Re: Historical nicknames

[Karnak]

IIRC,

Air Warrior's N1K WAS the N1K2, but for some reason it was designation N1K1 in the game (I believe the historical N1K1 was the float-plane version. N1K2 was the first to remove the floats).

Not quite.  The first to remove the float was the N1K1-J.

N = floatplane fighter
1 = 1st such type in IJN service
K = Designed by Kawanishi
1 = First model of the aircraft type
-J = Modified to be a land based interceptor


N1K1 = Rufe
N1K1-J = George
N1K2-J = George 21

[Widewing]

IIRC,

Air Warrior's N1K WAS the N1K2, but for some reason it was designation N1K1 in the game (I believe the historical N1K1 was the float-plane version. N1K2 was the first to remove the floats).

My understanding is Allied code-names for the Japanese came about in 1943 because most Allied pilots found the Japanese names (Reisen, Hayabusa, etc) unpronounceable.

The development sequence...


N1K1 Kyofu


N1K1-J Shiden


N1K2-J Shiden Kai


My regards,

Widewing

[Jester]

N1K1 = Rufe

The RUFE was the A6M2-N Float ZERO.

[Karnak]

The RUFE was the A6M2-N Float ZERO.

Mmm, quite right.  I tried to do that out of memory and got it wrong.

N1K1 = 'Rex'

[gaiacidemusic]

La5 in AW also was referred to as "Lala".


ack-ack

I can verify this, I flew the La5 quite a bit in AW III

[Old Sport]

Yaks are pretty obvious why they got there name. ...

I agree!

...Just tell your Lala friends outside
You ain't got time to take their ride
Yakety YAK (don't talk back)

Those Commies really anticipated the amazing success of their plane, and how its legendary name would even enter into the bourgeois American Rock 'n Roll scene of 1958, years after the Great Patriotic War.

(Just don't swallow any of that Commie disinformation about it being short for Yakovlev!)