

(incomplete - Cyrillic characters in parenthesis)

A (А) - Avtozhir (Autogiro)

B (Б) - Bombardirovshchik (Bomber)

BB (ББ) - Blizhnij bombardirovshchik (Short-range Bomber)

BSh (БШ) - Bronirovannyi Shturmovik (Armored Ground Attack plane)

DI (ДИ) - Dvukhmestnii istrebitel (Two-seat Fighter)

DB (ДБ) - Dalnij bombardirovshchik (Long-range Bomber)

I (И) - Istrebitel ("Destroyer" = Fighter)

IP (ИП) - Istrebitel pushetchnii (Cannon Fighter)

K (K) - Korablennyi (Shipborne)

M (М) - Morskoi (Seaplane)

MBR (МБР) - Morskoi blizhnii razvedchik (Short-range Reconnaissance Seaplane)

MDR (МДР) - Morskoi dalnii razvedchik (Long-range Reconnaissance Seaplane)

MI (МИ) - Mnogomestnii istrebitel (Multi-seat Fighter)

MP (МП) - (Transport Seaplane)

MR (МР) - Morskoi razvedchik (Reconnaissance Seaplane)

PS (ПС) - Passazhirskii samolyot (Passenger plane)

R (Р) - Razvedchik (Reconnaissance)

SB (СБ) - Skorostnoi bombardirovshchik (High-speed Bomber)

SPB (СПБ) - Skorostnoi pikiruyuschii bombardirovshchik (High-speed Dive Bomber)

T (Т) - Torpedonosets (Torpedo bomber) ("Torpedo carrier")

TB (ТБ) - Tiazholyi bombardirovshchik (Heavy Bomber)

TIS (ТИС) - Tiazholyi istrebitel soprovozhdennii (Heavy Escort Fighter)

TSh (ТШ) - Tiazholyi Shturmovik (Heavy Ground Attack plane)

U (У) - Uchebny (Trainer)

UT (УТ) - Uchebno-trenirivochnyi (Primary/Advanced Trainer)

UTI (УТИ) - Uchebno-trenirivochnyi Istrebitel (Fighter Trainer)

VIT (ВИТ) - Vozdushnyi Istrebitel Tankov (Air Tank Destroyer)

Fighters

I-1: Polikarpov

I-2: Grigorovich

I-3: Polikarpov (1-seat biplane with open cockpit and fixed undercarriage)

I-4: Tupolev ANT-5 (1-seat sesquiplane)

I-5: Polikarpov-Grigorovich. First was Tupolev I-5 (ANT-12), later Polikarpov-Grigorovich I-6 was renamed to I-5.

I-6: Polikarpov-Grigorovich. Renamed to I-5 after wining competition with Tupolev I-5.

I-7: Polikarpov (German He 37c)

I-8: Tupolev ANT-13 (prototype only)

I-9: Grigorovich

I-10: Grigorovich

I-11: Polikarpov

I-12: Tupolev (ANT-23)

I-13: Polikarpov

I-14: Tupolev ANT-31 (1-seat monoplane with enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage)

I-15: Polikarpov TsKB-3 (1-seat biplane with `gull' upper wing open cockpit and fixed undercarriage)

I-15bis/I-152: Polikarpov TsKB-3bis (re-engined and other minor changes)

I-15ter/I-153: Polikarpov TsKB-3ter (re-engined and retractable undercarriage)

I-16: Polikarpov TsKB-12/18/29 (1-seat monoplane with open cockpit and retractable undercarriage)

I-17: Polikarpov TsKB-15/19/33 (1-seat monoplane with in-line engine and retractable undercarriage)

I-18: Polikarpov (TzKB-43). Later Polikarpov began use 3-digit designation and again used "18th" index in I-180, I-185 etc.

I-19: Polikarpov (TzKB-25). Later Polikarpov I-190.

I-200 or I-61: Polikarpov and later Mikoyan-Gurevich (later designated MiG-1)

I-21: Ilyushin (Pashinin I-21 (only 5 built) is type 21 of Plant No 21 and designated probably as "istrebitel of 21st plant")

I-22: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov (later designated LaGG-1)

I-26: Yakovlev Krasavec `Beauty' (later designated Yak-1). But really index '26' is from Yakovlev AIR seria.

I-28: Yatsenko (constructed from resin-bonded wood)

The Tupolev I-12 (Development name ANT-23) was a prototype Soviet fighter aircraft that never reached production. ... The Polikarpov I-15 Чайка Seagull was a Soviet fighter aircraft that first flew in October 1933 by V.P.Chkalov. ... Polikarpov I-16 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 The Polikarpov I-16 was an advanced Soviet fighter aircraft when it was introduced in the mid-1930s, and it formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II. The diminutive fighter prominently featured in the... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. Although difficult to handle, it formed the basis for the MiG-3, which proved to be a capable high... The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-1 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. Although not very successful, it formed the basis... The Yakovlev Yak-1 (originally designated I-26) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first of a line of small, nimble fighters, relatively primitive in many respects, but easy to build and maintain, and with fine performance and handling at low altitude. ...

Bombers

DB-1: Tupolev/Sukhoi bomber variant of ANT-25

DB-2: Tupolev/Sukhoi ANT-37 (cancelled bomber derivative of ANT-25)

DB-3: Ilyushin TsKB-30 (2-engine all-metal monoplane), later version (DB-3F) was designated Il-4

SB: Tupolev ANT-40 (2-engine all-metal monoplane)

TB-1: Tupolev ANT-4 (2-engine all-metal monoplane)

TB-2: Polikarpov

TB-3: Tupolev ANT-6 (4-engine all-metal monoplane)

TB-4: Tupolev ANT-16 (6-engine all-metal monoplane)

TB-5: Grigorovich

TB-6: Tupolev ANT-26 (12-engine all-metal monoplane, cancelled)

TB-7: Tupolev ANT-42 (4-engine all-metal monoplane, later designated Pe-8)

The Ilyushin Il-4 was a Soviet World War II bomber aircraft, widely used by the VVS although not well known. ... The Ilyushin Il-4 was a Soviet World War II bomber aircraft, widely used by the VVS although not well known. ... The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name SB (Скоростной бомбардировщик - Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik - high speed bomber), and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934. ... Tupolev TB-3 bomber carrying a T-27 tankette, 1935 The Tupolev TB-3 (Тяжелый бомбардировщик - Tyazholy Bombardirovschik - heavy bomber, development name ANT-6) was a heavy bomber aircraft which was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and early 1940s. ... The Petlyakov Pe-8, also known as TB-7 was a Soviet bomber aircraft of World War II, the only four-engined bomber the USSR used during the war. ... The Petlyakov Pe-8, also known as TB-7 was a Soviet bomber aircraft of World War II, the only four-engined bomber the USSR used during the war. ...

Soviet system since 1940

The system after 1940 (in accordace with order No 704 December 9, 1940) used letter abbreviations for the design office, then numbers in order, with odd numbers for fighters and even numbers for all other types. However, this latter rule was sometimes breached, especially for helicopters.

Contrary to western sources, official Soviet designations did not include constructors' names (eg. Yakovlev Yak-1), only abbreviations (ie. Yak-1). But at the beginning names like Yakovlev-1 was used sometime. In general, this naming practice was adopted from German, except for numbering. Germans have numbered aircraft sequentially regardless of developer, while USSR used "semi-sequential" (odd numbers for fighters, even numbers for bombers/transport with well known exceptions like Tu-95 or An-225) numbers within every developer "label." These names were given to aircraft when they enter the service. Aircraft may have development names (used within design bureaus, like "105" (read as "aircraft 105," count as "ANT-105") for future Tu-22 or T-6 for Su-24) and/or production name (used by industry). This schema was established in ~1940. Before this date soviet aircraft were named according to their function: TB-1 for "Tyazholy Bombardirovschik" ("тяжелый бомбардировщик", "heavy bomber"), the first. Again, this is a soviet practice. Pre-revolutionary Russia (and early Soviet Republic) have used only "vendor names" like "Farman F-20" or "Ilya Muromets" (by I.Sikorski). The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft and the first among the wars many successful Yakovlev fighters. ...

The NATO Air Standardization Coordinating Committee reporting name system (used because correct designation of new types not always known) was based on having the initial letter indicate type of aircraft (B = bomber, C = cargo, F = fighter, H = helicopter, M = miscellaneous) or missile, and 1 syllable if propeller-driven or 2 if jet- or rocket-powered. NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... NATO reporting names are unclassified code names for Soviet and Chinese military equipment. ...

Design Office Prefixes

An (Ан): Antonov

Ar (Ар): Archangelskii

BI (БИ): Berezniak-Isaev

Be (Бе): Beriev

Che (Че): Chetverikov

Gu (Гу): Gudkov

Il (Ил): Ilyushin

Ka (Ка): Kamov

La (Ла): Lavochkin

LaG (ЛаГ): Lavochkin-Gorbunov

LaGG (ЛаГГ): Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov

Li (Ли): Lisunov

M (М): Myasishchev

Mi (Ми): Mil

MiG (МиГ): Mikoyan-Gurevich, until the death of Artem Mikoyan in 1970, then just Mikoyan

Pe (Пе): Petlyakov

Po (По): Polikarpov

Su (Су): Sukhoi

Shch (Ще): Shcherbakov

Ta (Та): Tairov

Tu (Ту): Tupolev (earlier: ANT (for A.N.Tupolev, the number sequence is still in use))

Yak (Як): Yakovlev (earlier: AIR (for A.I.Rykov, one of communist leaders))

Yer (Ер): Yermolayev

Private Antonov AN-2 in the UK Antonov, aka Antonov Aeronautical Scientific/Technical Complex (Antonov ASTC) (Ukrainian: ) is a Ukraine-based (since 1952) aircraft manufacturing and services company (design office prefix An) with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. ... The Beriev Aircraft Company is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (design office prefix Be), specializing in amphibious aircraft. ... Ilyushin (Russian: Илью́шин) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) aircraft manufacturer (design office prefix Il), founded by Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin. ... Kamov projects, 1999 Nikolai Ilyich Kamov started building his first rotor-winged aircraft in 1929, together with N. K. Skrzhinskii. ... Lavochkin is: a Soviet aircraft design bureau (design office prefix La), now extinct, named for its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin; a generic name for airplanes designed by that bureau (see Semyon Lavochkin for list). ... Categories: Aircraft stubs ... Mil (Миль) is the short name of the Soviet Russian helicopter producer Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant (design office prefix Mi), named after the constructor Mikhail Mil. ... Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich, or MiG (Russian: Микоян, Микоян-Гуревич or МиГ) is a Russian military aircraft manufacturer. ... Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan (Ô±Ö€Õ¿ÕµÕ¸Õ´ Õ€Õ¸Õ¾Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Õ½Õ« Õ„Õ«Õ¯Õ¸ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ or Ô±Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ·Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Õ¶ Õ€Õ¸Õ¾Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Õ½Õ« Õ„Õ«Õ¯Õ¸ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ in Armenian; Артё́м Ива́нович Микоя́н in Russian) (August 5, 1905 December 9, 1970) was an Armenian / Soviet aircraft designer, in partnership with Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich he designed many of the famous MiG military aircraft. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Polikarpov was a Soviet OKB (design bureau) for aircraft, led by Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. ... Sukhoi (pronounced [suk-oi]) (Сухой) is a major Russian military fighter aircraft manufacturer. ... Tupolev (Russian: Туполев) is a Russian aerospace and defence company. ... This page is about the aircraft design bureau and manufacturer. ...

See also

• List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS

• List of aircraft names at aviation.ru