Understanding British aircraft designations for foreign sales?

[Antoine]

Hello,

I'm wondering since already a long time if there would be a way to understand British aircraft designations for foreign sales, from the cold war era?

I thought at first that the rule was to use the British version designation number just behind a first digit indicating the client country.

Exemple for the canberra B.2 => Argentine canberra B.62, with 6 being the number designating Argentine, and 2 the original British version of the canberra.

But I think that I'm completely wrong, as it works only for a few aircraft.

I'm struggling manly with the said canberra, but also with the hunter and the vampire.

Any idea?

[Test Graham]

Initially they were just exported using the RAF mark numbers - for example the Meteor Mk.4. An export system of sorts began with Mk.50 for the first overseas customer, and then the number increased as new orders came in. If the aircraft was totally unchanged, then the same number could be reused (I believe, without checking) but as aircraft became more complex and customers more discerning, new mark numbers were required to distinguish between features.

[Dave Fleming]

There isn't a pattern to it as such. Just each country got a different number, generally starting at 50.

So the Indian Sea Harriers were FRS51 and T60, but their Hunters had been mk56 for the F6s and mk56A for the FGA9s, and T66 for the two seaters

Edited March 5, 2014 by Dave Fleming

[Don McIntyre]

IIRC, that held tru for much of the cold war. Even up to aircraft such as the earlier BAe Hawks.IIRC, the 1xx series of the export Hawk has the extended nose? I can't think of any purely British exports after that.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Don McIntyre

[pigsty]

There's no system, apart (as Graham says) from export models starting at Mk.50. Take the Hunter. Most exports were a mix of fighters and trainers. Initial batches had them ten Marks apart - eg Peru, which bought the F.Mk.52 and the T.Mk.62. By the end they were just consecutive - I think the last were Kenya's, the FGA.Mk.80 and T.Mk.81.

The Hawk seems systematic until you look closely. 100-series variants are scattered all the way from Mk.102 to Mk.165. Some are linked to earlier models (eg the Saudi Mk.165 followed their Mk.65) but most aren't, and in among them is the T.Mk.2 for the RAF (BAe calls it the Mk.128). The 200-series is smaller but still scattered. This may be because the manufacturer, not the Government, sets the Mark numbers - I'm not sure to what extent Govt is involved any more, beyond granting export licences.

[Truro Model Builder]

Hawk exports: a quick guide to mark numbers

50-series: Finland Mk51 and Mk51A (Mk50/Mk60 hybrids), Kenya Mk52, Indonesia Mk53

60-series: Zimbabwe Mk60, Abu Dhabi Mk61, upgraded to Mk61A, and Mk61C (new build Mk61A), Venezuela Mk62 (cancelled), Dubai Mk63, Kuwait Mk64, Saudi Arabia Mk65 and Mk65A, Switzerland Mk66 (sold to Finland but retaining designation), South Korea Mk67

100-series: Abu Dhabi Mk102, Oman Mk103, Malaysia Mk108, Indonesia Mk109, Canada Mk115 (one sold to Oman and redesignated Mk103)

200-series: Oman Mk203, Malaysia Mk208, Indonesia Mk209

Hawk LIFT: South Africa Mk120, Australia Mk127, United Kingdom Mk128, Bahrain Mk129, India Mk132, Saudi Arabia Mk165

There are no UK designations for the US Navy T-45 Goshawk.