What they really called them

Compiled by Jeffery P. Rhodes, Aeronautics Editor, Air Force Magazine Originally published in Air Force Magazine, September, 1990 Edits and additions by Robert Coats, October 1991 Please send any corrections, additions, or comments to Robert Coats, 76256, 504
Aircraft (Year of First Flight)	Official Nicknames	Real Nicknames(s)
US Air Force/Army
Curtiss JN-4 (1914)	None	Jenny Canuck (Canadian-built version
Boeing P-26 (1932)	None	Peashooter
Douglas C-47 (1935)	Skytrain	GooneyBird Placid Plodder Dowager Duchess Old Methuselah Grand Old Lady (names also applied to DC-3, C-053, and C-117)
North American AT-6 (1938)	Texan	Awful Terrible Six Mosquito (Korean War)
North American B-25 (1939)	Mitchell	Billy's Bomber
Beech C-45 (1940)	Expeditor	Bug Smasher
Martin B-26 (1940)	Marauder	Widow-Maker Flying Prostitute (it had no visible means of support) Baltimore Whore
Vultee BT-13 (1940)	Valiant	Vibrator Bee Tee
North American P-51 (1941)	Mustang	Stang Peter-Dash-Flash Spam Can
Republic P-47 (1941)	Thunderbolt	Jug T-Bolt
Ryan PT-22 (1941)	Recruit	Maytag Messerschmitt (Also a generic reference to L-series [Liaison] aircraft)
Cessna UC-78 (1942)	Bobcat	BambooBomber Rhapsody in Glue San Joaquin Beaufighter Useless 78 Double-Breasted Cub
Douglas A-26 (1942)	Invader	Li'l Racer Li'l Hummer
Sikorsky R-4 (1942)	Hoverfly	Flying Eggbeater Frustrated Palm Tree
Consolidated C-109 (1943)	Liberator	Cee-One-Oh-Boom (several of these cargo B-24s exploded while ferrying fuel over the Hump to China)
Curtiss XP-55 (1943)	Ascender	Ass-Ender (its canards and rear-mounted engine made it appear to be flying backward)
Fairchild C-87 (1944)	Packet	Crowd Killer
Douglas A-1 (1945)	Skyraider	Spad Sandy (A-1H only)
Convair B-36 (1946)	Peacemaker	Aluminum Overcast Magnesium Overcast
Republic F-84 (1946)	Thunderjet	Hog Lead Sled Lieutenant-Eater
Fairchild C-119 (1947)	Flying Boxcar	DollarNineteen Crowd Killer
Lockheed T-33 (1948)	Shooting Star	T-Bird
Northrop F-89 (1948)	Scorpion	FOD Vacuum (because of its low intakes) Stanley Steamer (because of its oversized main landing gear)
Douglas C-124 (1949)	Globemaster II	Aluminum Overcast Old Shaky
North American F-86D (1949)	Sabre	Sabre Dog
Lockheed C-121 (1950)	Constellation	Connie Flying Speed Brake
Republic F-84F (1950)	Thunderstreak	Super Hog Lead Sled Ground-Loving Whore
Boeing B-52 (1952)	Stratofortress	BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker) Monkeyknocker (Vietnam) Coconutknocker (Vietnam)
Vertol CH-21 (1952)	Workhorse	Flying Banana
Convair F-102 (1953)	Delta Dagger	Deuce
Martin B-57 (1953)	Canberra	Cranberry
North American F-100 (1953)	Super Sabre	Hun Silver Dollar
Cessna T-37 (1954)	Tweet	World's Largest Dog Whistle Converter (converts fuel into noise) Hummer Tweety Bird
Lockheed C-130 (1954)	Hercules	Herky Bird Herk Hog (ski-equipped LC-130s are Ski-Hogs
Lockheed F-104 (1954)	Starfighter	Missile with a Man in it
McDonnell F-101 (1954)	Voodoo	One-Oh-Wonder
Convair TF-102 (1955)	Delta Dagger	Tub (from bulged cockpit)
Lockheed U-2 (1955)	None	Dragon Lady Deuce Blackbird Angel
Republic F-105 (1955)	Thunderchief	Thud Lead Sled Thunderbird Squash Bomber (if all else fails, turn off the engine and squash the target) Triple Threat (it had three ways it could kill the pilot) Ultra Hog Iron Butterfly
Bell UH-1 (1956)	Iroquois	Huey (some versions were called "Slick" or "Hog"x
Boeing KC-135 (1956)	Stratotanker	Stratobladder Flying Gas Station Tank GLOB (Ground- Loving Old Bastard)
Convair B-58 (1956)	Hustler	Delta Queen
Convair F-106 (1956)	Delta Dart	Six Sixshooter (with gun pod attached)
Cessna U-3 (1957)	None	Blue Canoe
Kaman HH-43 (1958)	Huskie	Flying Shithouse
McDonnell Douglas F-4 (1958)	Phantom II	Double Ugly Rhino Old Smokey
Northrop T-38 (1958)	Talon	White Rocket
Boeing CH-47 (1961)	Chinook	Shithook Hook
Hughes OH-6 (1963)	Cayuse	Loach (from original LOH [Light Observation Helicopter] designation Egg Olive on a toothpick
Lockheed C-141 (1963)	Starlifter	Starlizard (from its camouflage paint scheme) T-Tailed Mountain Magnet
Cessna T-41 (1964) (military 172 Skyhawk)	Mescalero	Chickenhawk F-172
Douglas AC-47 (1964)	Skytrain	Puff the Magic Dragon Spooky Dragon (and Dragonship)
General Dynamics F-111 (1964)	None	Aardvark Flying Edsel Widow-Maker Switchblade Swinger
Lockheed SR-71 (1964)	None	Blackbird Habu (an Okinawan species of snake) Lead Sled
Sikorski CH-54 (1964)	Tarhe	Skycrane Cranex
Bell AH-1 (1965)	Huey Cobra	Snake
LTV A-7 (1965)	Corsair II	SLUF (Short Little Ugly Fucker) Man-Eater (low engine intake)
Northrop M2-F2-F3 (1966/1970)	None	Flying Bathtub Cadillac (from its 1950s-style tail fins)
Cessna O-2 (1967)	None	Duck (from the way its landing gear retracted) Blow-Suck (from its powerplant arrangement) Pushme-Pullyu
Lockheed C-5 (1968)	Galaxy	Fat Albert
Martin-Marietta X-24A (1970)	None	Flying Potato
Fairchild A-10 (1972)	Thunderbolt II	Warthog SLAT (Slow, Low, Aerial Target) Porker Hog
McDonnell Douglas F-15 (1972)	Eagle	Great Bird Rodan Big Bird Tennis Court (a match could be played on its fuselage and wings) Aluminum Overcast
Boeing T-43 (1973)	None	Gator (from Navigator) Strike Pig
Martin Marietta X-24B (1973)	None	Flying Flatiron
General Dynamics F-16 (1974)	Fighting Falcon	Electric Jet Viper Lawn Dart Little Hummerx
Rockwell B-1 (1974)	Lancer	Bone (from B-one) Lawn Dart The Jetx
Sikorsky UH-60 (1974)	Black Hawk	Catfish
Grumman EF-111 (1977)	Raven	Sparkvark Electric Fox
Lockheed F-117 (1981)	None	The Black Jet Nighthawk Frisbee F-19 (Note: "Wobbly Goblin" is purely a media creation)
Grumman X-29 (1984)	None	Polecat
Generic References
All rescue aircraft (SB-17, SB-29, SA-16, etc.)	Various	Dumbo
All cargo aircraft	Various	Trashhauler Trashcarrier
US Navy/Marine Corps
Grumman FF-1 (1931)	None	FiFi
Stearman N2S (PT-17) (1934)	Kaydet	YellowPeril
Consolidated PBY (1935)	Catalina	Pigboat P-Boat Black Cat (those aircraft involved in a specific, continuing, night mission only)
Naval Aircraft Factory N3N (1935)	None	YellowPeril
Vought SB2U (1936)	Vindicator	Wind Indicator Vibrator
Douglas SBD (A-24) (1936)	Dauntless	Slow But Deadly
North American SNJ (AT-6) (1936)	Texan	J-Bird
Beech SNB (AT-11) (1940)	Kansan	Slow Navy Bomber
Vought F4U (1940)	Corsair	Bent-Wing Bird
Grumman TBF/General Motors TBM (1941)	Avenger	Turkey
McDonnell F2H (1947)	Banshee	Banjo Drut
Beech T-34 (1948)	Mentor	Radial Interceptor
Douglas F3D (F-10) (1948)	Skyknight	Whale
North American AJ-1 (1948)	Savage	Salvage
Vought F7U (1948)	Cutlass	Gutless Cutlass
Douglas F4D (F-6) (1951)	Skyray	Ford (from pronunciation of F-4-D)
Douglas A3D (A-3) (1952)	Skywarrior	All Three Dead (No ejection seats)x
Grumman S2F (S-2) (1952)	Tracker	Stoof (from pronunciation of S-2-F)
Lockheed WV-2 (EC-121) (1953)	Warning Star	Willie Victor
Douglas A-4 (1954)	Skyhawk	Scooter Heinemann's Hot Rod Tinker Toy Bantam Bomber Mighty Mite Skyhog
Vought F-8 (1955)	Crusader	MiG Master
Grumman WF-1 (E-1) (1956)	Tracer	Willie Fudd Stoof with a Roof (because of the large radome)x
Douglas EA-3 (1958)	Skywarrior	Electric Whale
North American T-2 (1958)	Buckeye	Attack Guppy North American Safety Jet
Lockheed P-3 (1960)	Orion	Crowd Killer Sub Buster Per-Diem Machine (when broken down and crews stay the night)
Douglas ERA-3 (1960)	Skywarrior	Warbird
Grumman E-2 (1960)	Hawkeye	Hummer
Grumman EA-6 (1963)	Intruder/Prowler	Sterile Arrow
McDonnell\ Douglas/British Aerospace AV-8 (1966)	Harrier	Jump Jet Whistling Shitcan Scarier
Grumman F-14 (1970)	Tomcat	Turkey
Lockheed S-3 (1971)	Viking	Hoover (from sound of its turbofan engines)x
Sikorsky CH-53E (1974)	Super Stallion	Super Shitter (from its tendency to leak hydraulic fluid)x
Foreign
Bristol Fighter (1916)x	None	Brisfit Biff
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 (1916)	None	Harry Tate
de Havilland DH-4 (1917)	None	Flaming Coffin (from alleged tendency to burn)x
Junkers Ju-52 (1930)	None	Tante Ju (Auntie Junkers) Iron Annie
Dornier Do-11 (1932)x	None	Fliegender Sarg (Flying Coffin)
Heinkel He-51 (1933)	None	Caza de Cadena (Chain Fighter, from the Nationalists' follow-the-leader strafing tactics in the Spanish Civil War)x
Supermarine Walrus (1933)	None	Shagbat
Fairey Swordfish (1934)	None	Stringbag
Avro Anson (1935)	None	Faithful Annie
Dornier Do-17 (1935)	None	Fliegender Bleistift (Flying Pencil)
Hawker Hurricane IIB (1935)	None	Hurribomber Hurricat (these were catapulted from merchant ships)
Messerschmitt Bf-109 (1935)	None	Usually called by series name (e.g., Bf-109E was Emil), but Bf-109G (Gustav) also called Beule (Boil) for additional equipment crammed in and faired over
Fairey Battle (1936)	None	Fairly Rattle
Hadley Page Hampden (1936)	None	Flying Frying Pan
Vickers Wellington (1936)	None	Wimpy
Westland Lysander (1936)	None	Lizzie
Blohm & Voss BV-138 (1937)	None	FliegenderHolzschuh (Flying Wooden Shoe)
Focke-Wulf FW-189 (1938)	Uhu (Owl)	Fliegendes Auge (Flying Eye)
Fairey Albacore (1939)	None	Applecore
Heinkel He-177	Greif (Griffon)	Luftwaffenfeuerzeug (Luftwaffe's Lighter)
Mitsubishi G4M (1939)	None (Allied code name "Betty")	Hamaki (Cigar)
deHavilland Mosquito (1940)	None	WoodenWonder Mossie
Hawker Typhoon (1940)	None	Tiffie
Fiesler Fi-103 (V-1) (1942)	None	Kirschkern (Cherry Stone)
Messerschmitt Me-262 (1942)	Schwalbe (Swallow) Sturmvogel (Storm Bird)	Turbo
Messerschmitt Me-323 (1942)	Gigant (Giant)	Leukoplastbomber (Adhesive Tape Bomber--it was mostly canvas)
Dornier Do-335 (1943)	Pfeil (Arrow)	Ameisenbaer (Anteater--it had a long nose)
Gloster Meteor (1943)	None	Meatbox
Focke-Wulf FW190D (1944)	None	Dora Ameisenbaer (Anteater)
Avro Shackleton (1949)	None	100,000 Rivets Flying in Loose Formation