| British Military Aircraft Designation Systems |
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From about 1910 , it was decided that all aircraft for British Army use would be designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory , Farnborough , although they might be built elsewhere. These did have reasonably consistent designations. The Admiralty chose to have private industry design and build its aircraft. The Army eventually relented, and also bought industry-designed aircraft. From 1920 to 1949 , every type had an associated ''Air Ministry Specification'' number. Some of these never produced a Prototype or an aircraft in service. Others were drawn up around a Private Venture design, or an imported model. Variants of each operational type are normally indicated by letters to indicate the current function of that aircraft and then a number indicating the sequence in which that variant achieved operational status. No number is reused with a different functional prefix. For example the first Lockheed Hercules in RAF service was known as the C1. A later version with a lengthened fuselage received the designation C3 because a single example adapted for weather monitoring purposes had already taken the designation W2. Aircraft with a long service life may find that their function changes from time to time and a change in the designation letters and sometimes the following digit will reflect such new roles. When major modifications are made to an aircraft the designation can change - example when the Harrier GR7 is upgraded with more powerful engines and electronics it becomes a Harrier GR9. Minor modification that require the aircraft to be operated or maintained differently can result in a suffix to the designation - example a VC-10 C1 modified for in-flight refuelling becomes a VC-10 C1K. The designations are used in a number of styles - for example:
These functional prefixes are:
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