Japanese Army & Navy Aircraft Type Numbers
Each type of aircraft entering production for the JNAF after 1920 was given a type number combined with a brief description of its primary function. Initially related to Showa dates, in 1929 the type number became the last two digits of the year in the Japanese calendar year. The reputed date of the foundation of the Empire of Japan is 660 BC. Japanese historians ascribe to that date an Imperial Rescript said to have been issued by the first Emperor, Jimmu Tenno. Thus the Aichi dive-bomber which entered production in 1939 (2599 in the Japanese system) was the Type 99 Carrier Bomber. Only a single digit was used when the year ended in 00, as with the Type 0 Carrier Fighter (thus the name "Zero") which entered production in 1940 or the Japanese year 2600.
From 1927, new Army aircraft were given a type number based on the last digits of the Japanese year that the type was accepted into service. Up to the year 2599 (1939 in the West) the last two digits formed the type number. In 2600 (1940) the number 100 was used, and from 2601 (1941) only the last digit of the year was used. Thus, the Army Type 97 Heavy Bomber and Army Type 97 Fighter were both accepted in 2597 (1937) and can be differentiated by the functional description attached to each.
| Service | Type Number | Function | Manuf. | Model | Code Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2590 / 1930 | |||||
| Navy | Type 90 | Operations Trainer | Mitsubishi | K3M1 | PINE |
| Navy | Type 90-2 | Flying-Boat | Kawanishi | H3K1 | BELLE |
| 2593 / 1933 | |||||
| Army | Type 93-2 | Twin-engine Light Bomber | Mitsubishi | Ki-2-II | LOUISE |
| Navy | Type 93 | Intermediate Trainer | Kugisho | K5Y | WILLOW |
| 2594 / 1934 | |||||
| Navy | Type 94 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Kawanishi | E7K | ALF |
| 2595 / 1935 | |||||
| Army | Type 95-1 | Intermediate Trainer | Tachikawa | Ki-9 | SPRUCE |
| Army | Type 95-3 | Primary Trainer | Tachikawa | Ki-17 | CEDAR |
| Army | Type 95 | Fighter | Kawasaki | Ki-10 | PERRY |
| Navy | Type 95 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Nakajima | E8N1 | DAVE |
| 2596 / 1936 | |||||
| Navy | Type 96 | Carrier Fighter | Mitsubishi | A5M | CLAUDE |
| Navy | Type 96 | Carrier Fighter ** | Mitsubishi | (See CLAUDE) | SANDY |
| Navy | Type 96 | Carrier Attack Bomber | Kugisho | B4Yl | JEAN |
| Navy | Type 96 | Carrier Bomber | Aichi | D1A2 | SUSIE |
| Navy | Type 96 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Aichi | E10A1 | HANK |
| Navy | Type 96 | Attack Bomber | Mitsubishi | G3M | NELL |
| Navy | Type 96 | Transport | Kugisho | L3Y | TINA |
| Navy | Type 96 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Watanabe | E9W | SLIM |
| 2597 / 1937 | |||||
| Army | Type 97 | Command Reconnaissance Plane | Mitsubishi | Ki-15 | BABS |
| Army | Type 97 | Heavy Bomber | Mitsubishi | Ki-21 | SALLY |
| Army | Type 97 | Heavy Bomber ** | Mitsubishi | (See SALLY) | JANE |
| Army | Type 97 | Fighter | Nakajima | Ki-27 | NATE |
| Army | Type 97 | Fighter ** | Nakajima | (See NATE) | CLINT |
| Army | Type 97 | Fighter * | Mitsubishi | ABDUL | |
| Army | Type 97 | Medium Bomber * | Kawasaki | JULIA | |
| Army | Type 97 | Light Bomber | Mitsubishi | Ki-30 | ANN |
| Army | Type 97 | Transport | Nakajima | Ki-34 | THORA |
| Type 97 | Light Bomber * | Mitsubishi | NORMA | ||
| Navy | Type 97-1 | Carrier Attack Bomber | Nakajima | B5N1 & 2 | KATE |
| Navy | Type 97-2 | Carrier Attack Bomber | Mitsubishi | B5M1 | MABEL |
| Navy | Type 97-3 | Carrier Attack Bomber | Nakajima | B5N1 & 2 | KATE |
| Navy | Type 97 | Flying Boat | Kawanishi | H6K | MAVIS |
| Navy | Type 97 | Transport | Nakajima | L1N1 | THORA |
| Navy | Type 97 | Seaplane Fighter * | Nakajima | ADAM | |
| Navy | Type 97 | Reconnaissance Seaplane * | Aichi | BOB | |
| 2598 / 1938 | |||||
| Army | Type 98 | Light Bomber | Kawasaki | Ki-32 | MARY |
| Army | Type 98 | Direct Co-operation Plane | Tachikawa | Ki-36 | IDA |
| Type 98 | Medium Bomber * | Heinkel | He 111 | BESS | |
| Type 98 | Showa Light Bomber * | Vultee | V-11GB | MILLIE | |
| Navy | Type 98 | Reconnaissance Plane | Mitsubishi | C5M | BABS |
| Navy | Type 98 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Aichi | E11A1 | LAURA |
| Navy | Type 98 | Bomber Float Plane * | Aichi | IONE | |
| 2599 / 1939 | |||||
| Army | Type 99 | Twin-engine Light Bomber | Kawasaki | Ki-48 | LILY |
| Army | Type 99 | Assault Plane/Tactical Recon. | Mitsubishi | Ki-51 | SONIA |
| Army | Type 99 | Advanced Trainer | Tachikawa | Ki-55 | IDA |
| Navy | Type 99 | Carrier Bomber | Aichi | D3A | VAL |
| Navy | Type 99 | S.E. Dive Bomber Seaplane ** | Aichi | (See JAKE) | JUNE |
| Navy | Type 99 | Flying-Boat | Kugisho | H5Y | CHERRY |
| Navy | Type 99 | Four-engine Flying Boat * | JOAN | ||
| 2600 / 1940 | |||||
| Army | Type 100 | Command Reconnaissance Plane | Mitsubishi | Ki-46 | DINAH |
| Army | Type 100 | Tactical Pilot Trainer | Mitsubishi | Ki-46-II KAI | DINAH |
| Army | Type 100 | Interceptor Fighter | Mitsubishi | Ki-46-III KAI | DINAH |
| Army | Type 100 | Heavy Bomber Donryu | Nakajima | Ki-49 | HELEN |
| Army | Type 100 | Transport | Mitsubishi | Ki-57 | TOPSY |
| Army | Type 0 | Medium Bomber ** | Mitsubishi | (See SALLY) | GWEN |
| Army | Type 0 | Single-seat Twin-engine Fighter * | Mitsubishi | HARRY | |
| Navy | Type 0 | Carrier Fighter | Mitsubishi | A6M | ZEKE / ZERO |
| Navy | Type 0 | Reconnaissance Seaplane | Aichi | E13A1 | JAKE |
| Navy | Type 0 | Small Reconnaissance Seaplane | Kugisho | E14Y1 | GLEN |
| Navy | Type 0 | Observation Seaplane | Mitsubishi | F1M1 | PETE |
| Navy | Type 0 | Transport | Douglas | DC-3 L2D2/5 | TABBY |
| Navy | Type 0 | Transport | Mitsubishi | L4M1 | TOPSY |
| 2601 / 1941 | |||||
| Army | Type 1 | Fighter Hayabusa | Nakajima | Ki-43 | OSCAR |
| Army | Type 1 | Single-seat Fighter ** | Kawasaki | (See OSCAR) | JIM |
| Army | Type 1 | Advanced Trainer | Tachikawa | Ki-54a | HICKORY |
| Army | Type 1 | Operations Trainer | Tachikawa | Ki-54b | HICKORY |
| Army | Type 1 | Transport | Tachikawa | Ki-54c | HICKORY |
| Army | Type 1 | Freight Transport | Kawasaki | Ki-56 | THALIA |
| Army | Type 1 | Transport | Kokusai | Ki-59 | THERESA |
| Army | Type 1 | Light Bomber * | Nakajima | (See EVE) | JOYCE |
| Navy | Type 1 | Attack Bomber | Mitsubishi | G4Ml/G4M6 | BETTY |
| Navy | Type 1 | Formation Escort Fighter | Mitsubishi | G6M1 | BETTY |
| Navy | Type 1 | Attack Bomber Trainer | Mitsubishi | G6Ml-K | BETTY |
| Navy | Type 1 | Transport | Mitsubishi | G6M1-L2 | BETTY |
| Navy | Type 1 | Target Plane | Kugisho | MXY4 | |
| Navy | Type 1 | Dive Bomber * | Nakajima | (See JUDY) | DOT |
| Navy | Type 1 | Single-seat Fighter ** | Mitsubishi | (See ZEKE) | RAY |
| 2602 / 1942 | |||||
| Army | Type 2 | Single-seat Fighter Shoki | Nakajima | Ki-44 | TOJO |
| Army | Type 2 | Two-seat Fighter Toryu | Kawasaki | Ki-45 KAI | NICK |
| Army | Type 2 | Advanced Trainer | Manshu | Ki-79 | |
| Navy | Type 2 | Training Fighter | Mitsubishi | A5M4-K | |
| Navy | Type 2 | Fighter Seaplane | Nakajima | A6M2-N | RUFE |
| Navy | Type 2 | Carrier Reconnaissance Plane | Kugisho | D4Yl-C | JUDY |
| Navy | Type 2 | High-speed Recon. Seaplane Shiun | Kawanishi | El5Kl | NORM |
| Navy | Type 2 | Flying-Boat | Kawanishi | H8K | EMILY |
| Navy | Type 2 | Training Flying-Boat | Aichi | H9A1 | |
| Navy | Type 2 | Land Based Reconnaissance Plane | Nakajima | J1N1-C | IRVING |
| Navy | Type 2 | Gekko (Night Fighter) | Nakajima | J1N1-S | IRVING |
| Navy | Type 2 | Primary Trainer Momiji | Kyushu | K9W1 | CYPRESS |
| Navy | Type 2 | Intermediate Trainer | Kyushu | K10W1 | OAK |
| 2603 / 1943 | |||||
| Army | Type 3 | Fighter Hien | Kawasaki | Ki-61 | TONY |
| Army | Type 3 | Command Liaison Plane | Kokusai | Ki-76 | STELLA |
| 2604 / 1944 | |||||
| Army | Type 4 | Heavy Bomber Hiryu | Mitsubishi | Ki-67 | PEGGY |
| Army | Type 4 | Special Attack Plane | Mitsubishi | Ki-67-I KAl | PEGGY |
| Army | Type 4 | Fighter Hayate | Nakajima | Ki-84 | FRANK |
| Army | Type 4 | Primary Trainer | Kokusai | Ki-86 | CYPRESS |
| Army | Type 4 | Assault Plane | Kawasaki | Ki-102b | RANDY |
| Army | Type 4 | Special Transport Glider | Kokusai | Ku-8 | GANDER |
| Army | Type 4 | Special Transport Glider** | Kokusai | Ku-8 (GANDER) | GOOSE |
| 2605 / 1945 | |||||
| Army | Type 5 | Fighter | Kawasaki | Ki-100 | |
| other | |||||
| Navy | Type D | Transport | Douglas | DC-3 | TABBY |
| Navy | Type He | Interceptor Fighter | Heinkel | A7He1 (He 112B-0) | JERRY |
| Army | Type | LO Transport | Lockheed | Model 14 | THELMA |
| Army | Type I | Heavy Bomber | Fiat | B.R.20 | RUTH |
| Navy | Type S | Two-seat Fighter | Seversky | A8V1 | DICK |
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