Japanese Military Aircraft Designation Systems

The Japanese military aircraft designation systems for the Imperial period (pre-1945) had multiple designation systems for each armed service. This led to the Allies’ use of code names during World War II, and these code names are still better known in English-language texts than the real Japanese names for the aircraft. A number of different schemes were simultaneously in use.

 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koukuu-tai) (IJNAS) used several different aircraft designation systems simultaneously. Between 1931 and 1945, aircraft had Shi numbers designating the specification they were designed to. They also had a long form of Type and Model Number system used between 1920 and 1943, a short designation system akin to that of the United States Navy in use between the late 1920s and 1945, a system of popular names introduced to replace type numbers from 1943 through 1945, and finally an SADP (Service Airplane Designation System) number used from 1939 onward.

 Specification Shi Numbers

Japanese Navy specifications from 1931 were given an experimental, or Shi number, based on the year of the Emperor’s reign the specification was issued in. Since multiple specifications could be issued in a year, the number was disambiguated with the aircraft purpose.

During the period this designation system was in use, the Emperor in question was Hirohito, the Showa Emperor, thus the years of Showa were those used, which began in 1926.

Thus, the Mitsubishi Zero was designed to meet the 1937 specification called 12-shi carrier fighter.

Long Type and Model Number System

After 1929, aircraft types were given a type number based on the last two digits of the year as counted from the mythical founding of Japan in 660BC by Emperor Jimmu. Added to this was a brief description of the aircraft’s function. The Mitsubishi Zero was so-called because entered service in 1940 which was the Japanese year 2600, thus it was designated Type 0 Carrier Fighter.

Model numbers were added to show sub-types. By the late 1930s these were two digits, the first being airframe revisions, the second engine revisions.

The system was abandoned in 1943, when it was decided that it gave away too much information about the aircraft.

Short System

In the late 1920s a short designation scheme was adopted, which was strikingly similar to the United States Navy’s 1922–64 system. This scheme used a letter or two letters to designate a type of aircraft, a number to indicate the number in series of that type of aircraft, and finally a letter to designate the manufacturer. Unlike the US Navy system, the Japanese system did not have a different number series for each manufacturer and did not omit the number “1.”

Thus, the Zero’s type in this designation system was A6M, which meant the sixth type of carrier fighter under this designation system, and that it was built by Mitsubishi.

Variants were indicated by an additional number at the end; repurposing an aircraft was indicated by a dash and then the new type letter.

Sometimes two aircraft were ordered from different manufacturers to the same specification at the same time, generally as insurance against the primary design not working out. In this case, the same series number was used for both. 

Aircraft Type Letters
Letter	Characters	Western letters	Type of Aircraft
A	艦上戦闘機	Kanjyo Sento-ki	Carrier-based fighter
B	艦上攻撃機	Kanjyo Kougeki-ki	Carrier-based attack bomber
C	艦上偵察機	Kanjyo Teisatsu-ki	Carrier-based Reconnaissance
D	艦 上爆撃機	Kanjyo Bakugeki-ki	Carrier-based dive bomber
E	水上偵察機	Suijyo Teisatsu-ki	Reconnaissance seaplane
F	水上観測機	Suijyo Kansoku-ki	Observation seaplane
G	陸上攻撃機	Rikujo Kougeki-ki	Land-based attack bomber
H	飛行艇	Hiko-tei	Flying boat
J	陸上戦闘機	Rikujyo Sento-ki	Land-based fighter
K	練習機	Renshuu-ki	Trainer
L	輸送機	Yuso-ki	Transport
M	特殊機	Tokushu-ki	Special purpose
N	水上戦闘機	Suijyo Sento-ki	Fighter seaplane
P	陸上爆撃機	Rikujyo Bakugeki-ki	Land-based bomber
Q	哨戒機	Shokaiki	Patrol aircraft
R	陸上偵察機	Rikujyo Teisatsu-ki	Land-based reconnaissance
S	夜間戦闘機	Yakan Sento-ki	Night fighter
X	実験	Tokushu-ki (Jikken)	Experiment (used with other designations)

 

Manufacturer Letters
Letter	Japanese Manufacturers	Foreign Manufacturers
A	Aichi	North American
B	n/a	Boeing
C	n/a	Consolidated
D	Showa	Douglas
F	n/a	Grumman
G	Hitachi	Goodyear
H	Hiro	Hawker
He	n/a	Heinkel
J	Nihon	Junkers
K	Kawanishi	Kinner
M	Mitsubishi	Airspeed
N	Nakajima	n/a
P	Nihon	n/a
S	Sasebo	n/a
Si	Showa	n/a
V	n/a	Vought
W	Watanabe/Kyushu	n/a
Y	Yokosuka	n/a
Z	Mizuno	n/a

Popular Names

After July 1943, names were given to Navy aircraft instead of type designations. These names were given according to a scheme based on the aircraft’s role.

·         Fighters: Weather and meteorological names

·         Carrier fighters and seaplane fighters: Wind names usually ending with pu or fu

·         Interceptors: Lightning names ending in den

·         Night fighters: Light names ending in ko

·         Attack planes: Mountains names ending in zan

·         Bombers: Star or constellation names usually ending in sei

·         Patrol: Sea or ocean names ending in kai

·         Reconnaissance: Cloud names ending in un

·         Trainers: Trees, plants and flowers

·         Transports: Sky names ending in ku

·         Miscellaneous: Landscape names

Special cases include kamikaze aircraft such as Special Attackers Ohka (“Cherry blossom”; designed from the start as such) and Kikka (“Orange blossom”; believed to be considered for this role), aircraft that employed non-conventional (i.e. non-propeller-driven) propulsion scheme like rocket-powered interceptor Shūsui (poetic term meaning “Sharp Sword”), and aircraft used for non-conventional deployments such as Special Attacker Seiran (“Mountain Haze”; deployed from submarines to strike targets behind the frontline and expected to be ditched upon returning to motherships). Both Ohka and Kikka are named after the fruit trees in the gardens of the Imperial Palace.

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service

The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (often called the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūtai, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai?) (IJAAS) used a straightforward system based on year of service and type, nearly identical to the Navy’s long type and model number system. This system was used from 1927. The “Ki” (abbreviation of kitai = airframe) designation was also used and became prominent in later years.

Long Type and Model Number System

The first part of the designation was a two-digit type number based on the Japanese year in which the aircraft entered service. A minor exception was the year 1940 (2600), for which the type number 100 rather than zero was used. This was followed by a description of the aircraft’s function. If there were two or more aircraft with the same type and function, the latter was enhanced to further differentiate them. An example is the Type 2 single-seat fighter (the Nakajima Ki-44) and the Type 2 two-seat fighter (Kawasaki Ki-45).

Major modifications (such as a different engine) were indicated with a subtype number, officially in kanji but often in Roman numerals. Small-scale modifications (such as armament) are indicated with a Japanese ordinal, or “kai” if the modification was large but not enough for a new type number.

Short Designation (“Ki” Number)

The “Ki” airframe designation indicates the project number (written in Arabic numerals) and was assigned in sequence to all projects regardless of manufacturer or type. It was originally used only when the aircraft was under development, but towards the end of the war became the standard designation even for operational aircraft.

Popular Names

Popular names such as “Hayabusa” (the Nakajima Ki-43) were not part of the official designation. 

Calendars and Type Numbers
Year	Japanese Year	Nengo Era	Type number	Shisaku number
1921	2581	Taisho 10	Type 10
1922	2582	Taisho 11	Type 11
1923	2583	Taisho 12	Type 12
1924	2584	Taisho 13	Type 13
1925	2585	Taisho 14	Type 14
1926	2586	Taisho 15/Showa 1	Type 15
1927	2587	Showa 2	Type 87
1928	2588	Showa 3	Type 88
1929	2589	Showa 4	Type 89
1930	2590	Showa 5	Type 90
1931	2591	Showa 6	Type 91	6-Shi
1932	2592	Showa 7	Type 92	7-Shi
1933	2593	Showa 8	Type 93	8-Shi
1934	2594	Showa 9	Type 94	9-Shi
1935	2595	Showa 10	Type 95	10-Shi
1936	2596	Showa 11	Type 96	11-Shi
1937	2597	Showa 12	Type 97	12-Shi
1938	2598	Showa 13	Type 98	13-Shi
1939	2599	Showa 14	Type 99	14-Shi
1940	2600	Showa 15	Type 100 or 0	15-Shi
1941	2601	Showa 16	Type 1	16-Shi
1942	2602	Showa 17	Type 2	17-Shi
1943	2603	Showa 18	Type 3	18-Shi
1944	2604	Showa 19	Type 4	19-Shi
1945	2605	Showa 20	Type 5	20-Shi

Designation Table

This table gives all the various designations and names of Japanese military aircraft from circa 1925 to 1945. 

Manufacturer Name and Short Designation	Official (long) Designation (All "types" are Navy)	Experimental Designation	Japanese Name	Allied Code Name(s)	Notes
Aichi B7A	Carrier Attack Bomber Ryusei	16-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker	Ryusei (Shooting Star)	GRACE
Aichi C4A		13-shi High-speed Reconnaissance Plane			Project
Aichi D1A	Type 94 Carrier Bomber	8-shi Carrier Dive Bomber		SUSIE
Aichi D1A2/D2A	Type 96 Carrier Bomber			SUSIE
Aichi D3A	Type 99 Carrier Bomber	11-shi Carrier Dive Bomber		VAL
Aichi E3A	Type 90-1 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Aichi E8A		8-shi Reconnaissance Seaplane			Lost to E8N1
Aichi E10A	Type 96 Night Reconnaissance Seaplane	9-shi Sea Reconnaissance		HANK	Biplane flying boat
Aichi E11A	Type 98 Night Reconnaissance Seaplane	11-shi Sea Reconnaissance		LAURA
Aichi E12A		12-shi Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane
Aichi E13A	Type 0 Reconnaissance Seaplane	12-shi Sea Reconnaissance		JAKE
Aichi E16A	Reconnaissance Seaplane Zuiun	16-shi Sea Reconnaissance	Zuiun (Auspicious Cloud)	PAUL
Aichi F1A		10-shi Observation Seaplane			Lost to F1M1
Aichi H9A	Type 2 Training Flying boat	13-shi Flying Boat
Aichi M6A	Special Attack Bomber Seiran	17-shi special Attacker	Seiran (Clear Sky Storm)
Aichi M6A1-K	Special Attack Training Bomber Nanzan		Nanzan (South Mountain)		Trainer variant of M6A
Aichi S1A		18-shi Hei C Type Night Fighter Denko	Denko (Bolt of Light)
Airspeed LXM	Type M Transport				Two tested.
Boeing AXB	Type B Carrier Fighter				One tested
Bücker KXBu	Type Bu Primary Trainer				Bücker Bü 131
Canadian Car and Foundry AXG	Type G Carrier Fighter				One tested
Caudron KXC	Type C Trainer				One tested
Consolidated HXC	Type C Flying boat				One tested
Curtiss-Wright LXC	Type C Amphibious Transport				One tested
Dewoitine AXD	Type D Carrier Fighter				One tested
Douglas DXD	Type D Attack Plane				One tested
Douglas HXD	Type D Flying boat				Two tested
Douglas LXD	Type D Transport				One tested
Fairchild LXF	Type F Amphibious Transport				One tested.
Gasuden LXG	Special Liaison Transport				KR-2 for VIP use.
Grumman LXG	Grumman Amphibian Flying Boat				One Grumman Goose tested
Hawker AXH	Type H Carrier Fighter				One tested
Heinkel A7He	Type He Air Defense Fighter			JERRY	Heinkel He 112
Heinkel AXHe	Type He Interceptor Fighter				Three tested
Heinkel DXHe	Type He Attack Plane				One tested
Heinkel KXHe	Type He Trainer				One tested
Heinkel LXHe	Type He Transport				One tested.
Hiro G2H	Type 95 Attack Bomber	7-shi Land Attacker			Monoplane
Hiro H1H	Type 15 Flying boat				Biplane
Hiro H2H	Type 89 Flying boat				Biplane
Hiro H3H	Type 90-1 Flying boat				Monoplane
Hiro H4H	Type 91 Flying boat				Monoplane
Hiro H10H		14-shi Medium Flying boat			Project
Junkers KXJ	Type J Trainer				One tested
Kawanishi E5K	Type 90-3 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Kawanishi E7K	Type 94 Reconnaissance Seaplane	7-shi Sea Reconnaissance		ALF
Kawanishi E8K		8-shi Reconnaissance Seaplane			Lost to E8N1
Kawanishi E10K	Type 94 Transport Seaplane	9-shi Sea Reconnaissance			Biplane flying boat
Kawanishi E11K	Type 96 Transport Seaplane	11-shi Sea Reconnaissance			Lost to E11A1
Kawanishi E12K		12-shi Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane
Kawanishi E13K		12-shi Three-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane			Lost to E13A
Kawanishi E15K	Type 2 High-speed Reconnaissance Seaplane Shiun	14-shi Sea Reconnaissance	Shiun (Violet Cloud)	NORM
Kawanishi F1K		10-shi Observation Seaplane			Lost to F1M1
Kawanishi G9K					Land-based attack bomber based on H8K, project
Kawanishi H3K	Type 90-2 Flying boat			BELLE	Biplane
Kawanishi H6K	Type 97 Flying boat	9-shi Flying Boat		MAVIS
Kawanishi H6K2-L/H6K4-L	Type 97 Transport Flying boat			MAVIS
Kawanishi H8K	Type 2 Flying boat	13-shi Flying Boat		EMILY
Kawanishi H8K1-L	Type 2 Transport Flying Boat		Seikū (Clear Sky)	EMILY	Armed transport variant of H8K1
Kawanishi H8K2-L	Seikū, Model 32		Seikū (Clear Sky)	EMILY	Armed transport variant of H8K2
Kawanishi H8K4-L	Seikū, Model 33		Seikū (Clear Sky)	EMILY	Armed transport variant of H8K4, project
Kawanishi H11K1-L	Large-size Transport Flying boat Soukuu		Soukuu (Blue Sky)		Project
Kawanishi J3K		17-shi Otsu (B) Type Interceptor Fighter			Project
Kawanishi J6K		18-shi Otsu (B) Type Interceptor Fighter Jinpu	Jinpu (Squall)		Project
Kawanishi K6K		11-shi Advanced Trainer Seaplane			Cancelled
Kawanishi K8K	Type 0 Primary Trainer Seaplane	12-shi Primary Trainer Seaplane			Biplane
Kawanishi N1K	Fighter Seaplane Kyofu	15-shi Fighter Seaplane	Kyōfū (Strong Wind)	REX
Kawanishi N1K1-J	Land Fighter Shiden		Shiden (Violet Lightning)	GEORGE	Landplane Kyofu
Kawanishi N1K2-J/N1K5-J	Land Fighter Shiden Kai		Shiden (Violet Lightning) modified	GEORGE	Landplane
Kawanishi N1K2-K	Training Fighter Shiden Kai Rensen		Shiden (Violet Lightning) modified	GEORGE	Landplane
Kayaba Ka-1	Ka-Gō Artillery spotter				Army autogyro
Kayaba Ka-2					Army autogyro
Kinner LXK	Type K Transport				One tested.
Kugisho B3Y	Type 92 Carrier Attack Bomber				Biplane
Kyushu J7W		18-shi Otsu (B) Type Interceptor Fighter Shinden	Shinden (Magnificent Lightning)
Kyushu K9W	Type 2 Primary Trainer Momiji	14-shi Trainer	Kouyou (Red Leaf)	CYPRESS	Bücker Bü 131
Kyushu K10W	Type 2 Intermediate Trainer	14-shi Land Middle Trainer		OAK
Kyushu K11W	Operations Trainer Shiragiku	15-shi Trainer	Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum)
Kyushu Q1W	Patrol Plane Tokai	17-shi Patrol	Tōkai (Eastern Sea)	LORNA
Kyushu Q3W	Patrol Plane Nankai		Nankai (Southern Sea)
L5?	Unidentified transport				No details
L6?	Unidentified transport				No details
Lockheed KXL	Type L Trainer				One tested
Mitsubishi A5M	Type 96 Carrier Fighter	9-shi Carrier Fighter		CLAUDE/SANDY
Mitsubishi A5M4-K	Type 96 Training Fighter				trainer variant
Mitsubishi A6M	Type 0 Carrier Fighter	12-shi Carrier Fighter	Reisen (Zero fighter)	ZEKE/HAMP/HAP	Unofficially Zero
Mitsubishi A6M2-K/A6M5-K	Training Fighter			ZEKE	Unofficially Zero
Mitsubishi A7M		17-shi Ko (A) Type Carrier Fighter	Reppū (Strong Wind)	SAM
Mitsubishi B1M	Type 13 Carrier Attack Bomber				Biplane
Mitsubishi B2M	Type 89 Carrier Attack Bomber				Biplane
Mitsubishi B4M		9-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker			Biplane
Mitsubishi B5M	Type 97-2 Carrier Attack Bomber	10-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker		MABEL
Mitsubishi C1M	Type 10 Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft				Biplane
Mitsubishi C5M	Type 98 Reconnaissance Aircraft			BABS
Mitsubishi D3M		11-shi Carrier Bomber			Lost to D3A
Mitsubishi F1M	Type 0 Observation Seaplane	10-shi Sea Observation		PETE
Mitsubishi G1M	Type 93 Land-based Attack	7-shi Carrier			Biplane
Mitsubishi G1M		8-shi Special Reconnaissance, later 8-Shi Land-based Medium Attack			Long Range Research, not 7-shi
Mitsubishi G3M	Type 96 Attack Bomber	9-shi Land Attacker		NELL
Mitsubishi G4M	Type 1 Attack Bomber	12-shi Land Attacker		BETTY
Mitsubishi G6M	Type 1 Wingtip Convoy Fighter			BETTY
Mitsubishi G6M1-K	Type 1 Large Land Trainer			BETTY	Trainer variant of G6M
Mitsubishi G6M1-L2	Type 1 Transport			BETTY	Transport variant of G6M
Mitsubishi G7M		16-shi Attack Bomber Taizan	Taizan (Great Mountain)		Project
Mitsubishi J2M	Land Fighter Raiden	14-shi Interceptor	Raiden (Lightning Bolt)	JACK
Mitsubishi J4M		17-shi Otsu (B) Type Interceptor Fighter Senden	Senden (Flashing Lightning)	LUKE	Project
Mitsubishi J8M		19-shi Rocket-Powered Interceptor Fighter Shusui	Shusui (Sharp Sword)
Mitsubishi K3M	Type 90 Operations Trainer			PINE
Mitsubishi K6M		11-shi Advanced Trainer Seaplane			Cancelled
Mitsubishi K7M		11-shi Crew Trainer			Cancelled
Mitsubishi L4M				TOPSY	Naval version of Ki-57-I
Mitsubishi Q2M		19-shi Patrol Plane Taiyo	Tai'yō (Great Sea)		ASW derivative of the Ki-67; project
Mizuno MXZ1		17-shi Exp. Research Plane			Training glider
n/a			Yasukuni (Shrine)		Ki-67-I loaned from Army
n/a	n/a	6-shi Carrier Fighter			Nakajima
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Fighter
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Fighter	Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter		for Navy
n/a	n/a	8-shi Carrier Fighter	Mitsubishi Ka-8		Crashed
n/a	n/a	8-shi Carrier Fighter			Nakajima, Cancelled
n/a	n/a	9-shi Carrier Fighter	IJA Nakajima Ki-11
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker			Aichi Biplane
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker			Mitsubishi Biplane
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker			Nakajima Biplane
n/a	Type 10 Carrier Torpedo Bomber				Triplane
n/a	n/a	6-shi Carrier Dive Bomber			Nakajima, Crashed
n/a	n/a	7-shi Carrier Dive Bomber			Nakajima
n/a	n/a	6-shi Night Reconnaissance Flying Boat			Aichi (flying boat biplane)
n/a	n/a	7-shi Reconnaissance Seaplane			Aichi, lost to E7K
n/a	Special Attack		Sukukaze (Cool Breeze)	OMAR	Fictional
n/a	Special Attack Glider Shinryu		Shinryu (Divine Dragon)		Mizuno project
n/a	Experimental Special Attacker 1		Toka (Wisteria flower)		Navy Nakajima Ki-115
n/a	Experimental Attack Plane 1		Tozan (Eastern Mountain)
n/a	Type 97 Reconnaissance Seaplane?			BOB	Aichi
n/a	Type 98 Bomber Float Plane?			IONE	Aichi
n/a	Type 99 Four-Engine Flying Boat?			JOAN	Unknown company
n/a	Type 99 Single-Engine Dive Bomber Seaplane?				Aichi
n/a	Type 1 Single-Seat Fighter?			ZEKE	Mitsubishi
n/a	Type 96 Carrier Fighter?			SANDY	Mitsubishi
n/a	Type 97 Seaplane Fighter			ADAM	Nakajima, Fictional
n/a	Type 1 Dive Bomber?			DOT	Nakajima
n/a	Type 99 Flying Boat			JOAN	Unknown company
n/a	Type T.K.19 Fighter			JOE	Fictional
n/a	Type 99 Dive Bomber Seaplane			JUNE	floatplane D3A
Nagoya Sento-ki 001	Sento-ki 001 Carrier Fighter			JUNE	fictional
Nakajima A1N	Type 3 Carrier Fighter				Biplane
Nakajima A2N	Type 90 Carrier Fighter				Biplane
Nakajima A3N	Type 90 Training Fighter				Biplane
Nakajima A4N	Type 95 Carrier Fighter				Biplane
Nakajima A6M2-N	Type 2 Fighter Seaplane	15-shi Fighter Seaplane		RUFE	Floatplane variant of A6M
Nakajima B4N		9-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker			Lost to B4Y1
Nakajima B5N	Type 97-1 & 97-2 Carrier Attack Bomber	10-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker		KATE
Nakajima B5N1-K	Type 97 Model 1 Attacker-Trainer			KATE	B5N Trainer version
Nakajima B6N	Carrier Attack Bomber Tenzan	14-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker	Tenzan (Heavenly Mountain)	JILL
Nakajima C2N	Fokker Reconnaissance Aircraft				Army Ki-6
Nakajima C3N	Type 97 Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft	10-shi Carrier (Land) Reconnaissance			Not proceeded with
Nakajima C6N	Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft Saiun	17-shi Carrier (Land) Reconnaissance	Saiun (Iridescent Cloud)	MYRT
Nakajima D2N		8-shi Carrier Bomber			Lost to D1A
Nakajima D3N		11-shi Carrier Bomber			Lost to D3A
Nakajima E2N	Type 15 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Nakajima E4N	Type 90-2 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Nakajima E4N2-C	Type 90-2-3 Reconnaissance Aircraft				landplane E4N
Nakajima E7K	Type 97 Seaplane Fighter			ADAM
Nakajima E8N	Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane	8-shi Sea Reconnaissance		DAVE
Nakajima E12N		12-shi Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane			Lost to E12K
Nakajima G5N		13-shi Attack Bomber Shinzan	Shinzan (Deep Mountain)	LIZ
Nakajima G8N		18-shi Attack Bomber Renzan	Renzan (Mountain Range)	RITA
Nakajima G10N	Super Heavy Bomber Fugaku		Fugaku (Mount Fuji)		Project
Nakajima J1N		13-shi Three-seat Fighter
Nakajima J1N1-C/J1N1-R	Type 2 Reconnaissance Aircraft	13-shi Land Reconnaissance		IRVING	Long-range reconnaissance variant of J1N
Nakajima J1N1-S	Night Fighter Gekko	13-shi Night Fighter	Gekko (Moonlight)	IRVING	Night fighter variant of J1N
Nakajima J5N		18-shi Otsu (B) Type Interceptor Fighter Tenrai	Tenrai (Heavenly Thunder)
Nakajima Kikka	Special Attacker Kikka/Imperial Weapon No.2		Kikka (Orange Blossom)		First Japanese jet aircraft
Nakajima L1N	Type 97 Transport			THORA	Naval version of Ki-34
Nihon K8P		12-shi Primary Trainer Seaplane			Cancelled
Nihon L7P		13-shi Small Amphibious Transport			Cancelled
Nihon MXJ1	Primary Training Glider Wakakusa	17-shi Exp. Research Plane	Wakakusa (Young Grass)
North American KXA	Type A Intermediate Trainer				Two tested
Northrop BXN					2 imported
Potez CXP1					One tested (diesel)
Potez HXP1					One tested
Seversky A8V	Type S Two-seat Fighter			DICK
Showa/Nakajima L2D	Type D Transport and Type 0 Transport			TABBY	licence-built Douglas DC-3
Vought AXV	Type V Interceptor Fighter				One tested
Watanabe A5M4-K	Type 2 Training Fighter	15-shi Fighter-Trainer			trainer variant
Watanabe E9W	Type 96 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane	9-shi Sea Reconnaissance		SLIM	Biplane
Watanabe E14W		12-shi Small Reconnaissance Seaplane
Watanabe K6W		11-shi Advanced Trainer Seaplane			Cancelled
Watanabe K8W		12-shi Primary Trainer Seaplane			Lost to K8K
Yokosuka B4Y	Type 96 Carrier Attack Bomber	9-shi Carrier Torpedo Attacker		JEAN
Yokosuka D2Y		8-shi Carrier Bomber			Lost to D1A
Yokosuka D3Y1-K/D3Y2-K	Type 99 Bomber Trainer		Myojo (Venus)		Based on D3A
Yokosuka D4Y	Carrier Bomber Suisei	13-shi Carrier Dive Bomber	Suisei (Comet)	JUDY/DOT
Yokosuka D4Y1-C/D4Y2-R	Type 2 Reconnaissance Aircraft			JUDY
Yokosuka D5Y	Special Attacker Myojo Kai				Production designation for D3Y2-K
Yokosuka E1Y	Type 14-1 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Yokosuka E5Y	Type 14-2 Kai-1 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Yokosuka E6Y	Type 91 Reconnaissance Seaplane				Biplane
Yokosuka E14Y	Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane	12-shi Sea Reconnaissance		GLEN
Yokosuka H5Y	Type 99 Flying boat	9-shi Flying Boat		CHERRY
Yokosuka H7Y		12-shi Special Flying boat		TILLIE	Project
Yokosuka K1Y	Type 13 Training Seaplane				Biplane
Yokosuka K2Y	Type 3 Primary Trainer
Yokosuka K4Y	Type 90 Training Seaplane
Yokosuka K5Y	Type 93 Advanced Trainer			WILLOW
Yokosuka L3Y	Type 96 Transport			TINA	Converted G3M
Yokosuka MXY1	Test Aircraft	Prototype Experimental Aircraft No. 1			Research
Yokosuka MXY2	Test Aircraft	Prototype Experimental Aircraft No. 2			Research
Yokosuka MXY3	Target Glider				Target drone
Yokosuka MXY4	Yokosuka Navy Type 1 Target Aircraft				Target drone
Yokosuka MXY5	Transport Glider	16-shi Special Transport
Yokosuka MXY6	Ente-type Glider				unpowered glider for J7W development
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka	Special Attack Aircraft Ohka		Ohka (Cherry blossom)	BAKA
Yokosuka MXY8	Training Glider Akigusa		Akigusa (Autumn grass)
Yokosuka MXY9	Trainer Shuka		Shuka (Autumn flower)		Glider
Yokosuka MXY10	Bomber Ginga Ground Decoy				for P1Y
Yokosuka MXY11	Type 1 Attack Bomber Ground Decoy				for G4M
Yokosuka P1Y	Bomber Ginga	15-shi Land Bomber	Ginga (Galaxy)	FRANCES
Yokosuka P1Y1-S	Night Fighter Hakko	15-shi Night Fighter	Kyokkō (Aurora)
Yokosuka P1Y2-S	Night Fighter Kyokko	15-shi Night Fighter	Hakkō (Corona), later Kyokkō (Aurora)
Yokosuka R1Y		17-shi Reconnaissance Plane Seiun	Seiun (Dawn Cloud)
Yokosuka R2Y		18-shi Reconnaissance Plane Keiun	Keiun (Cirrus Cloud)

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Aircraft Designations

Ki (キ) or Ku (ク) Number	Manufacturer	Official Designation or (Role)	Japanese Popular Name	Allied Code Name(s)	Notes
Ka-go	Kayaba	Ka-go Observer (autogyro)
Ki-1	Mitsubishi	Type 93 Heavy Bomber			Monoplane
Ki-2	Mitsubishi	Type 93-2 Twin-Engine Light Bomber		LOUISE	Monoplane
Ki-3	Kawasaki	Type 93 Single-Engine Light Bomber			Biplane
Ki-4	Nakajima	Type 94 Reconnaissance			Biplane
Ki-5	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			Monoplane
Ki-6	Nakajima	Type 95 Model 2 Trainer			License-built Fokker Super Universal
Ki-7	Mitsubishi	(Operations Trainer)			Navy K3M; lost to Ki-6
Ki-8	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Inverted gull-wing
Ki-9	Tachikawa	Type 95 Model 1 Trainer	Churen	SPRUCE
Ki-10	Kawasaki	Type 95 Fighter		PERRY	Last IJA fighter biplane
Ki-11	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Lost to Ki-10
Ki-12	Nakajima	(Fighter)
Ki-13	Nakajima	(Attacker)			Cancelled
Ki-14	Mitsubishi	(Reconnaissance)			Cancelled
Ki-15	Mitsubishi	Type 97 Headquarter Reconnaissance	Karigane – Wild Goose	BABS	Also Navy C5M
Ki-16	Nakajima	(Fuel Transport)			Douglas DC-2 variant
Ki-17	Tachikawa	Type 95 Model 3 Trainer	Shoren – Primary Trainer	CEDAR
Ki-18	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)			Army A5M variant
Ki-19	Nakajima	(Heavy Bomber)			Lost to Mitsubishi Ki-19
Ki-19	Mitsubishi	(Heavy Bomber)			Renamed to Ki-21
Ki-20	Mitsubishi	Type 92 Heavy Bomber			Junkers G-38 variant
Ki-21	Mitsubishi	Type 97 Heavy Bomber		SALLY/GWEN/JANE
Ki-22	Kawasaki	(Heavy bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-23	Fukuda	(Training glider)
Ki-24	Tachikawa	(Primary training glider)			DFS SG 38 Schulgleiter built under license
Ki-25	Tachikawa	(Training glider)
Ki-26	Tachikawa	(Glider)
Ki-27	Nakajima	Type 97 Fighter		NATE/CLINT
Ki-28	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			Lost to Ki-27
Ki-29	Tachikawa	(Light Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-30	Mitsubishi	Type 97 Light Bomber		ANN	Lost to Ki-32
Ki-31	Nakajima	(Light Bomber)			Cancelled, lost to Ki-28 and Ki-30.
Ki-32	Kawasaki	Type 98 Light Bomber		MARY	Lost to Ki-30
Ki-33	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)			Navy A5M variant lost to Ki-27
Ki-34	Nakajima	Type 97 Transport		THORA	Commercial AT-2
Ki-35	Mitsubishi	(Reconnaissance)			Cancelled
Ki-36	Tachikawa	Type 98 Co-operation Reconnaissance		IDA	Fixed undercarriage
Ki-37	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-38	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			Became Ki-45
Ki-39	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-40	Mitsubishi	(HQ Reconnaissance)			Cancelled
Ki-41	Nakajima	(Transport)			Cancelled
Ki-42	Mitsubishi	(Heavy Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-43	Nakajima	Type 1 Fighter	Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon)	OSCAR
Ki-44	Nakajima	Type 2 Single-seat Fighter	Shoki (Demon)	TOJO/JOHN
Ki-45	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-45 Kai	Kawasaki	Type 2 Two-seat Fighter	Toryu (Dragon Slayer)	NICK
Ki-46	Mitsubishi	Type 100 HQ Reconnaissance		DINAH
Ki-47	Mitsubishi	(Light Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-48	Kawasaki	Type 99 Twin-engine Light Bomber		LILY
Ki-49	Nakajima	Type 100 Heavy Bomber	Donryu (Storm Dragon)	HELEN
Ki-50	Mitsubishi	(Heavy Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-51	Mitsubishi	Type 99 Attacker/Army Reconnaissance		SONIA
Ki-52	Nakajima	(Dive Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-53	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Project
Ki-54a	Tachikawa	Type 1 Twin-engine Advanced Trainer		HICKORY
Ki-54b	Tachikawa	Type 1 Operations Trainer		HICKORY
Ki-54c	Tachikawa	Type 1 Transport		HICKORY
Ki-55	Tachikawa	Type 99 Advanced Trainer		IDA	Ki-36 variant
Ki-56	Kawasaki	Type 1 Cargo Transport		THALIA	Type LO/RO variant
Ki-57	Mitsubishi	Type 100 Transport		TOPSY	Navy L4M
Ki-58	Nakajima	(Escort fighter)			Ki-49 variant
Ki-59	Kokusai	Type 1 Transport		THERESA	Commercial TK-3
Ki-60	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			used inline engine
Ki-61	Kawasaki	Type 3 Fighter	Hien (Flying Swallow)	TONY
Ki-62	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-63	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Cancelled; variant of Ki-62 with radial engine
Ki-64	Kawasaki	(Fighter)		ROB	Buried engines
Ki-65	Mitsubishi	(Attacker)			Ki-51 successor project
Ki-65	Manshu	(Heavy Fighter)			project
Ki-66	Kawasaki	(Dive Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-67	Mitsubishi	Type 4 Heavy Bomber	Hiryū (Flying Dragon)	PEGGY	Also interceptor.
Ki-68	Nakajima	(Long-range Bomber)			Army bomber version of naval G5N, project
Ki-69	Mitsubishi	(Escort fighter)			Ki-67 project
Ki-70	Tachikawa	(HQ Reconnaissance)		CLARA	Cancelled
Ki-71	Manshu	(Attacker)		EDNA	Ki-51 variant
Ki-72	Tachikawa	(Reconnaissance)			Ki-36 variant project
Ki-73	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)		STEVE	Cancelled
Ki-74	Tachikawa	(Reconnaissance Bomber)		PAT/PATSY
Ki-75	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-76	Kokusai	Type 3 Command Liaison		STELLA	Also used for ASW
Ki-77	Tachikawa	Long-range Experimental
Ki-78	Kawasaki	High-speed Experimental	Ken-3
Ki-79	Manshu	Type 2 Advanced Trainer			Ki-27 variant
Ki-80	Nakajima	(Formation Commander)			Ki-49 variant
Ki-81	Kawasaki	(Formation Commander)			Ki-48 variant project
Ki-82	Nakajima	(Heavy Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-83	Mitsubishi	(Long-range Fighter)
Ki-84	Nakajima	Type 4 Fighter	Hayate (Gale)	FRANK
Ki-85	Kawasaki	(Bomber)			Army bomber version of naval G5N, project
Ki-86	Kokusai	Type 4 Basic Trainer		CYPRESS	Bücker Bü 131 built under license
Ki-87	Nakajima	(High-altitude Fighter)
Ki-88	Kawasaki	(Fighter)			Pusher
Ki-89	Kawasaki	(Experimental)			Cancelled
Ki-90	Mitsubishi	(Long-range Bomber)			project
Ki-91	Kawasaki	(Long-range Bomber)			Cancelled
Ki-92	Tachikawa	(Transport)
Ki-93	Rikugun	(Attacker)			57 mm gun
Ki-94	Tachikawa	(High-altitude Fighter)
Ki-95	Mitsubishi	(HQ Reconnaissance)			Ki-83 variant
Ki-96	Kawasaki	(Fighter)
Ki-97	Mitsubishi	(Transport)			Ki-67 Transport
Ki-98	Manshu	(Fighter)
Ki-99	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-100	Kawasaki	Type 5 Fighter			Ki-61 variant
Ki-101	Nakajima	(Night Fighter)		PERRY
Ki-102	Kawasaki	Type 4 Assault Aircraft		RANDY
Ki-103	Mitsubishi	(Attacker)			Ki-83 variant
Ki-104	Rikugun	(Fighter)
Ki-105	Kokusai	(Transport)	Ohtori (Phoenix)	BUZZARD	Powered Ku-7
Ki-106	Tachikawa	(Fighter)		FRANK	Wood Ki-84
Ki-107	Tokyo Koku	(Primary Trainer)			Wood
Ki-108	Kawasaki	(High-altitude Fighter)			pressurized cockpit
Ki-109	Mitsubishi	Experimental heavy fighter		PEGGY	Ki-67 with 75mm gun
Ki-110	Tachikawa	(Transport)			Wood Ki-54
Ki-111	Tachikawa	(Fuel tanker)			Cancelled
Ki-112	Mitsubishi	(Heavy Bomber)			Wood Ki-67
Ki-113	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Steel Ki-84
Ki-114	Tachikawa	(Fuel tanker)			Cancelled
Ki-115	Nakajima	(Special Attacker)	Tsurugi – Sabre
Ki-116	Manshu	(Fighter)			Re-engined Ki-84
Ki-117	Nakajima	(Fighter)			Designation for Ki-84N
Ki-118	Mitsubishi	(Fighter)			Cancelled
Ki-119	Kawasaki	(Dive-bomber/torpedo fighter)
Ki-120	Tachikawa	(Transport)			transport variant based on Ki-74
Ki-147	Kawasaki	(Radio-guided air to surface missile)
Ki-148	Kawasaki	Igo-1-B (Guided Bomb)			launched from Ki-48
Ki-167	Mitsubishi	Special Attack	Sakura-dan (Cherry Blossom)		Kamikaze Ki-67
Ki-174	Kawasaki	Special Attack			Single-seat Ki-48 project
Ki-200	Mitsubishi	experimental rocket interceptor	Shusui (Sharp Sword)		Navy J8M1
Ki-201	Nakajima	(Fighter-Bomber)	Karyu (Fire Dragon)		Project
Ki-202	Rikugun	(Interceptor)	Shusui–kai (Sharp Sword-Improved)		Advanced Ki-200
Ki-230	Nakajima	Special Attack			Ki-115 project
Ku-1	Maeda	Maeda Army Type 2 Small Glider			Towed by Ki-51
Ku-2	Tokyo University	(Tailless Research)
Ku-3	Tokyo University	(Tailless Research)
Ku-4	Tokyo University	(Research)			Powered Ku-2 project
Ku-5	Fukuda	(Trainer)			research aircraft
Ku-6	Maeda	(Gliding Tank)			Cancelled
Ku-7	Kokusai	Experimental Transport Glider	Manazuru (White-naped crane)	BUZZARD	Became Ki-105
Ku-8	Kokusai	Type 4 Special Transport		GOOSE, later GANDER	Towed by Ki-21
Ku-9	Fukuda	(Transport)			Cancelled
Ku-10	Maeda	(Special Glider Trainer)
Ku-11	Nihon	(Transport)			Wood
Ku-12	Fukuda	(Glider Trainer)
n/a	Rikugun	Ta-go Special Attacker	Takeyari (Bamboo-spear)
n/a	Kobe	Te-go Observer			Lost to Ka-go
Ka 87	Kawasaki	Type 87 Heavy Bomber			Dornier Do N
n/a	Mitsubishi	Type 87 Light Bomber			IJN Type 13 Carrier Attacker for Army
n/a	Kawasaki	Type 88 Light Bomber			Type 88 Reconnaissance variant
n/a	Kawasaki	Type 88 Reconnaissance Aircraft
n/a	Nakajima	Type 91 Fighter
n/a	Kawasaki	Type 92 Fighter
n/a	Mitsubishi	Type 92 Reconnaissance	2MR8
n/a	Fiat	Type I Heavy Bomber		RUTH
n/a	Lockheed	Type LO Transport		THELMA/TOBY
n/a	Vultee	Type 98 Showa Light Bomber		MILLIE
n/a	Heinkel	Type 98 Medium Bomber		BESS
n/a	Focke-Wulf	(Technology demonstrator)		FRED
n/a	Focke-Wulf	(Technology demonstrator)		TRUDY
n/a	Junkers	(Technology demonstrator)		IRENE
n/a	Junkers	(Technology demonstrator)		JANICE
n/a	Junkers	(Technology demonstrator)		TRIXIE
n/a	Messerschmitt	(Technology demonstrator)		DOC
n/a	Messerschmitt	(Technology demonstrator)		TRIXIE
n/a	Nakajima	Type 97 Fighter?		CLINT
n/a	Nakajima	Type 1 Light Bomber?		JOYCE
n/a	Kawasaki	Type 1 Single-Seat Fighter?		JIM
n/a	Kawasaki	Type 97 Medium Bomber?		JULIA
n/a	Mitsubishi	Mitsubishi Navy Type 97 Fighter		ABDUL	Fictional A5M variant
n/a	Mitsubishi	Type 97 Light Bomber Darai 108		NORMA	Bennett BTC-1
n/a	Mitsubishi	Type 0 Single-Seat Twin-Engine Fighter		FRANK/HARRY
n/a	Mitsubishi	Type 0 Medium Bomber?		GWEN
n/a		Medium Bomber		MAISIE
n/a	Nakajima	Nakajima/Douglas DC-2 transport		TESS	Imported DC-2
n/a	Nakajima	Type AT-27 twin-engine fighter		GUS	fictional aircraft from magazine
n/a	Mitsubishi	Ohtori	Ohtori (Phoenix)	EVE	Civilian Mitsubishi Ki-2-ii
n/a	Kawanishi	Special Attack Aircraft Baika	Baika (Ume Blossom)		project

 

Zero fighters from the aircraft carrier Kaga taking off to attack Allied forces in New Guinea, January 1942. 

 

Front of Japanese Military Aircraft, ONI 232 Identification and Characteristics Section. ONI 232 was a US Office of Naval Intelligence publication that provided identification and characteristics information on Japanese military aircraft during World War II. It was a key resource for Allied forces in recognizing and understanding Japanese aircraft. 

 

ONI 232 Restricted, Japanese Military Aircraft Service Types, Japanese Aircraft Class A. (Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics Section, August 1943) 

 

ONI 232 Restricted, Japanese Military Aircraft Minor Operational Types Class B. (Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics Section, August 1943).