The Japanese Navy, however, had a much more complicated system, much like the U.S. Navy system.The first letter indicated it's function.The second number indicated the sequence of that particular aircraft, and the last letter designated the manufacturer.So, the designation "Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden" meant "a Mitsubishi-built land fighter that is second in the sequence".
Below is a table of the Imperial Navy's classifaction of a particular aircraft.Since the letters are the first letters for the Japanese name, they are different that the usual English equivalent.
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A-carrier fighter
B-carrier attack bomber C-carrier reconnaissance D-carrier bomber E-floatplane reconnaissance F-floatplane observation G-medium/heavy bomber H-flying boat J-land-based fighter |
K-trainer
L-transport M-special aircraft N-floatplane fighter P-land-based bomber Q-anti-submarine R-land-based reconnaissance S-night fighter |